About the town » Bismarck, Burleigh County, North Dakota, United States

Bismarck is the capital of the U.S. state 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 108,779. Bismarck was founded in 1872 and has been North Dakota's capital city since the State was created from Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union in 1889. Bismarck is on the east bank of the Missouri River, directly across the river from Mandan. The two cities make up the core of the Bismarck-Mandan Metropolitan Statistical Area. The North Dakota State Capitol, the tallest building in the state, is in central Bismarck. The state government employs more than 4,000 in the city. As a hub of retail and health care, Bismarck is the economic center of south-central North Dakota and north-central South Dakota.