McLean County, North Dakota: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+58%. Republican peak: R+78 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+58MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 9,8232024 5-year
- Median household income
- $83,5832024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 88.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+52 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+78 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Sherman County, OR · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of McLean CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for McLean County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −62.8% |
| 1896 | −22.2% |
| 1900 | −68.0% |
| 1904 | −78.4% |
| 1908 | −40.2% |
| 1912 | +4.0% |
| 1916 | +6.2% |
| 1920 | −59.3% |
| 1924 | −31.8% |
| 1928 | +2.2% |
| 1932 | +52.2% |
| 1936 | +33.3% |
| 1940 | −20.8% |
| 1944 | −9.4% |
| 1948 | −8.7% |
| 1952 | −38.2% |
| 1956 | −16.6% |
| 1960 | −10.2% |
| 1964 | +20.5% |
| 1968 | −14.2% |
| 1972 | −34.7% |
| 1976 | +1.5% |
| 1980 | −42.0% |
| 1984 | −27.6% |
| 1988 | −8.9% |
| 1992 | −6.0% |
| 1996 | −5.2% |
| 2000 | −30.7% |
| 2004 | −28.4% |
| 2008 | −19.0% |
| 2012 | −29.8% |
| 2016 | −52.3% |
| 2020 | −53.6% |
| 2024 | −57.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,093 | 4,231 | 5,421 | ||
| R | 1,230 | 4,198 | 5,536 | ||
| R | 1,081 | 3,860 | 5,315 | ||
| R | 1,670 | 3,141 | 4,938 | ||
| R | 1,867 | 2,767 | 4,736 | ||
| R | 1,664 | 3,014 | 4,750 | ||
| R | 1,465 | 2,891 | 4,646 | ||
| R | 1,759 | 1,988 | 4,380 | ||
| R | 1,808 | 2,124 | 5,303 | ||
| R | 2,428 | 2,906 | 5,396 | ||
| R | 2,062 | 3,673 | 5,847 | ||
| R | 1,613 | 4,234 | 6,246 | ||
| D | 2,815 | 2,729 | 5,665 | ||
| R | 1,703 | 3,575 | 5,398 | ||
| R | 2,050 | 2,764 | 5,030 | ||
| D | 3,339 | 2,204 | 5,547 | ||
| R | 2,771 | 3,398 | 6,173 | ||
| R | 2,609 | 3,653 | 6,280 | ||
| R | 2,295 | 5,184 | 7,555 | ||
| R | 2,283 | 2,762 | 5,513 | ||
| R | 2,326 | 2,822 | 5,288 | ||
| R | 2,666 | 4,113 | 6,972 | ||
| D | 4,018 | 1,732 | 6,862 | ||
| D | 4,354 | 1,369 | 5,723 | ||
| D | 2,855 | 2,730 | 5,746 | ||
| O | 194 | 1,651 | 4,583 | ||
| R | 748 | 3,724 | 5,017 | ||
| D | 1,210 | 1,054 | 2,531 | ||
| O | 583 | 505 | 1,970 | ||
| R | 927 | 2,273 | 3,351 | ||
| R | 219 | 1,928 | 2,180 | ||
| R | 110 | 587 | 701 | ||
| R | 79 | 124 | 203 | ||
| R | 0 | 115 | 183 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
34.2%
Irish
4.3%
English
3.5%
American
3.5%
French
1.7%
Polish
0.7%
Scottish
0.6%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 47.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$83,583
McLean County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
McLean County$83,583
North Dakota$76,657
United States$80,734
McLean County ranks in the top 25% of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
8.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 188.1%
Working age (18–64)8.6%
Seniors (65+)13.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.0%
speak English only
Spanish1.3%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 42.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
McLean County's sparse, agriculture-driven population anchors one of the widest Republican presidential margins in a state already dominated by rural red-column voting, with the 2024 gap exceeding 57 points.
The Democratic margin here peaked at fifty-two points in 1932. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-eight points.
A population of 9,823, a 89% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $83,583 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Sherman County and McHenry County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
McLean County, North Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/38055/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in North Dakota
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did McLean County, North Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, McLean County, North Dakota voted Republican by 57.9 points (R+58), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 5,421 votes cast, 1,093 went Democratic and 4,231 went Republican.
What is McLean County, North Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places McLean County, North Dakota in the "Heartland Swing" typology — Industrial Midwest swing counties drifting steadily toward the Republican Party. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 6 times, Republican 26 times, and other 2 times.
When did McLean County, North Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which McLean County, North Dakota voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in McLean County, North Dakota?
McLean County, North Dakota has a population of 9,823 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in McLean County, North Dakota?
Median household income in McLean County, North Dakota is $83,583 — above the national median of $80,734. The North Dakota state median is $76,657.
What is the political history of McLean County, North Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in McLean County, North Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.