McLean County is a county in Illinois, United States, home to Illinois State University and the headquarters of State Farm Insurance. It had a population of 170,954 at the 2020 census and covers 1,186 square miles (3,070 km2) — the largest county by land area in Illinois — centred near 40°29′N 88°51′W.
Bloomington is the county seat; its postal code is 61701. The county holds 5 incorporated cities, one incorporated town (Normal), and more than a dozen villages and unincorporated communities, spread across 30 civil townships. McLean County sits in the Central time zone and carries FIPS code 17113.
Towns & Villages in McLean County
McLean County has around 20 named cities, towns and villages, most clustered along I-55, I-74 and I-39 outside the twin-city core of Bloomington-Normal. The table below marks the county seat and Normal’s status as an incorporated town rather than a city; population figures are the 2020 census count where confirmed, otherwise —.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington | City · seat | Bloomington | 78,680 | 61701 |
| Normal | Town | Normal | 52,736 | 61761 |
| Le Roy | City | — | — | 61752 |
| Chenoa | City | Chenoa | 1,720 | 61726 |
| Lexington | City | Lexington | — | 61753 |
| Heyworth | Village | — | — | 61745 |
| Downs | Village | Downs | 1,201 | 61736 |
| Colfax | Village | — | 996 | 61728 |
| Gridley | Village | Gridley | — | 61744 |
| Hudson | Village | Hudson | — | 61748 |
| Danvers | Village | Danvers | 1,089 | 61732 |
| Carlock | Village | — | 548 | 61725 |
| Stanford | Village | — | — | 61774 |
| Towanda | Village | Towanda | — | 61776 |
| Saybrook | Village | — | — | 61770 |
| McLean | Village | — | — | 61754 |
| Ellsworth | Village | — | — | 61737 |
| Bellflower | Village | Bellflower | 346 | 61724 |
| Arrowsmith | Village | Arrowsmith | 276 | 61722 |
| Anchor | Village | Anchor | 163 | 61720 |
| Cooksville | Village | — | 157 | 61730 |
| Shirley | Unincorp. | — | — | 61772 |
| Cropsey | Unincorp. | Cropsey | — | 61731 |
| Merna | Unincorp. | — | — | 61758 |
| Funks Grove | Unincorp. | Funk’s Grove | — | — |
El Paso, a city usually associated with neighboring Woodford County, has a small portion of its municipal boundary inside McLean County; because its post office and the bulk of its population sit in Woodford County, it is not listed in the table above. The county’s plat maps also show several long-gone rail-siding names — Brokaw, Kumler, Padua, Weedman and Yuton among them — that never incorporated and are not carried over here.
Townships
Illinois counties are divided into civil townships, and McLean County has 30 of them — more than any other Illinois county, matching its status as the state’s largest by land area. Individual township population counts from the 2020 census were not confirmed for this page; the table lists each township with the incorporated place, if any, that anchors it.
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Allin | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Anchor | — | Anchor |
| Arrowsmith | — | Arrowsmith |
| Bellflower | — | Bellflower |
| Bloomington | — | Bloomington |
| Blue Mound | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Cheney’s Grove | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Chenoa | — | Chenoa |
| Cropsey | — | Cropsey |
| Dale | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Danvers | — | Danvers |
| Dawson | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Downs | — | Downs |
| Dry Grove | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Empire | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Funk’s Grove | — | Funks Grove |
| Gridley | — | Gridley |
| Hudson | — | Hudson |
| Lawndale | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Lexington | — | Lexington |
| Martin | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Money Creek | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Mount Hope | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Normal | — | Normal |
| Old Town | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Randolph | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Towanda | — | Towanda |
| West | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| White Oak | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Yates | — | rural, no incorporated place |
ZIP Codes
- 61701, 61704, 61705 — Bloomington
- 61761 — Normal
- 61752 — Le Roy
- 61753 — Lexington
- 61726 — Chenoa
- 61745 — Heyworth
- 61736 — Downs
- 61728 — Colfax
- 61744 — Gridley
- 61748 — Hudson
- 61732 — Danvers
- 61725 — Carlock
- 61774 — Stanford
- 61776 — Towanda
- 61770 — Saybrook
- 61754 — McLean
- 61737 — Ellsworth
- 61724 — Bellflower
- 61722 — Arrowsmith
- 61720 — Anchor
- 61730 — Cooksville
- 61772 — Shirley
- 61731 — Cropsey
- 61758 — Merna (PO box only)
A handful of rural crossroads — Brokaw, Kumler, Padua and Funks Grove among them — have no ZIP of their own and use the code of the nearest post office town listed above.
Geography
McLean County sits on the gently rolling prairie of central Illinois, drained by Money Creek, the Mackinaw River in the north and Sugar Creek in the south. Farmland — mostly corn and soybeans — covers the great majority of the county’s 1,183 square miles of land, broken by remnant timber groves such as Funk’s Grove, one of the largest surviving stands of native prairie grove in the state.
The county borders Woodford County to the northwest, Livingston County to the northeast, Ford County to the east, Champaign County and Piatt County to the southeast and south, DeWitt County to the south, Logan County to the southwest, and Tazewell County to the west. Livingston County’s own townsvillages.com page currently covers the New York county of the same name rather than its Illinois namesake, so it is named here without a link.
Demographics
The 2020 census counted 170,954 residents, giving a density of roughly 145 people per square mile of land. Bloomington (78,680) and Normal (52,736) together hold more than three-quarters of the county’s population; the balance is spread across the smaller cities, villages and farm townships. County-level median household income was not independently verified for this page; the statewide Illinois median household income was $80,306 (2023 ACS) for comparison.
Economy & Local Life
Bloomington-Normal’s economy centres on insurance, higher education and manufacturing. State Farm Insurance, headquartered in Bloomington, is the county’s largest employer. Illinois State University in Normal and Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington anchor the twin cities as a regional education and healthcare hub, alongside Advocate BroMenn Medical Center and Carle BroMenn Medical Center. Outside the metro core, McLean County’s rural townships remain some of the most productive corn and soybean farmland in Illinois. The McLean County Fair, held each summer, is a longstanding local event.
History
McLean County was organised on December 25, 1830, carved from Tazewell County, and named for John McLean, a U.S. senator from Illinois who died the same year. Bloomington was platted soon after and became the county seat; Blooming Grove, settled around 1821, was the area’s first white settlement. Abraham Lincoln practiced law in Bloomington while riding the Eighth Judicial Circuit, and delivered his “Lost Speech” there in 1856 at the founding convention of the Illinois Republican Party. The David Davis Mansion in Bloomington, home of the U.S. Supreme Court justice and Lincoln associate, is preserved as a state historic site.
Getting There
Interstates 55, 39 and 74 all cross McLean County and meet near Bloomington-Normal, making the county a major central Illinois travel hub; US routes 24, 51, 136 and 150 also pass through.
- Peoria — 40 miles northwest
- Champaign-Urbana — 50 miles southeast
- Springfield — 65 miles southwest
- Chicago — 130 miles north
Central Illinois Regional Airport (BMI) sits within Bloomington itself, offering commercial service; Amtrak’s Chicago-to-St. Louis Lincoln Service also stops in downtown Bloomington.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is McLean County?
It is in central Illinois, about 130 miles southwest of Chicago, anchored by the twin cities of Bloomington and Normal.
What is the population of McLean County?
170,954 at the 2020 census.
How big is McLean County?
1,186 square miles (3,070 km2) — the largest county by land area in Illinois.
What is the McLean County seat?
Bloomington is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in McLean County?
Around 20 incorporated cities, towns and villages, plus several unincorporated communities, across 30 civil townships.
What ZIP codes are in McLean County?
Main codes include 61701 and 61704 (Bloomington), 61761 (Normal), 61752 (Le Roy) and 61726 (Chenoa); see the ZIP Codes section above for the full list.
Why is McLean County significant beyond farming?
It is home to State Farm Insurance’s headquarters and two universities, Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University, making Bloomington-Normal one of central Illinois’s largest employment and education centres.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Illinois.