McHenry County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,345. The county seat is Towner, and largest city is Velva.
McHenry County is part of the Minot micropolitan area.
The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with territory annexed from Bottineau County. It was named for James McHenry, an early settler of Vermillion (in present South Dakota). The county government was not organized at that time, nor was the county attached to another county for administrative and judicial purposes. The county organization was effected on October 15, 1884. The county boundaries were altered in 1885, 1887, 1891, and in 1892. It has retained its present boundaries since 1892.
When the county was organized in 1884, Villard was named as county seat. In 1885 this designation was moved to Scriptown. In 1886 the designation was again moved, to Towner, which has remained the seat to the present time (the two former sites are now ghost towns).
The Souris River loops through the county before turning north to its eventual discharge into Lake Winnipeg. The Wintering River drains the southern part of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, partly devoted to agriculture (including limited use of center pivot irrigation). The terrain slopes to the north and east, with its highest point on the west boundary line near the southwest corner, at ASL.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.97%) is water. It is the 8th largest county in North Dakota by total area.
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As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in McHenry County was $151,728.
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 5,345. Of the residents, 23.3% were under the age of 18 and 22.5% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 44.5 years. For every 100 females there were 108.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 106.8 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 94.6% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% from some other race, and 3.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.8% of the population.
There were 2,292 households in the county, of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 18.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,818 housing units, of which 18.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 84.0% were owner-occupied and 16.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 14.8%.
As of the census of 2010, there were 5,395 people, 2,377 households, and 1,527 families in the county. The population density was . There were 2,948 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.8% white, 0.6% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.3% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 55.3% were of German, 39.5% Norwegian, 5.3% English, 3.6% Swedish, 3.5% American, 2.4% Russian and 1.7% Dutch ancestry.
Of the 2,377 households, 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.8% were non-families, and 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age was 46.2 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,944 and the median income for a family was $54,350. Males had a median income of $36,625 versus $26,205 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,911. About 6.4% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.
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McHenry County voters have traditionally voted Republican. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. In 2024, Donald Trump received the highest percentage of the vote for any presidential candidate in McHenry County's history, receiving over 80% of the vote, breaking his own record that he set in 2020.