Work & commute · Owensboro

Work & commute in Owensboro, KY

51% of Owensboro’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Evansville (2%), Bowling Green (2%) and Henderson (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

51%

12,112 of 23,908 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,796 Owensboro residents head out of town to work, 12,112 work right here, and 21,104 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Owensboro.

11,796live here, work elsewhere

12,112live and work here

21,104work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Owensboro goes to work

Owensboro (in town)right here

51%12,112

Evansville, IN27.8 mi away

2%587

Bowling Green65.7 mi away

2%441

Henderson25.8 mi away

2%363

Lexington-Fayette urban county146.3 mi away

1%286

Elizabethtown67.7 mi away

1%225

Madisonville35.8 mi away

1%190

Paducah96.3 mi away

1%180

Anderson, IN15.9 mi away

1%137

Hopkinsville66.4 mi away

1%128

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%9,259

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Owensboro commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

64%

17%

64%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Owensboro is balanced between jobs and homes

1.39jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Owensboro are

33,216 jobs are based in Owensboro. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Owensboro’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Owensboro

33,216 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Owensboro residents hold

23,908 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−0%

Jobs based in Owensboro, 2013 → 2023: 33,356 → 33,216. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.