Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town was settled in 1898 and has 284 residents today.
3.4% of working residents work locally in Bowbells, below both the North Dakota town median (39%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). No town among the 24 in North Dakota we compare has a higher midpoint age than Bowbells. Burke County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Bowbells has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 651 in 1910, a peak of 806 in 1950, 301 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 2 maps from 1947 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bowbells, 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 Bowbells.
Households in Bowbells have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2011. Compared with 88% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is lower. Expected losses in Bowbells break down as 51% from cold waves and 24% from inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its two schools are below. The Bowbells 14 school district runs its public schools. 2 public schools serve Bowbells, with 92 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowbells Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 50 | D |
| Bowbells High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 42 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The top destinations are Powers Lake (10%), Fargo (7%) and Tioga (6%). Just 3% of Bowbells’s working residents have a job in town. Since 2013, Bowbells has lost 34 jobs, to 101 in 2023. In Bowbells, the average trip to work is 27 minutes.
| Bowbells | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 16 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Bowbells, 9.1% of adults worry about having enough food. The town does better than the North Dakota average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1. 28% of adults in Bowbells feel lonely; 21% binge drink.
| Bowbells | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 29% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 22% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Bowbells | ND |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.2% | 10.8% |
| More adults seeing a dentist | 68.7% | 64.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For households in Bowbells, the share who are owner-occupiers is 74%.
| Bowbells | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $600 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 57% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Bowbells; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Bowbells residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across North Dakota.
City in North Dakota, United States
Bowbells is a city in and the county seat of Burke County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 301 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bowbells has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
2 notable people were born here, including Les Jepsen and Doug Drew.