North Dakota
Buying Land in Sheridan County, North Dakota
West-central North Dakota's Sheridan County, seat McClusky, is one of the most dramatic population-loss stories in the state -- down from over 7,300 residents in 1930 to roughly 1,265 today, with more than a third of current residents age 65 or older. That population trajectory shapes what to expect from county services and the local land market. It also, notably, does have a countywide zoning ordinance -- not every sparsely-populated ND county does.
A county that has lost most of its population -- and what that means for buying land here
Sheridan County's population story is one of the starkest in North Dakota. The county had more than 7,300 residents in 1930; by the 2020 Census that number had fallen to 1,265, and more recent estimates put it around 1,300 -- making Sheridan the third-least populous of North Dakota's 53 counties, behind only Billings and Slope. The decline hasn't leveled off gradually either: Sheridan County's population loss of 38.4% between 1990 and 2016 was the largest percentage decline of any county in the state over that stretch. Today, roughly 36.4% of residents are 65 or older, an unusually high share that reflects decades of younger residents leaving for opportunity elsewhere.
For a land buyer, this history matters less as a regulatory concern than as a practical one. A county this depopulated will have a thinner local economy, fewer nearby services and contractors, and a real-estate market with far fewer comparable sales to benchmark a purchase against than you'd find in a growing county. It's also likely to mean smaller, leaner county government offices -- confirmed below -- and a local tax base that has less room to fund infrastructure improvements than a larger county would. None of this makes Sheridan County a bad place to buy land, especially for agricultural or recreational use where population density isn't the point, but it's a materially different environment from counties near North Dakota's growing metro areas, and it's worth factoring into expectations about resale liquidity and service availability.
Zoning: a countywide ordinance, worth confirming the current version of
Sheridan County is not one of the sparsely-populated North Dakota counties that has simply never adopted zoning -- it administers a countywide zoning ordinance, with a Zoning Plan on file with the state dated June 25, 2009, plus zoning maps, a zoning permit application, and zoning resolutions all maintained in the county's own online document library. A Zoning Administrator and a Planning Board, both appointed by the County Board of Commissioners, are the points of contact for permits and district questions. Given the base document dates to 2009, confirm directly with the county whether any amendments have been made since, and get the current zoning map and district designation for your specific parcel rather than relying on the original 2009 text alone.
Septic permitting is handled separately from county zoning: the First District Health Unit, headquartered in Minot, issues onsite sewage treatment system permits for a seven-county region that includes Sheridan County alongside Bottineau, Burke, McHenry, McLean, Renville, and Ward counties. That means your septic permit application and site evaluation will be handled by health-unit staff based outside the county, not by anyone in the McClusky courthouse -- plan communication and site-visit scheduling accordingly.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Sheridan County
We could not verify a Zoning Administrator's name or a phone line dedicated to zoning separate from the County Auditor's office -- Sheridan County's contacts page did not list one independently, so questions about zoning permits and district confirmation should go through the Auditor's office number above. We also could not verify a dedicated GIS/parcel-mapping office separate from Tax Equalization. The First District Health Unit's Minot office serves seven counties including Sheridan; confirm current septic permit fees and process directly, as multi-county district offices sometimes route by which county the parcel sits in.
Planning & Zoning
Sheridan County Zoning Administrator / Planning Board (via County Auditor's Office)
Zoning district confirmation, permitted uses, zoning permit applications, and current amendment status. We could not independently verify a direct phone line or named contact for the Zoning Administrator separate from the Auditor's office -- see officialContactsNote.
Assessor / Property Tax
Sheridan County Tax Equalization Office
Assessed value and property tax questions for a specific parcel.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Sheridan County Recorder / Clerk of Court
Recorded deed, easement, and plat history for a specific parcel (combined Recorder / Clerk of Court office).
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
First District Health Unit -- Environmental Health (Minot)
Septic (onsite sewage treatment) system permitting for Sheridan County -- a seven-county regional health district office based in Minot, not a Sheridan County department.
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Sources
- Sheridan County, North Dakota — Wikipedia (cross-checked against U.S. Census Bureau figures) (accessed 2026-09)
- McClusky, North Dakota — Wikipedia (cross-checked against U.S. Census Bureau figures) (accessed 2026-09)
- How many people live in Sheridan County, ND? — USAFacts (U.S. Census Bureau data) (accessed 2026-09)
- Sheridan County Zoning Plan (adopted/on file June 25, 2009) — North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (accessed 2026-09)
- Sheridan County, North Dakota -- Document Library — Sheridan County, North Dakota Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Sheridan County, North Dakota -- Auditor — Sheridan County, North Dakota Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Sheridan County, North Dakota -- Tax Equalization — Sheridan County, North Dakota Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Sheridan County, North Dakota -- Recorder's Office — Sheridan County, North Dakota Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Septic (Onsite Wastewater) Systems — First District Health Unit (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09