A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that Owensboro, Daviess County and the local metropolitan area are still growing slowly in the first half of the decade.
Bowling Green is seeing rapid growth.
And Henderson, Madisonville and Paducah are all losing people.
“We are thrilled to see that we are experiencing incremental population growth, when communities like ours around the U.S. are losing population,” Candance Castlen Brake, president of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, said about the report. “So this reversal of trend is a success for Greater Owensboro.”
She said, “Young people around the region enjoy the big city amenities that Owensboro offers. And our four-year colleges have students every year who graduate and want to build their homes and careers here. These young people have trailing parents who find that Owensboro is a place where they can retire with a quality of life and lower cost of living that other areas in the Commonwealth and our nation.”
Brake said, “This is overall positive news and shows us we need to continue to create opportunities for people to live, work and play. If we keep up the work, then we will keep succeeding.”
Claude Bacon, president of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp., said, “In economic development, how we grow is just as important as how fast we grow.”
He said, “Every new resident is a vote of confidence in our community and a positive economic indicator. It means more talent for our workforce, more support for our local businesses, and a stronger foundation for the future.”
Bacon said, “We’re grateful for the new and lifelong residents who choose to make Greater Owensboro their home.”
The report found that Owensboro grew from 60,249 in 2024 to 60,394 last year.
Daviess County grew from 103,315 five years ago to 104,457.
And the Owensboro metropolitan area — Daviess, McLean and Hancock counties — grew from 112,465 to 113,583.
At the same time, Bowling Green grew from 72,313 in 2020 to 79,076 last year.
Warren County grew from 134,561 to 147,936.
And the Bowling Green metro grew from 179,638 to 195,159.
But at the same time, Henderson dropped from 28,200 in 2020 to 27,734 last year.
And Henderson County went from 44,792 to 44,175.
Madisonville had 19,647 people at the start of the decade and 19,497 last year.
Hopkins County went from 45,415 people to 45,218 during that period.
And Paducah fell from 27,130 to 26,712.
McCracken County saw its population decline from 67,877 to 67,550 during those years.
The state’s largest cities continued their growth.
Louisville grew from 631,890 to 640,796 and Lexington from 322,566 to 324,624.
By Keith Lawrence Messenger Inquirer