North Dakota counties quiz

The 53 counties in the quiz

They’re the 53 counties of North Dakota, as counted by the US Census Bureau. The state capital, Bismarck, is in Burleigh County.

How to play

In Point mode we name a county and you tap it on the map; in Type mode one lights up and you type its name (accents don’t matter); and in Time trial you get 6 seconds per question. If you miss, we show you where it was, which way it lies and a hint drawn from the data: its size rank and its neighbors.

Each game has 10, 20 or all the questions, and at the end you can practice just the ones you missed. Your best score for each mode is saved in this browser only: neither we nor anyone else can see it, and there’s no sign-up.

The hardest ones

The smallest counties are the hardest, since they barely show on the map: Eddy (630 sq mi), Foster (634 sq mi), and Griggs (709 sq mi). Zoom in with the buttons or two fingers to tap them.

Tips to learn them

• The 8 counties bordering South Dakota trace that border on the map: Adams, Bowman, Dickey, Emmons, McIntosh, Richland, Sargent, and Sioux.
• McLean has the most neighbors: it borders 8 counties. Once you place it, you have a landmark for many more.
• Cass is the most populous (201,794 people in 2025) and, together with Burleigh and Grand Forks, is home to 47% of North Dakota’s people.

Playing in class

If you teach in North Dakota, start with your school’s county and its neighbors and add a few each day. Otherwise, it’s a good way to get to know the state before studying it.

With the Challenge your class link, everyone gets the same questions in the same order, with no accounts or passwords, and each student sees their own score, time and streak. To practice on paper, there’s a printable worksheet of the same map with an answer key.

List of all 53 counties

1. Adams pop. 2,275
2. Barnes pop. 10,573
3. Benson pop. 5,759
4. Billings pop. 1,071
5. Bottineau pop. 6,284
6. Bowman pop. 2,762
7. Burke pop. 2,132
8. Burleigh pop. 103,251
9. Cass pop. 201,794
10. Cavalier pop. 3,497
11. Dickey pop. 4,895
12. Divide pop. 2,110
13. Dunn pop. 4,058
14. Eddy pop. 2,329
15. Emmons pop. 3,215
16. Foster pop. 3,212
17. Golden Valley pop. 1,808
18. Grand Forks pop. 74,501
19. Grant pop. 2,206
20. Griggs pop. 2,239
21. Hettinger pop. 2,492
22. Kidder pop. 2,393
23. LaMoure pop. 4,135
24. Logan pop. 1,859
25. McHenry pop. 5,130
26. McIntosh pop. 2,451
27. McKenzie pop. 15,192
28. McLean pop. 9,740
29. Mercer pop. 8,441
30. Morton pop. 34,601
31. Mountrail pop. 9,395
32. Nelson pop. 2,963
33. Oliver pop. 1,898
34. Pembina pop. 6,568
35. Pierce pop. 3,838
36. Ramsey pop. 11,530
37. Ransom pop. 5,617
38. Renville pop. 2,331
39. Richland pop. 16,731
40. Rolette pop. 11,688
41. Sargent pop. 3,711
42. Sheridan pop. 1,296
43. Sioux pop. 3,667
44. Slope pop. 628
45. Stark pop. 34,013
46. Steele pop. 1,797
47. Stutsman pop. 21,414
48. Towner pop. 2,040
49. Traill pop. 7,920
50. Walsh pop. 10,179
51. Ward pop. 68,233
52. Wells pop. 3,729
53. Williams pop. 41,767