Daviess County is a county in Kentucky, United States, in the northwestern part of the state on
the Ohio River, about 35 miles southeast of Evansville, Indiana. It had a population of 103,312 at
the 2020 census, an estimated 104,898 by 2024, and covers 477 square miles (1,240 km2) centred near
37°44′N 87°05′W.
Owensboro is the county seat and the county’s only city of any size; its postal code is 42301.
The county holds 1 city, 1 incorporated town, and roughly 40 census-designated places and
unincorporated communities, and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 21059.
Towns & Villages in Daviess County
Daviess County has no civil townships — Kentucky counties are not subdivided that way —
so every place below is listed against the county as a whole. Owensboro and Whitesville are
incorporated cities with their own governments; the rest are census-designated places (CDP, an
unincorporated area the Census Bureau maps for statistical purposes) or smaller unincorporated
communities with no CDP boundary at all.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owensboro | City · seat | 60,183 | 42301 |
| Whitesville | City | 580 | 42378 |
| Curdsville | CDP | — | — |
| Knottsville | CDP | — | — |
| Maceo | CDP | — | 42355 |
| Masonville | CDP | — | — |
| Moseleyville | CDP | — | — |
| Panther | CDP | — | — |
| Philpot | CDP | — | 42366 |
| Pleasant Ridge | CDP | — | — |
| Saint Joseph | CDP | — | — |
| Sorgho | CDP | — | — |
| Stanley | CDP | — | — |
| Thruston | CDP | — | — |
| Utica | CDP | — | 42376 |
| West Louisville | CDP | — | 42377 |
| Yelvington | CDP | — | — |
| Andersonville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Birk City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Boston | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Browns Valley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Delaware | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dermont | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Doyle | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ensor | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gatewood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Griffith | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Habit | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Handyville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Livia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maple Mount | Unincorp. | — | 42356 |
| Maxwell | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Newman | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Oak Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Oklahoma | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pettit | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Red Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rome | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Scythia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Spice Knob | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sutherland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tuck | Unincorp. | — | — |
Curdsville, Knottsville, Panther, Saint Joseph, Sorgho, Stanley, Thruston, West Louisville and
Yelvington each appeared twice on this page’s old list — a duplicate-scrape artifact, not a
second place of the same name. Each is listed once here. Six names from the old list — Broad
Acres, Brook Hill Estates, Brownwood Manor, Colonial Mobile Estates, Grandview, Hunters Ridge,
Laffoon, Locust Hills, Normandy Heights, Parish, Rose Hill, Snyder, The Downs, Twin Lakes and
Woodcrest — carry no independent record as Daviess County place names and have been dropped.
ZIP Codes
- 42301 — Owensboro (the county’s primary ZIP)
- 42302, 42303, 42304 — Owensboro (additional city and PO box ZIPs)
- 42378 — Whitesville
- 42355 — Maceo
- 42366 — Philpot
- 42376 — Utica
- 42377 — West Louisville (PO box only)
- 42356 — Maple Mount (PO box only)
- 42334 — Curdsville (PO box only)
Knottsville, Masonville, Moseleyville, Panther, Pleasant Ridge, Saint Joseph, Sorgho, Stanley,
Thruston and Yelvington have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under Owensboro’s
or a neighboring community’s code.
Geography
Daviess County lies on the south bank of the Ohio River in Kentucky’s Western Coal Field
region, a stretch of low, gently rolling farmland once mined for coal along Panther Creek. Of its
477 square miles, 458 are land and 18 are water, about 3.8 percent — almost all of it the
Ohio River itself, which forms the county’s entire northern boundary.
Warrick County, Indiana lies to the northwest and Spencer County, Indiana to the northeast,
both across the Ohio River. On the Kentucky side, Hancock County lies to the east, Ohio County to
the southeast, McLean County to the southwest, and Henderson County to the west. Hancock County, Ohio County, McLean County and Henderson County all border
Daviess directly; Warrick and Spencer counties have no page on this site yet.
Demographics
Daviess County had a population of 103,312 at the 2020 census, and the latest Census Bureau
estimate puts it near 104,898. Owensboro and Whitesville are the county’s only two
incorporated places, with Owensboro alone holding well over half the county’s residents.
Population density works out to roughly 226 people per square mile of land, using the 2020 count
against the county’s 458 square miles of land area. Kentucky’s statewide median
household income was $61,118 in the 2023 ACS; county-level income figures for Daviess have not
been updated on the same schedule and are not cited here.
Economy & Local Life
Owensboro Health is the county’s largest employer, with about 4,862 workers, followed by
U.S. Bank Home Mortgage at 1,475, Owensboro Public Schools at 869, Toyotetsu Mid-America at 850 and
Specialty Foods Group at 642. Bourbon distilling shaped the county for more than a century: by the
1880s, 18 large distilleries operated in Daviess County at once, and three remain today. Coal
mining, concentrated around Panther Creek, ran through the early 1990s before winding down.
Owensboro calls itself the “Barbecue Capital of the World,” and the county’s
biggest annual event is the International Bar-B-Q Festival, held every second weekend of May in
downtown Owensboro.
History
The Kentucky General Assembly formed Daviess County on 14 January 1815, carving it out of Ohio
County. It was named for Major Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, a U.S. Attorney killed at the Battle of
Tippecanoe in 1811; the spelling drifted to “Daviess” over time. The county courthouse
burned in January 1865, during the closing months of the Civil War.
Getting There
Interstate 165 runs into Owensboro from the south. US 60, US 231 and US 431 cross the county,
along with Kentucky Routes 54, 56, 81, 144, 298 and 331.
- Evansville, Indiana — about 35 miles northwest
- Henderson, Kentucky — about 30 miles west
- Bowling Green, Kentucky — about 110 miles southeast
- Louisville, Kentucky — about 107 miles east
Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport, on the city’s south side, is the county’s
own commercial airport; Evansville Regional Airport, across the river in Indiana, also serves the
area. Owensboro has no Amtrak passenger rail service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Daviess County located?
It sits in northwestern Kentucky on the Ohio River, about 35 miles southeast of Evansville,
Indiana, bordered by Hancock, Ohio, McLean and Henderson counties in Kentucky and Warrick and
Spencer counties across the river in Indiana.
What is the population of Daviess County?
103,312 at the 2020 census, with a recent Census Bureau estimate near 104,898.
How big is Daviess County?
477 square miles (1,240 km2), of which 458 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Daviess County?
Owensboro, formed as the county seat since Daviess County’s creation in 1815.
How many towns are in Daviess County?
Two incorporated cities — Owensboro and Whitesville — plus about 40 census-designated
places and smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes does Daviess County use?
42301 through 42304 for Owensboro, 42378 for Whitesville, and separate codes for Maceo (42355),
Philpot (42366), Utica (42376), West Louisville (42377), Maple Mount (42356) and Curdsville
(42334).
What is Daviess County known for?
Bourbon distilling history and the International Bar-B-Q Festival each May, which backs
Owensboro’s claim as the “Barbecue Capital of the World.”
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Kentucky.