Vanderburgh County, Indiana

Vanderburgh County
County
The Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°01′N 87°35′W
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Founded	January 7, 1818
Named for	Henry Vanderburgh
Seat	Evansville
Largest city	Evansville
Area
• Total	236.33 sq mi (612.1 km2)
• Land	233.48 sq mi (604.7 km2)
• Water	2.86 sq mi (7.4 km2)  1.21%
Population  (2020)
• Total	180,136
• Estimate  (2023)	179,810
• Density	760/sq mi (290/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th
Website	www.vanderburghgov.org
Indiana county number 82 Eighth-largest county in Indiana by population as of 2020 Eighth-smallest county in Indiana by area

Vanderburgh County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 180,136. The county seat is in Evansville. While Vanderburgh County was the eighth-largest county in 2020 population in Indiana, it is also the eighth-smallest county in area and the smallest in southwestern Indiana, covering only 236 square miles (610 km²). Vanderburgh County forms the core of the Evansville metropolitan statistical area.

History

Vanderburgh County was formed on January 7, 1818, from Gibson, Posey, and Warrick counties. It was named for Captain Henry Vanderburgh, Revolutionary War veteran and judge for the Indiana Territory.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has an area of 236.33 square miles (612.1 km²), of which 233.48 square miles (604.7 km²) (or 98.79%) is land and 2.86 square miles (7.4 km²) (or 1.21%) is water.

Regional

• Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area
• Southwestern Indiana

Adjacent counties

Gibson County – north Posey County – west Henderson County, Kentucky – south Warrick County – east

Cities and towns

Darmstadt Evansville

Census-designated places

Highland Melody Hill

Unincorporated towns

Armstrong Belknap Country Club Meadows Crossroads Cypress Daylight

Earle Elliott Erskine Station Harwood Hillsdale Inglefield

Kasson Knob Hill Kratzville Lakewood Hills Martin McCutchanville

Mechanicsville Mud Center Nisbet Rahm Red Bank Saint Joseph

Saint Wendel Smythe Stacer Stringtown Vaughan

Townships

(2000 population)

Armstrong (1,651) Center (32,220)

German (7,354) Knight (67,941)

Perry (23,687) Pigeon (33,682)

Scott (5,445) Union (392)

Major highways

I-64 I-69 US 41

SR 57 SR 62 SR 65 SR 66

Climate and weather

Evansville, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.1     42 25     3.3     48 29     4.5     59 37     4.5     70 46     4.8     79 55     4.2     87 64     4.1     91 69     3.1     90 67     3.2     83 60     3     72 48     4.3     58 39     3.7     46 29 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     80     6 −4     83     9 −2     114     15 3     115     21 8     121     26 13     107     31 18     104     33 21     79     32 19     81     28 16     75     22 9     109     14 4     93     8 −2 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Evansville have ranged from a low of 25 °F (−4 °C) in January to a high of 91 °F (33 °C) in July, although a record low of −17 °F (−27 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 109 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.96 inches (75 mm) in October to 4.78 inches (121 mm) in May.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code.

County council: The county council is the fiscal branch of the county government that has the legislative responsibilities for the spending and revenue collection in the county. Four representatives are elected from county districts and three are elected at-large by the entire county. The council members serve four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council also has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes.

Board of commissioners: The executive body of the county is made of a board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected county-wide but must live within the district of the seat they hold, in staggered terms, and each serves a four-year term. One of the commissioners, typically the most senior, serves as president. The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.

Court: The county has eight state trial courts of original jurisdiction. One circuit court and seven superior courts. The judges offices are non-partisan with terms of six years. A judge must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judges are assisted by magistrates that are appointed. circuit court.

County officials: The county has several other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk. Each of these elected officers serves a term of four years and oversees a different part of county government. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and to be residents of the county.

United States presidential election results for Vanderburgh County, Indiana

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	41,056	55.61%	31,727	42.97%	1,046	1.42%
2020	41,844	53.88%	34,415	44.31%	1,403	1.81%
2016	40,496	55.19%	28,530	38.88%	4,349	5.93%
2012	39,389	54.26%	31,725	43.71%	1,474	2.03%
2008	37,512	48.15%	39,423	50.60%	978	1.26%
2004	41,463	58.68%	28,767	40.72%	424	0.60%
2000	35,846	54.13%	29,222	44.13%	1,153	1.74%
1996	28,509	43.22%	30,934	46.90%	6,518	9.88%
1992	30,271	39.39%	33,799	43.99%	12,770	16.62%
1988	38,928	55.25%	31,270	44.38%	255	0.36%
1984	40,994	56.68%	31,049	42.93%	287	0.40%
1980	36,248	51.07%	29,930	42.17%	4,804	6.77%
1976	37,975	51.87%	34,911	47.69%	325	0.44%
1972	48,806	68.32%	22,163	31.02%	468	0.66%
1968	38,231	49.28%	31,326	40.38%	8,020	10.34%
1964	27,231	37.10%	45,796	62.39%	380	0.52%
1960	41,068	52.90%	36,330	46.80%	237	0.31%
1956	42,462	57.68%	30,860	41.92%	297	0.40%
1952	42,010	58.20%	29,718	41.17%	459	0.64%
1948	27,584	45.25%	32,640	53.55%	732	1.20%
1944	30,684	46.87%	34,440	52.61%	338	0.52%
1940	28,417	42.25%	38,567	57.33%	283	0.42%
1936	14,725	25.79%	41,490	72.68%	870	1.52%
1932	16,873	33.91%	31,828	63.97%	1,051	2.11%
1928	29,067	59.44%	19,646	40.17%	192	0.39%
1924	25,907	55.29%	17,186	36.68%	3,763	8.03%
1920	19,357	52.39%	13,904	37.63%	3,685	9.97%
1916	9,966	47.52%	10,028	47.81%	979	4.67%
1912	4,839	27.37%	7,219	40.83%	5,624	31.81%
1908	9,116	49.43%	8,033	43.56%	1,294	7.02%
1904	8,624	51.65%	5,885	35.25%	2,187	13.10%
1900	8,228	51.59%	7,178	45.00%	544	3.41%
1896	8,068	52.74%	7,132	46.62%	97	0.63%
1892	6,175	48.52%	6,166	48.45%	386	3.03%
1888	6,027	50.23%	5,889	49.08%	82	0.68%

See also: Government of Indiana

Vanderburgh County is generally a Republican-leaning swing county in presidential elections. Only two Democratic candidates - George McGovern in 1972 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 - have failed to win 40 percent of the county's vote since 1928. The city of Evansville itself is a swing city; it voted for Donald Trump in 2016 by 4 points, and four years later for Joe Biden, also by 4 points. In 2020, former Evansville mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel (a Democrat) carried the county in his bid for the office of Attorney General but lost statewide.

The county is located in the 8th congressional district, which was notoriously dubbed "The Bloody Eighth" because of its tendency to oust incumbents from both parties - since 1933, no Congressman has represented the district longer than 12 years in a row.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	1,798		—
1830	2,611		45.2%
1840	6,250		139.4%
1850	11,414		82.6%
1860	20,552		80.1%
1870	33,145		61.3%
1880	42,193		27.3%
1890	59,809		41.8%
1900	71,769		20.0%
1910	77,438		7.9%
1920	92,293		19.2%
1930	113,320		22.8%
1940	130,783		15.4%
1950	160,422		22.7%
1960	165,794		3.3%
1970	168,772		1.8%
1980	167,515		−0.7%
1990	165,058		−1.5%
2000	171,922		4.2%
2010	179,703		4.5%
2020	180,136		0.2%
2023 (est.)	179,810		−0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 179,703 people, 74,454 households, and 45,118 families residing in the county. The population density was 769.7 inhabitants per square mile (297.2/km²). There were 83,003 housing units at an average density of 355.5 per square mile (137.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.2% white, 9.1% black or African American, 1.1% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.0% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.3% were German, 18.3% were American, 11.7% were Irish, and 9.4% were English.

Of the 74,454 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.4% were non-families, and 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 37.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $57,076. Males had a median income of $42,663 versus $31,037 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,945. About 10.7% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.4% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The entire county is in the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Vanderburgh County, Indiana

External links

• Media related to Vanderburgh County, Indiana at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Vanderburgh County website