Photo: {{{1}}} · CC BY-SA 2.0How is Cathay run?
Cathay’s city government spent $39,000 on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, about $1,026 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Cathay didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Cathay is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,026 per resident a year, or $2.81 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: roads & transportation, at 31%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Cathay didn’t report all of its 2022 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Cathay yet
Every year of Cathay’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $350 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Cathay’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Cathay’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Cathay →
Who’s in charge in Cathay
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 38 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (38).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Carrington Public School District 49
Cathay’s K–12 school district, shared with Bilodeau Township, Carrington, Carrington Township, Conklin Township, Glacier Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $13,250 per pupil, $7,620 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
North Dakota districts overall: 40% local, 46% state, 14% federal.
Fessenden-Bowdon Public School District 25 · $16,533 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Cathay’s votes are counted by county
North Dakota reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Cathay alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Wells County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican80.6%1,815 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat18.0%405 votesOthers: 1.5% (33 votes).
Most votes in Wells County: Donald J Trump
North Dakota: Trump 67.0%, Harris 30.5%
100% of Cathay lies in Wells County. Every 2024 race in Wells County is on the county’s page.
Wells County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Cathay.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2North Dakota HouseState representatives
- 3North Dakota SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of North Dakota
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Cathay’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Cathay’s government
How much does Cathay spend per resident?
About $1,026 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Cathay didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $62,000.
Who runs Cathay’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Cathay yet.
How did Cathay vote in 2024?
North Dakota counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Cathay alone. Wells County, where 100% of Cathay lies, voted Trump 80.6%, Harris 18.0% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Cathay?
1 full-time and 4 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $1,320 (about $15,840 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Cathay in the state legislature?
State Senate District 14 (Jerry Klein) and State House District 14 (Jon Nelson and Robin Weisz). The House district also covers 181 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Cathay’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Cathay, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →