McLean County is a U.S. county in the east central region of Illinois, and is the largest county by land area in the state. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 170,954. Its county seat is Bloomington. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Pronunciation Locally, the second syllable of McLean is pronounced with a 'long a' (ā, IPA /ei/) sound (i.e. “muh-KLAIN") (as with native son McLean Stevenson), not a 'long e' (ē, IPA /i/) sound (“muh-KLEEN").

History The first white settlers in what became McLean County arrived around 1821. The first settlement was Blooming Grove, established in 1822 near present-day Bloomington. McLean County was formed on December 25, 1830, out of Tazewell County. It was named for John McLean, United States Senator for Illinois, who died in 1830.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. It is the largest county in Illinois by land area and third-largest by total area after Cook and Lake Counties, which have large portions of their areas on Lake Michigan. McLean County is actually larger than the land area of Rhode Island (1045 sq mi).

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Bloomington have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May.

Adjacent counties

Woodford County – northwest Livingston County – northeast Ford County – east Champaign County – southeast Piatt County – south DeWitt County – south Logan County – southwest Tazewell County – west

Major highways

Transit Connect Transit SHOW Bus Uptown Station List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 170,954. The median age was 35.1 years, 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18, and 14.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.5 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 77.3% White, 8.8% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.8% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.5% from some other race, and 6.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.2% of the population.

78.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 21.6% lived in rural areas.

There were 69,096 households in the county, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.2% were married-couple households, 20.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 74,855 housing units, of which 7.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.2% were owner-occupied and 35.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.6%.

Racial and ethnic composition +McLean County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)112,222120,156132,224138,835129,44094.19%93.01%87.90%81.87%75.72%Black or African American alone (NH)4,6895,4859,18912,24614,6993.94%4.25%6.11%7.22%8.60%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1061802242902580.09%0.14%0.15%0.17%0.15%Asian alone (NH)8111,6093,0727,1808,1080.68%1.25%2.04%4.23%4.74%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census434838xx0.03%0.03%0.02%Other race alone (NH)202791452036180.17%0.06%0.10%0.12%0.36%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census1,7033,3367,269xx1.13%1.97%4.25%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,1191,6713,8337,43410,5240.94%1.29%2.55%4.38%6.16%Total119,149129,180150,433169,572170,954 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 169,572 people, 65,104 households, and 40,124 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 69,656 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.3% white, 7.3% black or African American, 4.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.5% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 31.2% were German, 15.4% were Irish, 11.4% were American, and 11.0% were English.

Of the 65,104 households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.4% were non-families, and 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 32.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $57,642 and the median income for a family was $77,093. Males had a median income of $52,271 versus $39,685 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,167. About 6.2% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities Cities Bloomington (seat) Chenoa El Paso Le Roy Lexington

Town Normal

Villages

Anchor Arrowsmith Bellflower Carlock Colfax Cooksville Danvers Downs Ellsworth Gridley Heyworth Hudson McLean Saybrook Stanford Towanda

Census-designated place

Shirley Twin Grove

Other unincorporated communities

Barnes Bentown Bloomington Heights Covell Cropsey Fletcher Funks Grove Gillum Holder Kerrick Lytleville Meadows Merna OsmanOsman Topo Map in McLean County IL Padua Randolph Sabina Shirley Watkins Weedman Weston Yuton

Townships McLean County is divided into these townships:

Allin Anchor Arrowsmith Bellflower Bloomington Bloomington City Blue Mound Cheney's Grove Chenoa Cropsey Dale Danvers Dawson Downs Dry Grove Empire Funk's Grove Gridley Hudson Lawndale Lexington Martin Money Creek Mount Hope Normal Old Town Randolph Towanda West White Oak Yates

Ghost towns Allin Benjaminville Kumler

Government McLean County has a twenty-member board representing ten districts within the county. Each district elects two members. Districts 1-3 encompass all of the county outside of Bloomington and Normal. Districts 4-6 are within the town limits of Normal, and districts 7-10 are within Bloomington city limits.

Politics

Like most of central Illinois, McLean County is historically Republican-leaning. The only Democrats to gain an absolute majority of the county's vote before the 21st century have been Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, and Lyndon Johnson by a mere 1.2% in 1964. Woodrow Wilson in 1912 and Illinois resident Barack Obama in 2008 both carried the county by narrow pluralities.

In recent years, however, McLean has trended sufficiently Democratic that Hillary Clinton in 2016 lost the county by just 1.3 percent, while Joe Biden won the county in 2020 with a narrow majority.

Further solidifying the county's leftward shift in the 2020s, Governor J. B. Pritzker won the county by 1.3% in 2022, making it the first time since 1948 it supported a Democrat for governor.

In 2024, Kamala Harris became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win McLean County yet lose the presidential election. The county shifted left by about 1% from 2020 to 2024, despite both Illinois and the country shifting rightward.

McLean County is one of only thirteen counties to have voted for Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020.

Education Here is a list of school districts (all fully K-12) with territory in the county, no matter how slight, even if the district's schools and/or administrative offices are not in the county: - Text list Blue Ridge Community Unit School District 18 Bloomington School District 87 El Paso-Gridley Community Unit School District 11 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Community Unit School District 5 Heyworth Community Unit School District 4 Le Roy Community Unit School District 2 Lexington Community Unit School District 7 McLean County Unit School District 5 Olympia Community Unit School District 16 Prairie Central Community Unit School District 8 Ridgeview Community Unit School District 19 Tri-Valley Community Unit School District 3

Illinois State University is in the county.

Notable persons George J. Mecherle, founder of State Farm Adlai Stevenson II, Governor of Illinois (1949–53), two-time Democratic nominee for the U.S. presidency, and Ambassador to the United Nations (1961–65) Pokey LaFarge, musician and songwriter Bonnie Lou, recording artist and television celebrity William H. Rowe, farmer, businessman, and politician Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, host of popular 1950/60 T.V. program Life is Worth Living and Catholic Archbishop of the Diocese of Rochester, New York

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in McLean County, Illinois

Notes

References

External links

McLean County Government Web Site Map of McLean Co., showing political subdivisions