{"id":4117,"date":"2023-06-15T15:37:17","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T15:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=4117"},"modified":"2026-08-16T19:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T19:08:29","slug":"mclean-county-kentucky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/mclean-county-kentucky\/","title":{"rendered":"McLean County, Kentucky"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>McLean County is a county in Kentucky, United States, in the Western Coal Fields region along the Green River. It had a population of 9,152 at the 2020 census and covers 256 square miles (660 km2) centred near 37\u00b032\u2032N 87\u00b016\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Calhoun is the county seat, and its postal code is 42327. The county has four incorporated cities &mdash; Calhoun, Island, Livermore and Sacramento &mdash; plus more than twenty unincorporated communities. McLean County observes Central time and is a dry county, prohibiting the retail sale of alcohol.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in McLean County<\/h2>\n<p>McLean County has 4 incorporated cities and roughly two dozen unincorporated communities scattered along the Green River and its tributaries. Livermore is the county&#8217;s largest city; Calhoun is the seat of government. The table below lists every place carried forward from the county&#8217;s settlement record, with type, 2020 census population where verified, and ZIP code where confirmed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Beech Grove<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>42322<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Buttonsberry<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Calhoun<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>725<\/td>\n<td>42327<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cleopatra<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Comer<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Congleton<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Elba<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Glenville<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Guffie<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Island<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>42350<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Johnson Island<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lemon<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Livermore<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>42352<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mount Vernon<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Nuckols<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Poplar Grove<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Poverty<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Quinn Landing<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rangers Landing<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Reeves<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rumsey<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>42371<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sacramento<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>42372<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Semiway<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Station<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tichenor<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Underwood<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Wrightsburg<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Wyman<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>42327 &mdash; Calhoun (also serves Buttonsberry, Congleton and Poverty)<\/li>\n<li>42350 &mdash; Island<\/li>\n<li>42352 &mdash; Livermore (also serves Comer and Wyman)<\/li>\n<li>42371 &mdash; Rumsey (also serves Quinn Landing and Rangers Landing)<\/li>\n<li>42372 &mdash; Sacramento (also serves Elba and Semiway)<\/li>\n<li>42322 &mdash; Beech Grove<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The remaining small communities share a ZIP with their nearest post-office town rather than carrying one of their own.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>McLean County sits in Kentucky&#8217;s Western Coal Fields region and is bisected southeast to northwest by the Green River, which is navigable through the county with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lock-and-dam infrastructure supporting barge and boat traffic. The terrain is a mix of river bottomland along the Green and rolling upland farm and timber country away from it.<\/p>\n<p>McLean County borders <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/henderson-county-kentucky\/\">Henderson County<\/a> to the northwest, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/daviess-county-kentucky\/\">Daviess County<\/a> to the northeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/ohio-county-kentucky\/\">Ohio County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/muhlenberg-county\/\">Muhlenberg County<\/a> to the south, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/hopkins-county\/\">Hopkins County<\/a> to the southwest, and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/webster-county-kentucky\/\">Webster County<\/a> to the west.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>McLean County had 9,152 residents at the 2020 census. Calhoun, the county seat, is the largest incorporated city by verified count (725 residents), with Livermore recognized locally as the county&#8217;s biggest city overall. Kentucky&#8217;s median household income was $61,118 (2023 ACS); McLean County&#8217;s rural, river-bottom economy runs below that state figure. Population density works out to roughly 36 people per square mile across the county&#8217;s 252 square miles of land.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Agriculture &mdash; corn, soybeans and grain along the Green River bottoms &mdash; and coal-adjacent and river-barge industry have long anchored the county&#8217;s economy, alongside employment tied to the nearby Owensboro metropolitan area. McLean is a dry county: no retail alcohol sales are permitted within its borders, a distinction that shapes local commerce and draws some trade to wet counties nearby.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>McLean County was formed on February 6, 1854, from parts of Daviess, Ohio and Muhlenberg counties. It is named for Judge Alney McLean, who founded the town of Greenville in neighboring Muhlenberg County and served in the Kentucky legislature and as a judge. The Green River corridor made river commerce, and later the lock-and-dam system, central to the county&#8217;s early development, with Livermore and Calhoun growing as river towns.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>Kentucky Routes 81, 85 and 431 are the main roads through McLean County, connecting Calhoun and Livermore to the wider Owensboro-Green River region.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Owensboro &mdash; about 25 miles northeast<\/li>\n<li>Madisonville &mdash; about 20 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Henderson &mdash; about 30 miles west<\/li>\n<li>Central City &mdash; about 20 miles southeast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is McLean County, Kentucky?<\/strong><br \/>It is in Kentucky&#8217;s Western Coal Fields region, in the west-central part of the state, along the Green River and part of the Owensboro metropolitan area.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of McLean County?<\/strong><br \/>9,152 residents at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is McLean County?<\/strong><br \/>256 square miles (660 km2) total, of which 252 square miles is land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of McLean County?<\/strong><br \/>Calhoun is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in McLean County?<\/strong><br \/>Four incorporated cities &mdash; Calhoun, Island, Livermore and Sacramento &mdash; plus more than twenty unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in McLean County?<\/strong><br \/>Calhoun (42327), Island (42350), Livermore (42352), Rumsey (42371) and Sacramento (42372) each have their own post office.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is McLean County a dry county?<\/strong><br \/>Yes. McLean County prohibits retail alcohol sales, one of Kentucky&#8217;s dry counties.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/kentucky\/\">Towns and villages in Kentucky<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>McLean County is a county in Kentucky, United States, in the Western Coal Fields region along the Green River. It had a population of 9,152 at the 2020 census and covers 256 square miles (660 km2) centred near 37\u00b032\u2032N 87\u00b016\u2032W. Calhoun is the county seat, and its postal code is 42327. The county has four [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in McLean County, Kentucky","_seopress_titles_desc":"McLean County, Kentucky: population, towns, ZIP codes, geography and history for Calhoun, Livermore, Island and Sacramento.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-4117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-kentucky","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4117"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10302,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions\/10302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}