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McLean County
McLean County
County
	Historic McLean County Courthouse, now Historical Museum.
	Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
	North Dakota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 47°37′N 101°19′W / 47.61°N 101.32°W
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	March 8, 1883 (created); November 1, 1883 (organized)
Named for	John A. McLean
Seat	Washburn
Largest city	Garrison
Area
• Total	2,328 sq mi (6,030 km2)
• Land	2,111 sq mi (5,470 km2)
• Water	217 sq mi (560 km2) 9.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	9,771
• Estimate (2023)	9,832
• Density	4.2/sq mi (1.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.mcleancountynd.gov

McLean County (/məˈkleɪn/ mə-KLAYN) is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,771.^[1] Its county seat is Washburn.^[2]

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on March 8, 1883, with areas partitioned from Burleigh, Sheridan, and (now-extinct) Stevens counties. The county was named for John A. McLean, the first mayor of Bismarck.^[3] The county organization was completed on November 1 of that year. Its boundaries were altered in 1885, in 1892, and in 1908. It has retained its current configuration since November 3, 1908, when a portion of its previous territory was partitioned to recreate Sheridan County (Sheridan had been dissolved on November 8, 1892, with its territory annexed to McLean).^[4]

Geography

The county's western boundary is delineated by Lake Sakakawea, created in 1956 by construction of Garrison Dam at the county's southwestern edge. The southwestern boundary of the county is delineated by the Missouri River as it continues its southeastward flow from the lake. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in its eastern portion. The area is largely devoted to agriculture.^[5] The terrain slopes to the south and east, with its highest point on the north boundary line near its NW corner, at 2,201 ft (671 m) ASL.^[6] The county has a total area of 2,328 square miles (6,030 km²), of which 2,111 square miles (5,470 km²) is land and 217 square miles (560 km²) (9.3%) is water.^[7] It is the third-largest county in North Dakota by land area and second-largest by total area.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Ward County - north
McHenry County - northeast
Sheridan County - east
Burleigh County - southeast
Oliver County - south
Mercer County - southwest
Dunn County - west
Mountrail County - northwest

Protected areas^[5]

Audubon National Wildlife Refuge
Camp Lake National Wildlife Refuge
De Trobriand State Game Management Area
Douglas Creek Public Use Area
Hiddenwood National Wildlife Refuge
Lake Nettie National Wildlife Refuge
Lake Otis National Wildlife Refuge
Lake Susie National Wildlife Refuge
Lost Lake National Wildlife Refuge
McLean National Wildlife Refuge
Riverdale State Game Management Area
Totten Trail Park
Wilton Mine State Game Management Area (part)

Lakes^[5]

Blackwater Lake
Blue Lake
Brumwell Slough
Camp Lake
Cherry Lake (part)
Cottonwood Lake
Crooked Lake
Lake Audubon
Lake Brekken
Lake Holmes
Lake Margaret
Lake Nettie
Lake Ordway
Lake Williams
Lost Lake
Minehan Slough
Nelson Lake
Otis Lake
Painted Woods Lake
Pelican Lake
Peterson Lake
Postel Lake (part)
Strawberry Lake
Turtle Lake
Wildwood Lake
Yanktonal Lake

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	860		—
1900	4,791		457.1%
1910	14,496		202.6%
1920	17,266		19.1%
1930	17,991		4.2%
1940	16,082		−10.6%
1950	18,824		17.1%
1960	14,030		−25.5%
1970	11,251		−19.8%
1980	12,383		10.1%
1990	10,457		−15.6%
2000	9,311		−11.0%
2010	8,962		−3.7%
2020	9,771		9.0%
2023 (est.)	9,832	^[8]	0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[9] 1790-1960^[10] 1900-1990^[11] 1990-2000^[12] 2010-2020^[1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 9,771 people, 4,129 households, and 2,712 families in the county.^[13] The population density was 4.6 inhabitants per square mile (1.8/km²) There were 5,728 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 8,962 people, 3,897 households, and 2,600 families residing in the county. The population density was 4.25 people per square mile (1.64 people/km²). There were 5,590 housing units at an average density of 2.65 units per square mile (1.02/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.0% white, 7.0% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 54.4% were German, 24.6% were Norwegian, 6.5% were Irish, 5.6% were Swedish, 5.1% were English, and 3.6% were American.

Of the 3,897 households, 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.3% were non-families, and 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age was 49.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,922 and the median income for a family was $62,686. Males had a median income of $48,906 versus $29,431 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,029. About 6.5% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

White Shield

Unincorporated communities^[5]

Falkirk
Merida
Raub
Roseglen

Townships

Amundsville
Andrews
Aurena
Blackwater
Blue Hill
Butte
Byersville
Cremerville
Deepwater
Dogden
Douglas
Gate
Greatstone
Horseshoe Valley
Lake Williams
Longfellow
Loquemont
Malcolm
McGinnis
Medicine Hill
Mercer
Otis
Roseglen
Rosemont
Saint Mary
Snow
Turtle Lake
Victoria
Wise

Communities flooded by Garrison Dam

Beaver Creek
Charging Eagle
Elbowoods
Independence
Lucky Mound
Nishu
Red Butte (Mandan community)
Shell Creek

Politics

McLean County voters have voted Republican for decades. In only one national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).

United States presidential election results for McLean County, North Dakota^[14]^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	4,231	78.05%	1,093	20.16%	97	1.79%
2020	4,198	75.83%	1,230	22.22%	108	1.95%
2016	3,860	72.62%	1,081	20.34%	374	7.04%
2012	3,141	63.61%	1,670	33.82%	127	2.57%
2008	2,767	58.42%	1,867	39.42%	102	2.15%
2004	3,014	63.45%	1,664	35.03%	72	1.52%
2000	2,891	62.23%	1,465	31.53%	290	6.24%
1996	1,988	45.39%	1,759	40.16%	633	14.45%
1992	2,124	40.05%	1,808	34.09%	1,371	25.85%
1988	2,906	53.85%	2,428	45.00%	62	1.15%
1984	3,673	62.82%	2,062	35.27%	112	1.92%
1980	4,234	67.79%	1,613	25.82%	399	6.39%
1976	2,729	48.17%	2,815	49.69%	121	2.14%
1972	3,575	66.23%	1,703	31.55%	120	2.22%
1968	2,764	54.95%	2,050	40.76%	216	4.29%
1964	2,204	39.73%	3,339	60.19%	4	0.07%
1960	3,398	55.05%	2,771	44.89%	4	0.06%
1956	3,653	58.17%	2,609	41.54%	18	0.29%
1952	5,184	68.62%	2,295	30.38%	76	1.01%
1948	2,762	50.10%	2,283	41.41%	468	8.49%
1944	2,822	53.37%	2,326	43.99%	140	2.65%
1940	4,113	58.99%	2,666	38.24%	193	2.77%
1936	1,732	25.24%	4,018	58.55%	1,112	16.21%
1932	1,369	23.92%	4,354	76.08%	0	0.00%
1928	2,730	47.51%	2,855	49.69%	161	2.80%
1924	1,651	36.02%	194	4.23%	2,738	59.74%
1920	3,724	74.23%	748	14.91%	545	10.86%
1916	1,054	41.64%	1,210	47.81%	267	10.55%
1912	505	25.63%	583	29.59%	882	44.77%
1908	2,273	67.83%	927	27.66%	151	4.51%
1904	1,928	88.44%	219	10.05%	33	1.51%
1900	587	83.74%	110	15.69%	4	0.57%

Education

School districts include:^[16]

Riverdale School District 89 had portions in McLean County and in Mercer County. The Associated Press described the district as "divided equally" between the counties. In 1993 members of the Riverdale School District school board voted to abolish their school district, with the Underwood and Hazen districts to obtain pieces of it.^[17]