Owensboro and Daviess County experienced a population growth of 4.8% and 6.4%, respectively, over the last 10 years according to United States Census results for 2020. Owensboro reported 60,183 residents Daviess County reported 103,312 — numbers local officials were pleased to see.
Mayor Tom Watson said he’s excited that the city is growing.
“We love to grow one person at a time, and I want people to come to the finest town in Kentucky,” Watson said.
Judge-Executive Al Mattingly said that seeing growth is always good and he is glad Daviess County reported one of the highest populations among the counties west of I-65.
For City Manager Nate Pagan, the new number is the product of slow, steady and sustained growth that is happening in Western Kentucky. Owensboro is still the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Louisville/Jefferson County metro, Lexington-Fayette urban county, and Bowling Green.
When comparing the growth of Owensboro to Bowling Green — which reported a 19.6% growth to reach a population of 72,294 — Pagan noted that Bowling Green has nearly twice the land while Owensboro reports nearly twice the population density.
President and CEO of Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation Brittaney Johnson said the growth is also a testament to the community collaboration that has happened in the last 10 years, among other things. Johnson said the information will go forward to helping GOEDC determine the future funding for the community, infrastructure projects, schools and more.
President/CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Candance Brake said that the growth can be attributed to several intentional factors including downtown’s placemaking.
“Any time we see an increase in population we should celebrate, particularly since we know we are bucking national trends,” Brake said. “Communities our size around the country are losing population.”
For a full breakdown of the census numbers and demographics for Owensboro and Daviess County, click here.
