McLean County is the largest county by land area in the U.S. state of Illinois. 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 with 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 1186 sqmi, of which 1183 sqmi is land and 2.9 sqmi (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 14 °F in January to a high of 86 °F in July, although a record low of -23 °F was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 103 °F was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.71 in in February to 4.52 in in May.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Transit

Demographics

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 143.3 PD/sqmi. There were 69,656 housing units at an average density of 58.9 /sqmi. 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

Town

Villages

Census-designated place

Other unincorporated communities

Townships

McLean County is divided into these townships:

Ghost towns

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. 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: Illinois State University is in the county.

Notable persons