A Landlord’s Guide to Renting in Dickey County, North Dakota
Dickey County occupies a productive stretch of south-central North Dakota where the upper James River meanders through glaciated plains rich with grain fields and wetland sloughs. The county’s two main communities — Ellendale and Oakes — each serve distinct trade areas and maintain their own hospital systems, giving Dickey County a more robust institutional infrastructure than most rural ND counties of comparable size. Add a private Christian college to Ellendale’s profile, and you have a rental market with genuine depth for its population level.
Trinity Bible College & Graduate School
Trinity Bible College & Graduate School is Ellendale’s most distinctive employer and a significant driver of rental demand that sets the city apart from other south-central ND county seats. Trinity is a private Assemblies of God institution with enrollment typically in the several-hundred range, offering undergraduate and graduate programs in theology, ministry, and related fields. The college’s students, faculty, and staff create year-round housing demand — though with the characteristic academic-year seasonality that landlords near any college learn to anticipate. For landlords in Ellendale, understanding Trinity’s academic calendar, marketing units in spring for August occupancy, and maintaining relationships with the college’s housing and human resources offices can pay dividends in reduced vacancy and a steady tenant pipeline. Faculty and staff tend to be longer-term renters than students; students benefit from clear lease terms and, for first-time renters, co-signer requirements.
Two Hospital Systems: Ellendale and Oakes
Dickey County is unusual among small rural ND counties in maintaining two distinct hospital systems serving different trade areas. Dickey County Memorial Hospital in Ellendale serves the county seat and western Dickey County, while Oakes Community Hospital serves Oakes and the eastern portion of the county. Together these two facilities employ nurses, physicians, allied health workers, and administrative staff whose combined income and employment stability make the healthcare sector a significant pillar of Dickey County’s rental market. Landlords in both Ellendale and Oakes can cultivate relationships with these institutions as sources of qualified tenants. Healthcare workers who choose rural North Dakota careers tend to stay, and their tenancies often run multi-year.
Oakes: The County’s Commercial Center
While Ellendale is the county seat, Oakes is Dickey County’s largest city, with approximately 1,800 residents and a more commercially oriented downtown serving the eastern portion of the county and spillover from neighboring Sargent County to the east. Oakes sits along U.S. Highway 281 and near the James River, and its grain elevator operations, farm supply businesses, and retail services make it a functioning agricultural trade hub. For landlords, Oakes offers a slightly larger tenant pool than Ellendale, drawn from agricultural services employment, hospital workers, school district staff, and county government employees who prefer its commercial amenities.
James River Valley Agriculture
The James River valley running through Dickey County supports some of the region’s most productive cropland, with corn, soybeans, wheat, and sunflowers cultivated across a landscape that also supports significant waterfowl populations in its wetlands and sloughs. Agricultural employment — grain elevator workers, co-op employees, farm operators, and agribusiness service staff — forms the county’s permanent economic foundation. Farm operators who rent in Ellendale or Oakes for access to services while farming outlying land represent a stable tenancy segment, though their income documentation differs from standard pay stubs and landlords should request Schedule F tax returns or commodity sale records accordingly.
North Dakota Law in Dickey County
Dickey County landlords operate under NDCC Ch. 47-16 and Ch. 47-32. The 3-Day Notice to Pay or Quit for nonpayment (after the mandatory 3-day grace period under § 47-16-07(2)), the 3-Day Notice to Quit for lease violations with no cure right, and the 30-Day Written Notice for month-to-month terminations are the operative notice timelines. The Dickey County District Court at 309 N. 2nd St. in Ellendale, part of the Southeast Judicial District, handles eviction filings for the entire county. Hearings are typically set within 3 to 15 days of summons service. LLCs and other entities must retain licensed North Dakota counsel. Attorney fees are recoverable by the prevailing landlord under § 47-32-04.
Dickey County landlord-tenant matters are governed by NDCC Ch. 47-16 and Ch. 47-32. Nonpayment notice: 3-day pay or quit (after 3-day grace period). Lease violation: 3-day quit (no cure). Month-to-month termination: 30-day written notice. Security deposit cap: 1 month’s rent; pet deposit up to $2,500 or 2 months. Deposit return: 30 days; interest required if occupancy 9+ months. Late fees must be in lease; no charge during 3-day grace period. Legal entities must use licensed ND attorney in eviction. Attorney fees recoverable by prevailing landlord (§ 47-32-04). Hardship stay: up to 5 days. Eviction filed at Dickey County District Court, 309 N. 2nd St., Ellendale, ND 58436, (701) 349-3249. Filing fee ~$80. Southeast Judicial District. 2025 SB 2238: eviction record sealing after 7 years. No rent control. No just-cause eviction requirement. Last updated: May 2026.
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