McHenry County, Illinois
McHenry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 Census, it had a population of 310,229,[2] making it the sixth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Woodstock.[3] McHenry County is one of the five Illinois collar counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. Long known as a center of recreation along with agriculture in the western portion, it has recently experienced rapid rates of suburbanization, exurbanization and urbanization, but the western segment of the county remains primarily agricultural and rural.
Not to be confused with Henry County, Illinois.
McHenry County
United States
January 16, 1836 [1]
611 sq mi (1,580 km2)
603 sq mi (1,560 km2)
7.6 sq mi (20 km2) 1.3%
310,229
312,800 
510/sq mi (200/km2)
McHenry County at the time of its creation in 1836
Medical facilities[edit]
Hospitals currently in the county include Mercy Harvard Hospital, Centegra Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry, Centegra Memorial Medical Center in Woodstock, and Centegra's Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital. Amita (formerly Presence) and Advocate health systems also maintain a strong influence in the county, and have hospitals in nearby Elgin and Barrington. On September 1, 2018, Centegra was acquired by Northwestern Medicine of Chicagonois. Prior to its acquisition by Northwestern Medicine, Centegra was the largest independent employer in McHenry County. It is now part of a netwwith of more than 10 hospitals and 400 care locations.
Media[edit]
McHenry County is entirely within the scope of the Chicago media market and the majority of the county relies primarily on Chicago television stations, radio stations, and newspapers for the source of its news and information. Certain sections of the county, particularly the rural far northern and far western parts, are also within the scope of the Milwaukee and Rockford media markets, respectively.
The county has an FM radio station, WZSR (Star 105.5 FM), which plays mostly adult contemporary and pop music. WZSR is based out of Crystal Lake.
The Northwest Herald, with a circulation of approximately 21,000,[32] is the county's primary newspaper, serving the greater McHenry County area, and printed and published in Crystal Lake.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner, launched in 2012 by Sam Borcia, is a local digital newspaper which covers McHenry County and nearby Lake County, Illinois.[33]
The county is also served by the larger Chicago newspapers Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and the suburban-focused newspaper The Daily Herald.
McHenry County Living, a bimonthly lifestyle magazine serving the county, reaches tens of thousands of area residents and businesses.