Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the second most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city’s population was 61,272 at the 2010 census, while its metropolitan population was 123,751. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Bismarck as the seventh fastest-growing small city in the United States.

Situated in the middle of the Great Plains, between the geographic centers of the United States and North America, Bismarck displays a highly variable four-season humid continental climate with strong semi-arid influences. Bismarck’s climate is characterized by long, cold, somewhat snowy and windy winters, and hot summers that are at times humid. Thunderstorms occur in spring and summer, but much of the rest of the year is dry.

The median income per household in the city was $39,422, and the median income per family was $51,477. Males had a median income of $33,804 versus $22,647 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,789. About 5.7% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.