Henderson County, Kentucky

Henderson County is a county in Kentucky, United States, on the south bank of the Ohio River across from Evansville, Indiana. It had a population of 44,793 at the 2020 census and covers 466 square miles (1,210 km2) centred near 37°48′N 87°34′W.

Henderson is the county seat, and its postal code is 42420. The county has three incorporated cities, three census-designated places and a scatter of unincorporated communities, and it lies in the Central time zone.

Towns & Villages in Henderson County

Henderson County has three incorporated cities — Henderson, Corydon and Robards — plus census-designated places (CDPs) that show up in Census Bureau data without their own city government, and a long list of rural unincorporated communities that are place names on the map rather than municipalities. The table below covers all of them.

Audubon Mill Park and the Audubon area sit inside Henderson city limits rather than as a separate community, so it is not listed on its own line.

ZIP Codes

• 42420 — Henderson (covers most of the county’s population)
• 42406 — Corydon
• 42452 — Robards
• 42451 — Reed
• 42458 — Spottsville
• 42402 — Baskett (PO Box delivery)
• 42457 — Smith Mills (PO Box delivery)
• 42419 — Henderson (PO Box delivery)

Anthoston, Poole and the smaller unincorporated communities are served by the Henderson or Corydon post offices rather than carrying a ZIP of their own.

Geography

Henderson County sits in the West Kentucky Coal Field along the Ohio River, which forms most of its northern border with Indiana (a stretch of county land actually sits north of the river). The terrain is a mix of river bottomland along the Ohio and Green Rivers and gently rolling upland farmland further south. The county covers 466 square miles, of which 30 square miles — 6.4 percent — is water.

It borders three Indiana counties across the Ohio River — Posey County to the northwest, Vanderburgh County to the north and Warrick County to the northeast — and four Kentucky counties on land: Daviess County to the east, McLean County to the southeast, Webster County to the south and Union County to the west.

Demographics

Henderson County had a population of 44,793 at the 2020 census, with a density of roughly 103 people per square mile of land area. Henderson, the seat, is by far the largest community; Corydon and Robards are the county’s other two incorporated cities. Median household income in the county runs below the Kentucky median of $61,118, reflecting a rural county with a smaller share of white-collar employment than the state’s metro counties.

Economy & Local Life

Henderson County was historically a dark-fired tobacco county, and by the late 1800s Henderson had grown into the largest dark-tobacco market in the world. Today the local economy is anchored by manufacturing and logistics tied to the Ohio River and the Evansville, Indiana metro area just across the water, alongside agriculture (corn, soybeans and grain) on the county’s upland farmland. Downtown Henderson, with its riverfront park system, is the county’s commercial and cultural center.

History

Henderson County was organized in 1798 and named for Richard Henderson, a North Carolina judge and land speculator who purchased roughly 17,000,000 acres of Cherokee and Shawnee territory in the 1775 Transylvania Purchase, a portion of which became the county. The area around the future city of Henderson was first known as Red Banks before the town and county took Henderson’s name. The county’s location on the Ohio River later made it a major dark-tobacco shipping point and, from the 1930s, a stop associated with naturalist and painter John James Audubon, for whom the state park just outside Henderson is named.

Getting There

U.S. Route 41 and U.S. Route 60 cross the county and meet at Henderson, with US-41 running north over the Ohio River into Evansville, Indiana. The Pennyrile Parkway (KY 9007) also reaches Henderson from the south.

• Evansville, Indiana — 10 miles north, across the Ohio River
• Owensboro, Kentucky — 30 miles east
• Madisonville, Kentucky — 30 miles south
• Morganfield, Kentucky — 25 miles west

The nearest commercial airport is Evansville Regional Airport (EVV), just across the river in Indiana.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Henderson County, Kentucky?
It sits in western Kentucky on the south bank of the Ohio River, directly across from Evansville, Indiana.

What is the population of Henderson County?
44,793 at the 2020 census.

How big is Henderson County?
466 square miles (1,210 km2), of which 30 square miles is water.

What is the county seat of Henderson County?
Henderson is the county seat.

How many towns and cities are in Henderson County?
Three incorporated cities — Henderson, Corydon and Robards — plus three census-designated places and about two dozen unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes are in Henderson County?
42420 (Henderson), 42406 (Corydon), 42452 (Robards), 42451 (Reed), 42458 (Spottsville), plus PO Box-only codes 42402, 42419 and 42457.

Why is it called Henderson County?
It is named for Richard Henderson, who purchased a large tract of Cherokee and Shawnee land in the 1775 Transylvania Purchase that included the future county.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Kentucky.