ZIP code
42303
in Owensboro, KentuckyPopulation 42,119
44.87/ 100
Ranked #22,550 of 32,066 US ZIPs (bottom 30%)
Ranked #148 of 742 Kentucky ZIPs (top 20%)
Ranked #9 of 13 Owensboro, KY ZIPs (bottom 31%)
Ranks are modeled estimates — ZIPs a few hundred places apart are effectively tied.
Some domains have limited local data — read this Score as directional
What defines this ZIP
Metrics where this ZIP sits in the tails of the national distribution — the ones that most set it apart. Select any tile for its definition and methodology.
Industrial-pollution burden
in the top 0.7% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST99thUS99thDefinition & source ›
The EPA’s modeled screening score for industrial chemical releases, weighting the amounts released by their toxicity and how many people live nearby — a relative comparison score, not a measured exposure.
Full methodology ›Expected annual disaster loss
$0
in the top 2.7% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST99thUS97thDefinition & source ›
FEMA’s modeled estimate, in dollars per year, of the average harm to people expected from natural hazards — an annualized average, not a forecast for any single year.
Full methodology ›Natural-disaster risk
in the top 4.4% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST98thUS96thDefinition & source ›
This area’s national rank on its single highest non-flood natural hazard — such as wildfire, tornado, or earthquake — in FEMA’s modeled National Risk Index; flooding is shown separately.
Full methodology ›Physician access
2.3 per 1,000 residents
in the top 5.8% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST97thUS94thDefinition & source ›
The number of physicians’ offices located inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.
Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.
Full methodology ›PFOA in drinking water
92.6%
in the top 7.6% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST94thUS92ndDefinition & source ›
The share of residents served by public water systems where PFOA, one of the man-made “forever chemicals,” was detected in EPA testing.
Measured from EPA records for the public water systems that serve this ZIP. Households on private wells — roughly 30% of the US population — are not covered by this measure, and this figure says nothing about their water.
Full methodology ›Subsidized affordable housing
315 units
in the top 7.8% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST97thUS92ndDefinition & source ›
The number of affordable rental units in this ZIP supported by the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
Full methodology ›Outer-floodplain exposure
3.3%
in the top 10.2% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST96thUS90thDefinition & source ›
The share of this ZIP’s land area inside FEMA’s 0.2%-annual-chance flood band — the “500-year” zone, a lower but real 1-in-500 yearly chance.
Measured from FEMA’s mapped flood panels. Where a panel has not been mapped, no value is published for that ZIP — those ZIPs are absent from this comparison rather than counted as unexposed.
Full methodology ›Child-care access
0.48 per 1,000 residents
in the top 11.7% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST93rdUS88thDefinition & source ›
The number of child day-care services inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.
Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.
Full methodology ›Floodplain exposure
23.9%
in the top 13.9% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST91stUS86thDefinition & source ›
The share of this ZIP’s land area inside FEMA’s 1%-annual-chance floodplain — the “100-year” flood zone, where flooding has about a 1-in-100 chance in any given year.
Measured from FEMA’s mapped flood panels. Where a panel has not been mapped, no value is published for that ZIP — those ZIPs are absent from this comparison rather than counted as unexposed.
Full methodology ›Distance to a Superfund site
4.3 mi
in the bottom 19% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST5thUS19thDefinition & source ›
The distance in miles from this ZIP’s edge to the nearest Superfund site — an abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous-waste site the EPA has listed for cleanup.
Full methodology ›The read
Working only from the data in hand, ZIP 42303, one of several in Owensboro, Kentucky lands in the bottom 30% nationally (22,550th) and the top 20% of Kentucky (148th), based on limited data; treat as directional.
What little the measures show is worth setting out plainly: distance to an emergency room sits at the national minimum, shared with about 11% of ZIPs. Physicians rests in the top 5.8% nationally, and subsidized affordable housing is in the top 7.8% nationally. Distance to a community health center stands at the national minimum, shared with about 23% of ZIPs. Outpatient settles in the top 11.5% nationally. On the other hand, modeled industrial-pollution burden lies in the top 0.7% nationally, expected annual loss resides in the top 2.7% nationally, and disaster risk lands in the top 4.4% nationally. PFOA in drinking water registers in the top 7.6% nationally, and outer-floodplain exposure sits in the top 10.2% nationally.
Weighed against the ZIPs nearby, industrial-pollution burden runs far higher than the surrounding ZIPs on this measure. To translate a couple of terms, industrial-pollution burden is the EPA's modeled screening score weighting industrial chemical releases by their toxicity and how many people live nearby. Expected annual loss is FEMA's modeled estimate, in dollars, of average yearly harm to people from natural hazards. Disaster risk is the area's national rank on its highest non-flood peril in FEMA's modeled Risk Index, like wildfire or quake. Overall, the nearest healthier neighbor is ZIP 42366, just across the boundary.
What’s driving this score
Nine domains make up the ZipVitals Score — here is how this ZIP does on each, and how much each one counts.
Compared with the ZIP codes measured across all nine scoring domains — not with all US ZIP codes.
Lifting this score
Social Need / SDOH
healthier than 65%
19%
Preventive CarePartial
healthier than 61%
15%
Healthcare Access
in the top 0.00%
6%
Holding it back
Environmental Hazard
healthier than 3%
16%
Climate / Disaster Risk
healthier than 22%
6%
Not placed: Chronic Disease Burden and Risk Behavior — too little of each is measured here to compare reliably. They still count toward the score (together 38% of it); we just will not publish a standing we cannot stand behind.
No data: Mental Health and Disability — not measured in this ZIP, so it is left out of the score entirely rather than estimated.
Lifting this score
Social Need / SDOH
in the top 0.00%
19%
Preventive CarePartial
in the top 0.00%
15%
Healthcare Access
in the top 0.00%
6%
Holding it back
Environmental Hazard
in the bottom 0.00%
16%
Climate / Disaster Risk
in the bottom 0.00%
6%
Not placed: Chronic Disease Burden and Risk Behavior — too little of each is measured here to compare reliably. They still count toward the score (together 38% of it); we just will not publish a standing we cannot stand behind.
No data: Mental Health and Disability — not measured in this ZIP, so it is left out of the score entirely rather than estimated.
“Share” is how much of this ZIP’s score the domain accounts for. Percentages are rounded; higher is healthier in every domain. How the score works, and who it compares you with ›
Findings that name this ZIP
One of our published findings lists this ZIP code. Each finding compares one published measure against a stated benchmark, and names only the ZIP codes whose estimates are reliable enough to rank. See all surprising findings.
Below what income predicts
The ZIP codes that outlive their incomes
Estimated life expectancy is 76.4 ± 0.8 years. A median household income of $64,773 predicts 78.4 years — 2.0 years below.
Ranked #2,645 of the 5,842 ZIP codes this finding names, ordered by years above what income predicts, highest first.
Nearby & similar ZIPs
Editorially selected — see how this ZIP compares to nearby and similar places.
Nearby
42301
Kentuckyshares a border
Score 43.23
Closest healthier
42366
Kentuckyshares a border
Score 52.42
Similar health profile
47150
Indiana94% similar profile
Score 45.20
How these were chosen: only ZIPs with a published Score appear — a nearby ZIP with too little data to score won’t. Nearby means closest by distance between ZIP boundaries, which can cross state lines. A similar health profile is a close match across the nine Score domains, not similar demographics. Distances are measured between ZIP boundaries — ZIPs that touch share a border. How distance is measured
Evidence
Every measure this page draws on, by source. Collapsed by default — the full data stays in the page for search engines either way.
Health OutcomesCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years | 17.4% | 14.4–20.9 |
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years | 67.8% | 63.1–72.3 |
| Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults | 60.8% | 57.2–64.4 |
| Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years | 76.7% | 69.5–82.9 |
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Short sleep duration among adults | 37.5% | 31.8–43.5 |
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | KY median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poverty rate | 17.9% | 10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,364 | 17.1% (4.6–39.2%) n=747 |
| Uninsured 18–64 | 8.1% | 9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,286 | 6.9% (0.0–16.5%) n=741 |
| No HS diploma (25+) | 9.4% | 7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,505 | 13.7% (3.8–29.1%) n=748 |
| Bachelor's or higher (25+) | 27.0% | 23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,505 | 14.8% (1.5–33.6%) n=748 |
| Unemployment rate (16+) | 4.1% | 3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,274 | 3.8% (0.0–11.2%) n=733 |
| Households without a vehicle | 6.6% | 3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,322 | 4.6% (0.0–15.0%) n=745 |
| Broadband subscription | 91.3% | 89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,322 | 86.7% (71.5–97.1%) n=745 |
| Housing cost burden (≥30% income) | 24.4% | 23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,322 | 20.9% (6.2–34.7%) n=745 |
| Homeownership rate | 65.8% | 78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,322 | 78.0% (58.2–96.7%) n=745 |
| Crowded housing (>1 per room) | 4.0% | 1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,322 | 0.7% (0.0–4.8%) n=745 |
| Foreign-born population | 3.6% | 2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,553 | 0.3% (0.0–5.4%) n=749 |
| Single-parent households | 52.4% | 53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,087 | 52.0% (34.7–75.0%) n=738 |
| Population 65+ | 19.7% | 19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,553 | 18.2% (9.6–29.6%) n=749 |
| Median age | 39.9 yr | 42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,292 | 41.8 yr (32.3–53.9) n=738 |
| Median household income | $64,773 | $72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318 | $57,097 ($34,611–$87,693) n=645 |
| Median home value | $198,200 | $222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049 | $144,600 ($66,860–$265,120) n=643 |
| Median gross rent | $979 | $1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670 | $821 ($592–$1,170) n=466 |
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | KY median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 76.4 yr ± 0.43 | 78.9 yr (74.7–82.8) n=31,308 | 74.8 yr (71.5–78.1) n=739 |
About the ± — it’s this estimate’s give-or-take (statisticians call it the standard error). The true life expectancy for this ZIP most likely falls within 0.43 years of 76.4, and it’s very unlikely to be off by more than twice that.
More ZIPs to explore ▾More ZIPs to explore ▴
How these lists were built: they draw only from ZIPs that have a published Score, so ZIPs with too little data to score are not listed. Distance-based lists use distance between ZIP boundaries with no state filter, so an out-of-state ZIP can appear. Statistically similar means a close match across the nine Score domains, not a demographic match: the measure is the cosine similarity between two ZIPs’ domain scores, taken over the domains both ZIPs have data for and only where that overlap covers at least six of the nine — and where no ZIP clears that minimum-overlap floor, that list is left out rather than filled with a weak match. How distance is measured