Owensboro, KY, Kentucky: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+34%. Democratic peak: D+34 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+34MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 112,7622024 5-year
- Median household income
- $68,0022024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+34 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+34 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Owensboro, KY, KYOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 16,662 | 34,283 | 51,731 | ||
| R | 18,360 | 34,658 | 54,069 | ||
| R | 15,151 | 32,288 | 50,373 | ||
| R | 17,640 | 27,797 | 46,287 | ||
| R | 21,245 | 26,078 | 48,044 | ||
| R | 17,611 | 27,956 | 45,918 | ||
| R | 15,873 | 23,580 | 40,262 | ||
| R | 17,200 | 17,212 | 38,525 | ||
| D | 18,815 | 16,291 | 41,058 | ||
| R | 17,084 | 19,185 | 36,556 | ||
| R | 15,264 | 21,437 | 36,968 | ||
| D | 17,049 | 16,140 | 34,427 | ||
| D | 16,460 | 14,038 | 31,047 | ||
| R | 9,359 | 19,532 | 29,786 | ||
| R | 11,320 | 11,483 | 28,982 | ||
| D | 17,829 | 9,523 | 27,510 | ||
| R | 11,562 | 15,654 | 27,216 | ||
| R | 8,639 | 13,377 | 22,243 | ||
| R | 9,483 | 12,253 | 21,773 | ||
| D | 10,786 | 5,985 | 16,999 | ||
| D | 10,365 | 7,887 | 18,352 | ||
| D | 12,053 | 7,331 | 19,443 | ||
| D | 12,453 | 5,974 | 19,226 | ||
| D | 13,298 | 6,471 | 19,909 | ||
| R | 9,060 | 11,304 | 20,390 | ||
| D | 10,400 | 9,127 | 19,836 | ||
| D | 12,423 | 9,992 | 22,580 | ||
| D | 6,985 | 5,517 | 12,666 | ||
| D | 5,618 | 2,328 | 10,360 | ||
| D | 6,648 | 5,241 | 12,195 | ||
| D | 6,090 | 4,544 | 11,041 | ||
| D | 6,373 | 5,082 | 11,741 | ||
| D | 6,341 | 4,040 | 10,727 | ||
| D | 4,300 | 2,172 | 8,590 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
15.6%
American
14.0%
Irish
10.5%
German
10.1%
Scottish
2.3%
Italian
1.4%
French
1.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 39.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$68,002
Owensboro, KY ranks near the middle of US counties.
Owensboro, KY$68,002
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.3%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1818.0%
Working age (18–64)13.0%
Seniors (65+)14.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.2%
speak English only
Spanish3.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.5%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Other languages0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 34.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Owensboro anchors a mid-sized metro where manufacturing and health-care employment shape the electorate. Republican presidential candidates have carried Daviess County by double-digit margins in every cycle since 2000.
The Democratic margin in Owensboro, KY peaked at thirty-four points in 1932. By 1996 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-four points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $68,002 sits well below state and national norms, and 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Owensboro, KY, Kentucky — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/36980/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Owensboro, KY, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Owensboro, KY, Kentucky voted Republican by 34.1 points (R+34), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 51,731 votes cast, 16,662 went Democratic and 34,283 went Republican.
What is Owensboro, KY, Kentucky's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Owensboro, KY, Kentucky as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 16 times, and other 0 times.
When did Owensboro, KY, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Owensboro, KY, Kentucky voted Democratic was 1992.
How many people live in Owensboro, KY, Kentucky?
Owensboro, KY, Kentucky has a population of 112,762 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Owensboro, KY, Kentucky?
Median household income in Owensboro, KY, Kentucky is $68,002 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Owensboro, KY, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Owensboro, KY, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.