North Dakota

Buying Land in Burleigh County, North Dakota

North Dakota's state capital county is one of its most populous -- which means the first question on any Burleigh County parcel is jurisdiction (Bismarck, Lincoln, or the unincorporated county each zone separately), and the second is proximity to the Missouri River, whose 2011 flood is a real, documented event that reshaped floodplain maps for parts of the county.

Confirm Jurisdiction First: Bismarck, Lincoln, or Unincorporated County

Case-by-case / verify locally

Bismarck holds most of Burleigh County's 98,458 residents (2020 census) and, along with the smaller and fast-growing city of Lincoln, administers its own separate municipal zoning and building permits entirely independent of the county. The county's Building/Planning/Zoning Department governs only land outside those city limits. Confirm which government actually has jurisdiction over a specific parcel before assuming county rules (or city rules) apply.

Unincorporated County Zoning Is Real and Detailed

Generally favorable

Burleigh County's zoning ordinance (consolidated with amendments through January 2024) is a genuine, detailed code -- unincorporated townships default to an Agricultural classification unless rezoned through the county's Planning Commission process, and the county also maintains separate township-specific zoning ordinances (for example, the Telfer, Missouri, and Boyd Townships ordinance, most recently amended in 2025) for areas with more granular rules. Confirm the specific district and its current standards with the county's Planning Commission rather than assuming a single set of countywide agricultural rules covers every unincorporated parcel identically.

The 2011 Missouri River Flood: Real, Documented, and Still Reflected in Flood Maps

Case-by-case / verify locally

The Missouri River flood of 2011 damaged an estimated 450-600 homes in Burleigh County and forced evacuations of hundreds of households; the flooding was severe enough that flood-risk mapping changed for 11 townships in the county, including two (Missouri and Tilfor) that had never been mapped for flood risk before 2011. If a parcel is anywhere near the Missouri River or in one of the affected townships, check current FEMA flood-zone status and any county floodplain-permit requirement directly -- don't assume a pre-2011 flood-map description is still accurate.

Rural Land Growth Has Concentrated, Not Spread Evenly

Could not confirm

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Bismarck grew about 20% and the county's rural areas overall grew about 17%, but that rural growth was heavily concentrated in the small city of Lincoln (up 77%, from 2,406 to 4,257) rather than spread evenly across unincorporated farmland and acreages -- local reporting describes rural development elsewhere in the county as largely leveling off after 2010. Don't assume broad rural land-value or development pressure across the whole unincorporated county from Bismarck-area or Lincoln-area growth headlines.

Two governments, two zonings: Bismarck (and Lincoln) vs. the unincorporated county

Burleigh County is built around North Dakota's state capital and is one of the state's two most populous counties (second only to Cass), which puts it in a genuinely different category than most of the rest of the state's rural counties. Bismarck, along with the much smaller incorporated city of Lincoln just south of it, each run their own independent municipal planning, zoning, and building-permit process. Burleigh County's Building/Planning/Zoning Department (located at 221 N. 5th Street in Bismarck) administers zoning, subdivision review, and floodplain regulation only for land outside those incorporated city limits.

For a buyer, the first question on any Burleigh County parcel is jurisdiction: is this land inside Bismarck or Lincoln city limits, or in the unincorporated county? The county's Parcel Viewer GIS tool is built to answer that alongside a parcel's zoning district and floodplain status -- check it before relying on a listing description or assuming county rules (or city rules) apply by default.

A real, detailed county zoning ordinance -- with growth concentrated, not countywide

Burleigh County's zoning ordinance (as consolidated with amendments through January 2024) is a genuinely detailed code, not a nominal one: unincorporated land defaults to an Agricultural classification and stays that way until formally rezoned through the county Planning Commission's process, and the county has also adopted separate, more specific zoning ordinances for individual township groupings -- for example, the Telfer, Missouri, and Boyd Townships zoning ordinance, amended as recently as October 2025. The county Planning Commission (five at-large members appointed by the county commission) hears subdivision plats, rezoning requests, text amendments, special-use permits, and variances.

At the same time, local reporting on 2020-census growth patterns shows that rural Burleigh County's development has been uneven: while Bismarck grew about 20% and the county's rural population overall grew about 17% between 2010 and 2020, most of that rural growth concentrated in the small city of Lincoln (up 77%), and rural development outside Lincoln reportedly slowed substantially after 2010. That matters for expectations around resale demand or subdivision activity on unincorporated acreage elsewhere in the county -- don't assume Bismarck-metro growth headlines translate evenly into rural land demand across all of Burleigh County.

The 2011 Missouri River flood: a real, documented event that changed flood maps

The Missouri River flood of 2011 is the defining documented flood event for Burleigh County. A sudden, sustained rise on the Missouri River (which crested at roughly 19.25 feet in the Bismarck area that July) damaged an estimated 450 to 600 homes countywide, with roughly 75 severely damaged or destroyed, and forced evacuation of nearly 900 households across Burleigh and neighboring Morton County. Low-lying areas of south Bismarck, including the Fox Island area, were hit hardest, but the flood's reach extended well beyond the city: FEMA flood-risk mapping changed for 11 townships in the county as a result, including Missouri and Tilfor townships, which had never been mapped for flood risk before 2011.

In the flood's aftermath, the county commission committed roughly $30 million to flood-protection projects north and south of Bismarck, and the Burleigh County Water Resource District undertook a separate multimillion-dollar levee project. That 2011 event isn't the only time Burleigh County's flood maps have moved, either -- a 2022 FEMA remapping proposal put roughly 1,500 more county parcels into higher flood-risk categories and triggered a formal appeal fight; see the current flood-zone status and permit process below for what's changed since.

What we could and couldn't confirm

Zoning-ordinance details reflect the countywide code as consolidated through January 2024 and the separate Telfer/Missouri/Boyd Townships ordinance as amended in October 2025; the county maintains additional township-specific ordinances not individually cataloged here, so confirm the specific, current rule set for a given parcel with the Building/Planning/Zoning Department. Flood-damage figures (homes damaged, townships remapped) reflect local news reporting on the 2011 event and should be treated as a documented historical episode illustrating real flood risk near the Missouri River, not as a current FEMA flood-zone determination for any specific parcel today -- get that directly from the county's Floodplain Administration function or FEMA's current maps.

Verify directly with: Burleigh County's Building/Planning/Zoning Department for zoning, subdivision, and floodplain questions, Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health for septic, and the City of Bismarck or City of Lincoln directly for any parcel inside those city limits

Who to Call Before Buying Land in Burleigh County

Bismarck and Lincoln each run their own separate planning, zoning, and building-permit departments, not listed here since this page covers the unincorporated county -- contact the specific city directly if a parcel is inside its limits. Septic permitting is handled by Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health, a joint city-county department, rather than a standalone county environmental health office. The Recorder's direct phone line was not independently confirmed via this research pass -- use the website above or the Tax Equalization number to be directed to the correct office.

Planning & Zoning

Burleigh County Building/Planning/Zoning Department

Confirming whether a parcel is inside Bismarck or Lincoln city limits versus the unincorporated county, zoning district and permitted uses under the county ordinance, and Planning Commission rezoning or variance procedures.

Phone: (701) 221-3727Official website →

Floodplain / Stormwater

Burleigh County Building/Planning/Zoning Department -- Floodplain Administration

Current FEMA flood-zone status for a specific parcel and floodplain-development permit requirements, especially near the Missouri River or in a township remapped after the 2011 flood.

Phone: (701) 221-3727Official website →

Flood & Elevation Tool

GIS / Parcel Records

Burleigh County Parcel Viewer

Looking up a specific parcel's zoning district, jurisdiction (city vs. unincorporated county), and flood-zone status before relying on a listing description.

Phone: (701) 221-3727Official website →

Assessor / Property Tax