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We synthesized N₂O emissions over North America using 17 bottom‐up (BU) estimates from 1980–2016 and five top‐down (TD) estimates from 1998 to 2016. The BU‐based total emission shows a slight increase owing to U.S. agriculture, while no consistent trend is shown in TD estimates. During 2007–2016, North American N₂O emissions are estimated at 1.7 (1.0–3.0) Tg N yr⁻¹(BU) and 1.3 (0.9–1.5) Tg N yr⁻¹(TD). Anthropogenic emissions were twice as large as natural fluxes from soil and water. Direct agricultural and industrial activities accounted for 68% of total anthropogenic emissions, 71% of which was contributed by the U.S. Our estimates of U.S. agricultural emissions are comparable to the EPA greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, which includes estimates from IPCC tier 1 (emission factor) and tier 3 (process‐based modeling) approaches. Conversely, our estimated agricultural emissions for Canada and Mexico are twice as large as the respective national GHG inventories.