Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,152, settled in 1884.
The best of Bottineau’s subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and an A for walkability and the outdoors. On hazard risk, just 5 of North Dakota’s 69 towns do better. On the outdoors, just 1 of North Dakota’s 69 towns do better. Bottineau is home to Dakota College at Bottineau. Bottineau has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Bottineau beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Dakota), ordered by how far Bottineau is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1855.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bottineau, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Jul 30, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Bottineau.
At 5 of 100, Bottineau’s FEMA risk score is against 40 of 100 in North Dakota’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Bottineau 1 school district. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Bottineau Junior-Senior High School, with 320 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottineau Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 351 | B− |
| Bottineau Junior-Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 320 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ND on state tests and graduation
Bottineau beats the North Dakota average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 19% of adults binge drink in Bottineau, where North Dakota’s towns sit at 22% and U.S. towns at 16%. 37% of adults have high blood pressure in Bottineau.
| Bottineau | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 31% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 29% | 33% |
| What stands out | Bottineau | ND |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.7% | 76.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.3% | 10.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bottineau’s July high is 79°F. Bottineau has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
42% of Bottineau’s working residents work right in town. The average trip to work in Bottineau is 16 minutes. The top destinations are Minot (9%), Bismarck (5%) and Fargo (4%).
| Bottineau | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 42% | 39% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 16 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.8% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 6.3% | 5.6% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Bottineau home is worth about $247,000, up 9% in a year, 15% below the North Dakota typical home. 61% of Bottineau households own their home.
| Bottineau | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $840 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 61% | 57% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1.4 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Only 1 of the 24 North Dakota towns we compare have a higher share of conserved land than Bottineau. The biggest park or preserve is Forestry Park, at 21 acres.
| Bottineau | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.5% | 2.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Forestry Park | 0.4 mi | 21 |
| 2. Tommy Turtle Park | — | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
People 65 and older are 21% of residents (17% statewide). 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across North Dakota.
| Bottineau | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 13% | 18% |
| Median age | 35.5 years | 33.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 23% | 26% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 30% | 29% |
46% women, 54% men
About 117 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.8 points). Across North Dakota, 48.8% of residents are women.
| Bottineau | ND | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.2% | 13% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14.1% | 11.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.8% | 10.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.9% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.5% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.2% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.9% | 6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.5% | 25.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.3% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.2% | 14% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.2% | 23% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.8% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,200, single groups can be off by several points
1 within 15 miles of the center of Bottineau
About 11 of every 100 Bottineau residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across North Dakota.
9 notable people were born in Bottineau.
City in North Dakota, United States
Bottineau is a city in and the county seat of Bottineau County, North Dakota, United States. Located just over ten miles (16 km) south of the Canada–United States border. The population was 2,194 as of the 2020 census, and was estimated at 2,152 in 2025. The city is home to Dakota College at Bottineau. Attractions in Bottineau include the Bottineau Winter Park and "Tommy Turtle," the world's largest turtle, which has become a landmark for the city. Built in 1978 and thirty feet (9 m) in height, the fiberglass turtle is located in the eastern half of the city and was built as a symbol for the nearby Turtle Mountains. The International Peace Garden is nearby to the northeast. Bottineau is als…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Bottineau.
| Town | ND rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottineau | — | — | A+ | — | B | B+ |
| Whitteron Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pickering Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Bottineau has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Bottineau reports no FBI crime data of its own. Whitteron Township and Pickering Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bottineau with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.
9 notable people were born here, including Tom Rapp and Ronald Paulson.