Bismarck, North Dakota

Bismarck, North Dakota
mirahacii arumaaguash (Hidatsa) itUhtaáwe (Arikara)
Location of Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck
Bismarck
Coordinates: 46°48′52″N 100°46′07″W / 46.814572°N 100.768568°W / 46.814572; -100.768568
CountryUnited States
StateNorth Dakota
CountyBurleigh
FoundedMay 14, 1872
IncorporatedJanuary 14, 1875
Named afterOtto von Bismarck
Government
 • MayorMike Schmitz (Nonpartisan)
 • CommissionerAnne Cleary
Michael Connelly
Steve Marquardt
Greg Zenker
Area
 • City
36.452 sq mi (94.410 km2)
 • Land35.955 sq mi (93.123 km2)
 • Water0.497 sq mi (1.288 km2)  1.36%
 • Urban
41.9 sq mi (108.4 km2)
 • Metro
4,281 sq mi (11,088 km2)
Elevation
1,745 ft (532 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City
73,622
 • Estimate 
(2024)
77,772
 • RankUS: 486th
ND: 2nd
 • Density2,242.1/sq mi (865.69/km2)
 • Urban
98,198 (US: 316th)
 • Urban density2,346.2/sq mi (905.89/km2)
 • Metro
139,183 (US: 302nd)
 • Metro density32.5/sq mi (12.55/km2)
Time zoneUTC–6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC–5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes
58501, 58502, 58503, 58504, 58505, 58506, 58507
Area code701
FIPS code38-07200
GNIS feature ID1035934
HighwaysUS 83, I 94, I 94 Bus., I 194, ND 810
Websitebismarcknd.gov

Bismarck (/ˈbɪzmɑːrk/) is the capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The population was 73,622 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 77,772 in 2024, while its metropolitan population was 133,626. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Bismarck as the seventh fastest-growing small city in the United States.

Bismarck was founded by European-Americans in 1872 on the east bank of the Missouri River. It has been North Dakota's capital city since 1889, when the state was created from the Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union.

Bismarck is across the river from Mandan, named after a Native American tribe of the area. The two cities comprise the core of the Bismarck metropolitan area.

The North Dakota State Capitol is in central Bismarck. The state government employs more than 4,600 in the city. As a hub of retail and health care, Bismarck is the economic center of south-central North Dakota and north-central South Dakota.