county

McHenry County, IL

Demographic and economic profile of McHenry County, IL, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

McHenry County is a largely residential, owner-occupied suburban county of 315,959 people northwest of Chicago, with an 82.7% homeownership rate and a median home value of $286,900 against a median household income of $104,802—among the higher income levels in the region. The labor force participation rate stands at 69.9%, with 35.2% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $50,502, alongside a 4.7% unemployment rate. Population grew modestly at 1.2% over five years, the poverty rate is low at 6.1%, and a mean commute of 30.6 minutes reflects the county's orientation toward employment centers outside its borders.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

315,959

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$104,802

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.2% since 2018

McHenry County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone248,630 (79.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race24,860 (8.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone14,344 (4.6%)
  • Asian Alone9,760 (3.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races9,010 (2.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone4,755 (1.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish29,580
  2. 2.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic5,488
  3. 3.Other Indo-European3,722
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)2,046
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic1,301

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

61.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

15.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

9.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

13,409

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$38,148

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$48,275

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

6.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance34,312
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)25,605
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)20,177
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services18,777
  5. 5.Construction (Group)13,064

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations70,010
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations35,336
  3. 3.Service Occupations23,808
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations22,049
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations15,235

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.57×)25,874
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.41×)5,404
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.17×)13,434
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.15×)20,687
  5. 5.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.01×)11,234

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$286,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,358/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

82.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,99926,575 (27.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99914,459 (14.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,99914,206 (14.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,99913,960 (14.4%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9997,485 (7.7%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9995,799 (6.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

35.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

69.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$50,502

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

30.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone119,406 (72.9%)
  • Worked At Home26,352 (16.1%)
  • Carpooled12,685 (7.7%)
  • Public Transit2,185 (1.3%)
  • Walked1,774 (1.1%)
  • Other972 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.