Official Federal Data
McLean County, Illinois
FIPS 17113 · Bloomington, IL · Population 171,556
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$79,905 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.9%
Unemployment
4% national
$16.9B ▲
GDP
47.2% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$79,905 ▲
Per Capita
$43,372 ▲
Mean Household
$105,003 ▲
Poverty Rate
12.9% ▼
Median Income Comparison
McLean County$79,905
Illinois$83,390
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 21.2%
18-34 · 29.6%
35-54 · 23.4%
55-64 · 11.2%
65+ · 14.6%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
95.9%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +6.3 pts
47.2%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +11.5 pts
16.2%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +2.1 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
171,556
Population
90,392
Labor Force
Employed
87,569
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.9%
Mean Commute 8 min below national avg
18.3 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
17.5%
Key Takeaways
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 11.5 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
- Young population: Median age of 34 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Finance and Insurance employs 17,023 workers (26.3% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $116,974.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $16.9B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $116,974 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $25,948, a 4.5x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
Seeing a change here?
Get Deeper Trends
EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.
Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Finance & Insurance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
15,647
Cluster Employment
10.79x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
10.79x 15,647
Printing and Related Support Activities
1.72x 330
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.18x
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
61 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Insurance Carriers and Related Activities concentrates at 10.79x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$208,400 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,009 ▲
Rent/Mo
65.1% ▲
Owner-Occ
6.8% ▼
Vacancy
2.6x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$927/mo
1 Bedroom
$999/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,302/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,717/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,724/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,998/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.6x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,998/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
110,161 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 8 min below national avg
18.3 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
17.5%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
86%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
47.2% ▲
HS Diploma+
95.9% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
57,734/yr
15,945/yr
11,893/yr
9,399/yr
8,607/yr
5,976/yr
5,914/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
17.4%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
47.2%
Service
15.3%
Sales & Office
21.3%
Construction / Maint.
5.9%
Production / Transport
10.3%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 87,569 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 18.3-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 37,237 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
McLean County shows strong potential for insurance carriers and related activities attraction, with a 10.79x concentration and 15,647 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
Take it further
AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.
Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.
Schedule a DemoAvailable as premium offerings.
Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for McLean County, Illinois, from federal data sources.
What is the population of McLean County, Illinois?
171,556 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in McLean County, Illinois?
$79,905 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in McLean County, Illinois?
3.9% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of McLean County, Illinois?
$16.9B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
McLean County, IL: Public data. Imagine the full platform.
Get a Demo →