Slope County, North Dakota

Slope County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 706, making it the least populous county in North Dakota and the 18th-least populous county in the United States. The county seat is Amidon.

History
The vote to create Slope County, by partitioning the lower portion of Billings, was held on November 3, 1914. This was the final (as of 2019) alteration to that once-large Dakota county, as Bowman had been partitioned off in 1883, and Golden Valley was split off in 1910. The unorganized Slope County was not attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes during the interregnum; on January 14, 1915, the county organization was effected. The name refers to the Missouri Slope, a geographical feature that is also a popular designation for western North Dakota, particularly the area west of the Missouri River.

Geography
Slope County lies on the lower west side of North Dakota. Its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of Montana. The Little Missouri River enters the county's south boundary line from Bowman County near the Montana border and flows north until it loops very briefly into Golden Valley County. Then it flows east to near the midpoint of the north boundary of Slope County and then turns north into Billings County. Cedar Creek drains the southeastern portion of the county, flowing south into Bowman county.

Slope County terrain consists of semi-arid rough hills and gullies interspersed with lower hills, part of which is dedicated to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east and south; its highest area (except for isolated prominences, such as White Butte) is its northwestern corner, at 3,104 ft ASL. The county has a total area of 1219 sqmi, of which 1215 sqmi is land and 4.2 sqmi (0.3%) is water.

White Butte, the highest natural point in North Dakota at an elevation of 3506 ft, is in southeast Slope County.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 12.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 12
 * [[Image:US 85.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 85

National protected areas

 * Little Missouri National Grassland (part)
 * Stewart Lake National Wildlife Refuge
 * White Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Adjacent counties

 * Billings County - north
 * Stark County - northeast
 * Hettinger County - east
 * Adams County - southeast
 * Bowman County - south
 * Fallon County, Montana - west
 * Golden Valley County - northwest

Lakes

 * Cedar Lake
 * White Lake

2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 706 people.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 727 people, 326 households, and 224 families in the county. The population density was 0.60 /mi2. There were 436 housing units at an average density of 0.36 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 97.5% white, 2.2% American Indian, 0.0% from other races, and 0.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 53.9% were of German, 30.7% Norwegian, 9.9% English, 7.4% Swedish, 5.5% Polish and 2.8% American ancestry.

Of the 326 households, 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.3% were non-families, and 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age was 49.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,625 and the median income for a family was $55,833. Males had a median income of $36,458 versus $31,172 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,824. About 6.8% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Slope County has the highest decline from its peak population of all US counties.

Cities

 * Amidon (county seat)
 * Marmarth

Unincorporated communities

 * De Sart
 * Mound
 * Pierce

Politics
Slope County voters have traditionally voted Republican. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020). In 2020 Donald Trump received 89% of the vote in Slope County.

Education
School districts include:
 * Bowman County Public School District 1
 * New England Public School District 9
 * Scranton Public School District 33
 * Marmarth Public School District 12 (elementary only)

Former school districts:
 * Central Elementary Public School District 32 (Amidon Elementary School ) - Scheduled to dissolve on July 1, 2020. It was divided between Bowman County School District No. 1 and New England School District No. 9.
 * Sheets Public School District 14 (Cottage School )

The Amidon and Cottage schools were the final two schools remaining in the county.