Great Bend, North Dakota 8-1-2009, 2009
Great Bend’s story
138 years in pictures
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2004.
- 1888Great Bend is settled
Great BendND
A town of 52, settled in 1888.
Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
52
2025 Census estimate · −1.9% since 2020
Median home value
$69K
Census ACS
Household income
$62K
median
Median age
50.9
years
Land area
1 sq mi
Is Great Bend a good place to live?
Great Bend has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Small town
52 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Great Bend: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Great Bend, and how to reach them.
PowerOtter Tail Power11.1¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterSoutheast Wud (East) water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Great Bend’s trash rules yet
Register to voteNot requiredNorth Dakota has no voter registration: you show ID at the polls.vote.govWho runs elections hereRichland County AuditorRichland County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2021
ZIP code5807558075 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Jul 30, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Great Bend.
Climate
In Great Bend, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
In July, afternoons reach 82°; in January, nights fall to 1°, and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
49″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter5–23°
Spring32–54°
Summer58–80°
Fall35–56°
Oct 3
typical first frost
May 4
typical last frost
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health
How healthy Great Bend is
A third of Great Bend adults sleep under 7 hours. In Great Bend, just over a fifth of adults binge drink, against 22% in North Dakota’s towns and 16% across U.S. towns. Two figures for adults in the town: 74% had a checkup this year, 36% have high blood pressure.
| Great Bend | North Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 22% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 73% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 31% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 14% |
32 measures vs. North Dakota
0 better24 too close to call8 worse
| What stands out | Great Bend | ND |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16% | 10.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.5% | 5.9% |
| More adults in fair or poor health | 19.1% | 16.1% |
St. Francis Medical Center
17.3 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazards
Great Bend faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by cold waves
On expected storm and flood damage, Great Bend sits below 56% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 40% come from cold waves and 32% from inland flooding. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2011.
44risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Cold wavesInland floodingHail
6
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Great Bend
16pages on Great Bend
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Great Bend
About 0 of every 100 Great Bend residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across North Dakota.
About Great Bend
City in North Dakota, United States
Great Bend is a city in Richland County, North Dakota, United States, on the banks of the Wild Rice River. Its population was 49 at the 2020 census. It was founded in 1888, and incorporated as a village in 1908. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND–MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1888
- Area
- 0.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 974 ft
- Area code
- 701
Questions about Great Bend
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Great Bend, ND a good place to live?
Great Bend has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.