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 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.

History Evidence of Native American settlement in the area dates back 12,000 years. Following a series of failed uprisings with British support, however, the last Shawnee were forced to vacate the area before the end of the 18th century.

The first European descendant to settle in Owensboro was frontiersman William Smeathers or Smothers in 1797, for whom the riverfront park is named. The settlement was originally known as "Yellow Banks" from the color of the land beside the Ohio River. In 1817, Yellow Banks was formally established under the name Owensborough, named after Col. Abraham Owen. In 1893, the spelling of the name was shortened to its current Owensboro.

Several distillers, mainly of bourbon whiskey, have been in and around the city of Owensboro. The major distillery still in operation is the Glenmore Distillery Company, now owned by the Sazerac Company. The other distillery, Green River Distilling Company, started in 1885 and is also Owensboro based. It is still in operation today.

On August 14, 1936, downtown Owensboro was the site of the last public hanging in the United States. A 26 year old African American man, Rainey Bethea, was convicted and sentenced for the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lischa Edwards. The public execution, attended by a large crowd including children and many reporters, took place 37 days after the crime. The execution was presided over by a female sheriff, Florence Shoemaker Thompson, who gained national media attention for her role in the process, although she declined to spring the trap. Vendors sold hot dogs, and the crowd began tearing at his clothes and body for souvenirs, even before he was pronounced dead. The Kentucky General Assembly abolished public executions after the incident.

Manufacturing

As of 1903, Owensboro was home to several stemmeries. Pinkerton Tobacco produced Red Man (now America's Best Chew) chewing tobacco in Owensboro. Swedish Match continues to make America's Best Chew in a plant outside city limits.

The Owensboro Wagon Company, established in 1884, was one of the largest and most influential wagon companies in the nation. With eight styles or sizes of wagons, the company set the standard of quality at the turn of the 20th century.

Frederick A. Ames came to Owensboro from Washington, Pennsylvania, in 1887. He started the Carriage Woodstock Company to repair horse-drawn carriages. In 1910, he began to manufacture a line of automobiles under the Ames brand name. Ames hired industrialist Vincent Bendix in 1912, and the company became the Ames Motor Car Company. Despite its product being called the "best $1500" car by a Texas car dealer, the company ceased production of its own model in 1915. The company then began manufacturing replacement bodies for the more widely sold Ford Model T. In 1922, the company remade itself and started to manufacture furniture under the name Ames Corporation. The company finally sold out to Whitehall Furniture in 1970.

The start of the Kentucky Electrical Lamp Company, a light bulb manufacturing company was in 1899; it eventually was acquired by Kentucky Radio Company (Ken-Rad) in 1918 and later acquired by General Electric in 1945 and in 1987 acquired by MPD, Inc.,Leonard Rex, "The seizure of the Ken-Rad Plant-1944". Daviess County Historical Quarterly, April 1984, pp 27–31 created the light bulbs that illuminated the first night game in the history of Major League Baseball on May 24, 1935, between the Reds and Phillies at Cincinnati's Crosley Field.Suzi Bartholomy, "Thackers mark anniversary of landmark baseball game", Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky. Wednesday, May 26, 2010 The Owensboro plant was a major part of General Electric's vacuum tube manufacturing operations, producing both receiving types and military/industrial ceramic types. In 1961, engineers at the General Electric plant in Owensboro introduced a family of vacuum tubes called the Compactron.

In June 1932, John G. Barnard founded the Modern Welding Company in a small building located near the Ohio River at First and Frederica Streets where the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum is located. Today, Modern Welding Company has nine steel tank and vessel fabrication subsidiaries located throughout the United States, and five welding supply stores located in Kentucky and Indiana. The company is the country's largest supplier of underground and above ground steel storage tanks for flammable and combustible liquids. The company celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2007.

Texas Gas Transmission Corporation was created in 1948 with the merger of Memphis Natural Gas Company and Kentucky Natural Gas Corporation and made its headquarters in Owensboro. Since that time, Texas Gas changed ownership four times. The company was bought by CSX Corp. in 1983, by Transco Energy Corp. in 1989, by Williams in 1995, and by Loews Corporation in 2003.

Geography

Owensboro is located at the crook of a bend in the Ohio River, southeast of Evansville, Indiana.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Owensboro has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.47%, is water.

Climate Owensboro has a humid subtropical climate which is characterized by hot, humid summers and moderately cold winters. Day-to-day temperature differences can be high during the winter. Summers, in comparison, are much more stable. Severe weather, including the threat of tornadoes, is not uncommon throughout much of the year, with several notable events occurring throughout the city's history. One such event occurred on December 9, 1952, when F3 tornado tore directly through the city, injuring three people.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Owensboro had a population of 60,183. The median age was 38.1 years. 23.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 87.5 males age 18 and over.

99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 25,105 households in Owensboro, of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 37.4% were married-couple households, 20.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 26,918 housing units, of which 6.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.9%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number PercentWhite 48,585 80.7%Black or African American 4,254 7.1%American Indian and Alaska Native 166 0.3%Asian 2,128 3.5%Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 51 0.1%Some other race 1,376 2.3%Two or more races 3,623 6.0%Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 2,867 4.8%

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 58,083 people and 23,380 households within the city. The population density was . There were 26,072 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.5% White, 7.3% African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.2% of the population.

There were 23,380 households, out of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,289, and the median income for a family was $41,333. Males had a median income of $33,429 versus $21,457 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,183. About 12.2% of families and 18.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.9% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Metropolitan area According to the 2007 census, the Owensboro Metropolitan Area includes Daviess, Hancock, and McLean counties.

Economy

Top employers

According to Owensboro's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:

# Employer # ofEmployees 1 Owensboro Health4,8622 U.S. Bank Home Mortgage1,4753 Owensboro Public Schools8694 Toyotetsu Mid-America8505 Specialty Foods Group6426 Total Packaging LLC4807 UniFirst 4347 City of Owensboro4349 Sazerac Distilleries42410 Mizkan America Inc.391

Economic activity

In August 2024, Swedish Match announced it will expand its presence in Owensboro creating 450 direct jobs, with a $232 million investment, producing Swedish Match ZYN nicotine pouches, and moving toward a smoke-free future.

In March 2025, Mizkan America announced a $156 million expansion of its food-manufacturing complex, creating 44 jobs. The project adds approximately 320,000 square feet, which will bring the company’s operational space to nearly 1 million square feet.

In July 2026, the City of Owensboro approved the development of the 121-acre Massie Site, intended to create another major industrial site for future corporate development.

In September 2026, Toyotetsu Mid America, announced a $41 million expansion and modernization of its automotive-parts operation, and will retain nearly 640 full-time jobs.

Arts and culture Owensboro was named an All-America City in 2013. Owensboro placed fourth on Area Development's Top 20 Southern Cities, with a 9th-place ranking for its "recession busting factors" among the Top 25 Small Cities.

Religion Owensboro and Daviess County are served by many churches. According to statistics from U.S. Religion Census data from 2020, collected by The Association of Religion Data Archives, approximately 63.9% of the county population is affiliated with a religious organization. Evangelical Protestants make up the largest contingent at 35.1%, with Southern Baptists being the largest single denomination in the county in terms of both number of congregations and adherents. Catholics are the second-largest single denomination in number of adherents, representing 22.1%.

The following is a breakdown of measurably significant 2020 statistics: Evangelical Protestant35.1Catholic22.1Mainline Protestant5.3Latter Day Saints0.5Jehovah's Witnesses0.3Black Protestant0.3Islam0.2Other Christians0.1