Photo: Smallbones · Public domainOwensboro has lower household incomes than 79% of U.S. towns
18.9% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 16.1% for Kentucky as a whole. The two grades for Owensboro are C for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About half stay in Owensboro for work; outside it, Evansville is the main destination (3%, 28 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Owensboro, in a few figures
Commutes from Owensboro are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kentucky worker. Time on the road ↓
Owensboro draws workers from far and wide
The 33,889 jobs in Owensboro are filled from a wide area. Owensboro’s own residents hold 36% and the ten next-biggest home towns 9%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Why Owensboro gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Owensboro is better than 28% of U.S. towns, #84 of 142 in Kentucky. Job access by car holds Owensboro’s grade up (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Owensboro could be anywhere from C− to C+.
About 17 minutes to work from Owensboro
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Owensboro workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 24,592 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where Owensboro goes to work
Where Owensboro clocks in
3% of workers
2% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
How many people are in Owensboro by day
On a workday 12,044 residents head out to work, 12,042 work right here, and 21,847 people come in from elsewhere.
About 71,000 people are in Owensboro on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Jobs in Owensboro: what the 33,889 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Owensboro, 2014 → 2024: 33,898 → 33,889. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Owensboro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Owensboro’s commute, mile by mile
About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Driving is how Owensboro gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Owensboro is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #43 of 142 in Kentucky. Both inputs place Owensboro near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 26,401 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.8% of Owensboro households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Owensboro’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Owensboro is 636th of 712 U.S. towns of 43,000 to 82,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 634 | Logan UT | 55,576 | $61K | 22.3% | 2.6% | 33% | C |
| 635 | Lake Havasu City AZ | 59,358 | $70K | 14.1% | 5.0% | 51% | C |
| 636 | Owensboro KY | 60,892 | $56K | 18.9% | 5.3% | 50% | C |
| 637 | Kingsport TN | 57,530 | $52K | 20.7% | 4.9% | 40% | C |
| 638 | Poinciana FL | 75,068 | $68K | 14.9% | 6.3% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 661 | Bowling Green KY | 78,505 | $49K | 25.6% | 4.9% | 55% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 712 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Owensboro, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
Owensboro and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Owensboro workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owensboro | – | C | B+ | 17 min | $56,357 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Owensboro’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Owensboro: questions
What is the median household income in Owensboro?
$56,357 (±$4,775) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Owensboro?
18.9%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Owensboro?
17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Owensboro work?
50% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Evansville (3%, 28 mi), Bowling Green (2%, 66 mi), Henderson (2%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Owensboro walkable?
Owensboro is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Owensboro without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Owensboro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Owensboro
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.