9,845 people (2024 Census estimate, +0.8% since 2020)
2,110 square miles of land · 5 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
12 active community water systems list McLean County in the area they serve, reporting 9,165 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| GARRISON RURAL WATER DISTRICT buys surface water · private · ND2801430 | 1,805 served |
| MCLEAN-SHERIDAN WATER DISTRICT-SYSTEM 1 groundwater · private · ND2801400 | 1,800 served |
| GARRISON CITY OF surface water · local government · ND2800389 | 1,453 served |
| WASHBURN CITY OF surface water · local government · ND2800989 | 1,246 served |
| UNDERWOOD CITY OF buys surface water · local government · ND2800953 | 778 served |
| TURTLE LAKE CITY OF buys groundwater · local government · ND2800949 | 581 served |
| MCLEAN-SHERIDAN WATER DISTRICT-SYSTEM 3 buys surface water · local government · ND2801487 | 400 served |
| MCLEAN-SHERIDAN WATER DISTRICT-SYSTEM 2 buys surface water · private · ND2801696 | 390 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 30 people were held in McLean County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 533 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 26.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
7 school districts have their office in McLean County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $6.6 million — $6.1 million to run schools, about $15,606 per student, plus $371,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.1 million local (mostly property tax), $3 million state, $514,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.1 million.
Spent $6.3 million — $5.8 million to run schools, about $17,221 per student, plus $516,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.4 million local (mostly property tax), $3 million state, $530,000 federal.
Spent $4.4 million — $4 million to run schools, about $14,356 per student, plus $248,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.7 million local (mostly property tax), $2.6 million state, $401,000 federal.
Spent $4.2 million — $3.7 million to run schools, about $16,625 per student, plus $102,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.7 million local (mostly property tax), $2.1 million state, $440,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2 million.
Spent $2.6 million — $2.3 million to run schools, about $12,383 per student, plus $266,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $388,000 local (mostly property tax), $2.3 million state, $235,000 federal.
Spent $3.5 million — $3.1 million to run schools, about $17,766 per student, plus $272,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.8 million local (mostly property tax), $1.7 million state, $303,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1.1 million.
Spent $3.5 million — $3.1 million to run schools, about $20,071 per student, plus $253,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.3 million local (mostly property tax), $1.9 million state, $448,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1.4 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost McLean County about $16.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
58 bridges in McLean County: 23 in good condition, 33 fair, and 2 poor (3.4%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| COUNTY ROAD over CREEK · built 1966 | 50 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD over CREEK · built 1960 | 25 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $4.6 million of work in McLean County in fiscal 2025, about $469 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for North Dakota are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for McLean County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have McLean County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Dakota: the state government and every county in North Dakota.
Nearby counties: Mercer County (31 mi) · Oliver County (37 mi) · Ward County (39 mi) · Sheridan County (51 mi) · McHenry County (54 mi) · Mountrail County (58 mi).