Current county contact
Confirm who handles planning, subdivision, rural addressing, floodplain, permitting, and enforcement for the parcel.
County profile
Partially sourcedBurleigh County
Burleigh County now has a first-pass North Dakota planning, zoning, permit, or development anchor for county-office routing. Tiny home, RV, off-grid, container-home, ADU, water, septic, access, and building-permit feasibility should still be confirmed through county staff, city or township checks, tribal-jurisdiction checks where relevant, subdivision rules, private covenants, and parcel-level research before purchase.
County-level researchedParcel review requiredRV cautionTiny-home review needed
Profile boundary
County Profiles Do Not Approve Parcels
This profile summarizes county-level signals. Before relying on a parcel, verify current rules with planning, zoning, building, environmental health, water, road, fire, title, and local professionals.
Verification queue
What Still Needs Confirmation
This profile has official source coverage for county-level discovery, but it still needs stronger current county-office confirmation before being promoted to verified. Treat it as a shortlist candidate, then confirm the exact parcel and intended use with local offices.
Exact intended use
Ask about the specific structure, RV or camper occupancy plan, water source, septic path, access road, and development sequence.
At a glance
Fast Read
County-level discovery summary for alternative housing research. Use this as a shortlist signal, then verify the specific parcel and code path.
Restrictive discovery fit
Burleigh County has a Freedom Score of 44. Its strongest profile signals are ADUs (4/5) and Off-grid living (3/5).
Central Missouri and James River rural land screening
Best initial fit: Central Missouri and James River rural land screening, North Dakota county-office due diligence, parcel-level alternative living research. Check county planning materials before making parcel assumptions.
20/100 affordability score
$55,014 per acre snapshot with 71 active land listings and a 3/5 availability signal.
Tiny homes needs extra review
Do not treat this North Dakota source pass as parcel approval
Lifestyle indexes
Decision Signals by Goal
These indexes translate the county data into practical shortlisting signals for common alternative-living goals. They are discovery scores, not parcel approvals.
Tiny homes, RV living, ADUs, container homes, and land cost signals.
Off-grid score, solar, rural land availability, low density, and utility friction.
Land affordability, availability, growing season, density, and water-climate signals.
Price-per-acre snapshot, land availability, and county-level tax burden context.
Broadband proxy, wired access, cellular reliance, and remote-work suitability.
Trust strip
Source Snapshot
Fast source context for this county profile. Use the full source trail below for links, citations, and parcel-level verification reminders.
Land snapshotsourced
Jun 11, 2026LandWatch
Broadbandsourced
2024Census Reporter ACS 2024 5-year table B28002
Public landsourced
2026USGS PAD-US Manager Type GIS layer
Solar periodsourced
2001-2020NASA POWER 2001-2020 solar irradiance climatology
County citationssourced
20Planning, zoning, building, and profile links
Best Fit
Pros
- https://www.ndaco.org/cod/browse-by-department/#/department/Planning%20&%20Zoning provides a first-pass official planning, zoning, permit, or development source anchor
- NDACo planning guidance, North Dakota water resources, state building-code, and onsite wastewater sources support statewide due diligence
- this record can be compared against climate, solar, broadband, public-land, tax, and land-market layers already collected
- North Dakota source route now separates county planning contact from DEQ septic, state building-code, county zoning, local public-health, or permit follow-up.
Cons
- This is a source-anchor pass, not a county-office confirmation or zoning interpretation
- county source depth varies, and city jurisdiction, township jurisdiction, tribal jurisdiction, subdivisions, floodplain, covenants, utilities, well/septic feasibility, winter access, and road access can change the parcel-level answer
Alternative Housing Ratings
derived
Verified county-level discovery scores
Alternative Housing Notes
Tiny Homes
Use the listed North Dakota county, planning/zoning, DEQ septic, and state/local building-code routes to confirm tiny-home placement, zoning district if applicable, minimum dwelling or construction standards, permits, utilities, wastewater, well access, and municipal or subdivision restrictions for the exact parcel.
RV Living
Long-term RV occupancy should be confirmed with the county or local jurisdiction because zoning, sanitation, camping, nuisance, floodplain, utility, and subdivision rules can differ by parcel.
Off Grid
Off-grid feasibility should be checked against North Dakota septic rules, well or water access, road access, floodplain exposure, fire response, electric service choices, and any county or municipal permitting rules.
Container Homes
Container-home feasibility depends on zoning use classification, state/local building-code review, structural documentation, foundation standards, inspections, and whether the jurisdiction treats the project as modular, manufactured, or site-built construction.
ADUs
ADU rules are often city, county-zoning-district, or subdivision specific in North Dakota; verify accessory dwelling, guest house, and secondary residence rules before relying on county-level signals.
Land Affordability
sourced
Sourced market snapshot
Source: LandWatch snapshot from June 11, 2026. LandWatch county page snapshot. Active listing count is from the county page title/metadata; medianAcrePrice is the median asking price per acre from visible page listing data (25 nonzero sampled listings), not a full-market median or appraisal.
Population Context
sourced
Sourced Census estimate
Population uses 2024 U.S. Census county estimates. Density is computed from county land area in the imported GeoJSON boundary data.
Water and Septic
draft
Parcel-level verification needed
Water
Water availability in Burleigh County is parcel-specific. Review North Dakota Department of Water Resources appropriation guidance, well-contractor requirements, local service availability, hauled-water feasibility, drought exposure, and water-quality issues before purchase.
Septic
Septic feasibility in Burleigh County requires parcel-level review under North Dakota onsite wastewater rules and any local process, including soils, setbacks, floodplain, water-source separation, system design, installation, and site constraints.
Climate, Utilities, and Access
derived
Mixed sourced and derived layers
Public land source: USGS PAD-US Manager Type GIS layer snapshot from 2026. County-clipped GIS estimate using PAD-US 4.1 manager type records for North Dakota. Includes federal, state, local, and district-managed polygons; excludes tribal, NGO, and private-managed records. This is a discovery-level public/protected lands estimate, not a parcel-level access determination. Sample matched labels: 16Th St Park; 23Rd St Park; Archery Range; Arena Lake; Art Brazda; Atkinson Nature Park; Bismarck Municipal Ballpark; Bunker Lake; Burleigh County Waterfowl Production Area; Canfield Lake National Wildlife Refuge; Capital Racquet & Fitness Center; Capitol Grounds Native Prairie And Park; Century Rec Complex & Bark Park; Community Gardens; Cottonwood Park; Custer Park; Dakota Grassland Conservation Area; Duemeland Park; Elks Aquatic Center; Emmons County Waterfowl Production Area; Florence Lake National Wildlife Refuge; Fox Island Boat Ramp; Francis Leach High Prairie Arts & Science Center; Gateway Pond Park; Gdu Canal Lakes; Grassland Reserve Program (GRP), Burleigh, ND; Grassland Reserve Program (GRP), Oliver, ND; Hay Creek Park; Heckers Lake WDA; Highland Acres Park; Horizon Park; Igoe Park; Jaycee Centennial Park; Johnny Gisi Memorial Park; Keelboat Park; Kidder County Waterfowl Production Area; Kiwanis Park; Lake Oahe; Lincoln Park; Lions Park; Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge; Marian Park; Mckenzie Slough; Mclean County Waterfowl Production Area; Memorial Bridge Park; Missouri River Natural Area; Moffit; Myron Atkinson Park; National Guard Bismarck Raymond J. Bohn Complex; Nd State Lands - Surface Ownership; New Generations Park; Normandy Park; North Central Park; North Dakota Field Office; North Dakota Wildlife Management Area; Oaha Recreation Area; Oahe Wildlife Management Area; Optimist Family Park; Peace Park; Pebble Creek Recreation Area; Phoenix Township; Pioneer Park; Pioneer State Library Park; Pt Weigel Park; Rice Lake; Riverside Park; Robert W. Henderson; Rosa Young Park; Russel Stuart; Santee Park; Schaumberg Ice Arena; Scheels Sports Complex; Sheridan County Waterfowl Production Area Of Nd; Sleepy Hollow Exchange Club Park; Sleepy Hollow/Exchange Club Park; Sons Of Norway Park; South Meadows Park; Southland Park; Square Butte; Steamboat Park.
Broadband source: Census Reporter ACS 2024 5-year table B28002 snapshot from 2024. Broadband score is a county-level ACS household broadband subscription proxy, not parcel-level service availability. Score is based on the percentage of households with broadband of any type.
Solar source: NASA POWER 2001-2020 solar irradiance climatology for 2001-2020. County-centroid solar proxy using NASA POWER ALLSKY_SFC_SW_DWN annual all-sky surface shortwave downward irradiance. This is a county-level solar resource estimate, not a parcel-level PV design study.
Red Flags
- Do not treat this North Dakota source pass as parcel approval
- verify jurisdiction, zoning district, building permits, sanitation, water right or water service, legal access, floodplain, fire response, covenants, easements, agricultural restrictions, and whether the parcel is inside a municipality, township, reservation, public-land boundary, federal enclave, or special district.
Source Trail
County office links, sourced data layers, and profile citations used to build this county-level research summary.
Official County Links
Data Layer Sources
LandWatchLand market snapshot from June 11, 2026U.S. Census county estimatesPopulation and density contextUSGS PAD-US Manager Type GIS layerPublic land acreage snapshot from 2026Census Reporter ACS 2024 5-year table B28002Broadband household subscription proxy from 2024NASA POWER 2001-2020 solar irradiance climatologyCounty-centroid solar resource for 2001-2020
County Profile Citations
census.govhttps://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.htmlcensus.govhttps://www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files/time-series/geo/carto-boundary-file.htmllandwatch.comhttps://www.landwatch.com/north-dakota-land-for-sale/burleigh-county/for-salepropertytaxexplorer.comhttps://propertytaxexplorer.com/us/north-dakota/burleigh-county/services.arcgis.comhttps://services.arcgis.com/v01gqwM5QqNysAAi/ArcGIS/rest/services/PADUS_Manager_Type/FeatureServer/0data.rcc-acis.orghttps://data.rcc-acis.org/GridDatadata.rcc-acis.orghttps://data.rcc-acis.org/MultiStnDataapi.censusreporter.orghttps://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B28002&geo_ids=05000US38015power.larc.nasa.govhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/api/temporal/climatology/point?parameters=ALLSKY_SFC_SW_DWN&community=RE&longitude=-100.59498421428573&latitude=47.02920907142857&start=2001&end=2020&format=JSONndaco.orghttps://www.ndaco.org/cod/browse-by-department/#/department/Planning%20&%20Zoningndaco.orghttps://www.ndaco.org/about-counties/county-offices/planningandzoning/visionwestnd.comhttps://www.visionwestnd.com/planning-zoningcommerce.nd.govhttps://www.commerce.nd.gov/community-services/building-codesdwr.nd.govhttps://www.dwr.nd.gov/reg_approp/swc.nd.govhttps://www.swc.nd.gov/reg_approp/water_well_contractor/deq.nd.govhttps://deq.nd.gov/wq/2_NDPDES_Permits/7_SepticSystems/Septic.aspxndlegis.govhttps://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t11c33.pdfndlegis.govhttps://ndlegis.gov/information/acdata/pdf/62-03.1-03.pdfndlegis.govhttps://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t54c21-3.pdfbismarcknd.govhttps://www.bismarcknd.gov/1752/Building-Codes
Research Status
draft
County-level profile reviewed; parcel-level confirmation still required
This profile is currently marked partially sourced. It is ready for county comparison and early research, but legal claims and parcel-specific decisions should still be verified against county code, planning offices, and local experts.
County FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Burleigh County a good county for alternative living?+
Burleigh County has a Freedom Score of 44, which makes it useful for county-level discovery. Treat that score as a shortlist signal, then verify zoning, building, water, septic, access, and covenant rules for the specific parcel.
Can you live in a tiny home in Burleigh County?+
Burleigh County has a tiny home score of 2/5. That score does not approve a tiny home by itself; it means the county is worth researching through planning, zoning, building code, sanitation, and parcel-specific rules.
Can you live in an RV on land in Burleigh County?+
Burleigh County has an RV living score of 2/5. RV rules often depend on duration, construction status, sanitation, water, zoning district, and whether the land is inside a subdivision or municipality.
Is Burleigh County good for off-grid living?+
Burleigh County has an off-grid score of 3/5. Off-grid feasibility still depends on legal access, septic or OWTS approval, water options, fire risk, winter access, and whether a lawful dwelling can be permitted.
How affordable is land in Burleigh County?+
Burleigh County has a land affordability score of 20/100 based on the current county-level dataset. Use this for comparison only, because actual parcel prices can vary by road access, utilities, terrain, water, covenants, and listing quality.
Who is Burleigh County best suited for?+
Based on the current profile, Burleigh County is best suited for Central Missouri and James River rural land screening, North Dakota county-office due diligence, parcel-level alternative living research. The best fit can change once you narrow from county-level research to a specific property.
What should I verify before buying land in Burleigh County?+
Before buying, confirm zoning, building permits, legal access, road maintenance, water rights or well eligibility, septic feasibility, wildfire requirements, floodplain issues, mineral rights, and any HOA, POA, subdivision, or covenant restrictions.