Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Owensboro gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $213K for a typical one, or 3.1 years of the Owensboro metro’s $68K median household income. It grades C− overall, 117th among Kentucky's 138 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its police reported 268 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 86% of U.S. towns, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 76% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, it has 25 miles of trail. 51% of working residents work locally in Owensboro, against 15% in Kentucky’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Haphazard and Trinity Episcopal Church. Among 115 Kentucky towns, just 1 have a higher violent crime rate than Owensboro.
Where Owensboro beats most towns.
Trinity Episcopal Church| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Owensboro Community and Technical College | 3,537 |
| Kentucky Wesleyan College | 724 |
| Brescia University | 424 |
Census counts: 229 in 1830, 60,183 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1894 and 3 maps from 1952 on.
31 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Owensboro is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Owensboro, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Owensboro.
Owensboro is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Kentucky rate and has a long record of flood insurance claims.
The trail density in Owensboro is 1.1 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Ben Hawes Park, 552 acres with 13.7 miles of trail.
| Owensboro | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.6% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ben Hawes Park | 13.7 mi | 552 |
| 2. Jack C. Fisher Park | 0.8 mi | 31 |
| 3. Joe Ford Nature Park | 0.7 mi | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Owensboro Independent school district. Three of its 25 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daviess County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 870 | A− |
| Owensboro High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,342 | B |
| Newton Parrish Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 545 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 4.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Kentucky rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D. Reported crimes fell from 2,130 to 1,690 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Owensboro’s property crime rate is 23.4 per 1,000 residents. Owensboro reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 86% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
120 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 120 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Owensboro.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 7,837 U.S. towns with household incomes like Owensboro’s, it is healthier than 56%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. Within Kentucky it is healthier than 55% of the 141 graded towns: much of Kentucky scores lower on these measures.
Owensboro beats the Kentucky average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 13% of adults binge drink in Owensboro.
| Owensboro | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 79% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Owensboro | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.1% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Owensboro has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 25° and about 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 23,908 working residents takes 17.1 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky.
19% of Owensboro residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Evansville (2%), Bowling Green (2%) and Henderson (2%). 6.9% of Owensboro workers work from home.
| Owensboro | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 6.9% | 10% | 11% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 35 to 64 are 34% of residents (38% statewide). 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Kentucky.
| Owensboro | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 24% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 37.5 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 17% | 18% |
51.1% women, 48.9% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.4, men 35.3.
| Owensboro | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.1% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.6% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.1% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.1% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.9% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.1% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.4% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.1% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.7% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.4% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Typical home values rose 4.8% in the year to September 2026.
| Owensboro | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $905 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 44% | 44% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Owensboro
About 5 of every 100 Owensboro residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
6.6% of the town is conserved land, across 23 parks and preserves.
31 places in Owensboro on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Kentucky, United States
Owensboro is a city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about 107 miles (172 km) southwest of Louisville, and is the principal city of the Owensboro metropolitan area. The 2020 census had its population at 60,183. The metropolitan population was estimated at 116,506. The metropolitan area is the sixth largest in the state as of 2018, and the seventh largest population center in the state when including micropolitan areas.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Owensboro.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Owensboro grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #117 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
