Gibson County area

Gibson County, Indiana covers 499.3 square miles: 487.4 square miles of land and 11.9 square miles of water. Its county seat is Princeton. An estimated 33,091 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 180512026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area487.4 mi²
Water area11.9 mi²
Population (2025)33,091
People per mi²68

County outline

Generalized outline of Gibson County, Indiana
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Gibson County is located

Gibson County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 97.6% of Gibson County’s measured area and water for 2.4%. Its combined area converts to 1,293.2 square kilometers or approximately 319,555 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land487.3781,262.303311,921.9
Water11.92730.8917,633.3
Total499.3051,293.194319,555.2

How Gibson County compares

By original Census land area, Gibson County ranks #13 of 92 in Indiana and #2133 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 1.229 times the Indiana county-equivalent median of 396.4 square miles. It accounts for 1.4% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Indiana ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Gibson County

The Census Bureau estimates that 33,091 people lived in Gibson County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,406 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #52 of 92 in Indiana. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 33,020, the population has grown by 71 (+0.2%), compared with +2.8% for Indiana as a whole.

With 487.4 square miles of land, that is 68 people per square mile (26 per km²), placing Gibson County #1,280 nationally for density and #61 in Indiana. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Indiana median is 88. Put another way, there are about 9.4 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate33,05932,96132,97332,90132,99833,091
Change—−98+12−72+97+93

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Gibson County

10 incorporated places lie at least partly in Gibson County. Together they are home to 18,493 people (55.9%); the other 14,598 (44.1%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Princeton city, with 8,524 residents in the county. Among places with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Princeton city grew fastest since then (+2.7%).

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Princeton cityCounty seat8,524+2.7%5.475
Fort Branch town2,936−1%1.088
Oakland City city2,274−0.6%1.129
Haubstadt town1,610−1.5%0.713
Owensville town1,332+0.1%0.569
Patoka town706+0.4%1.192
Francisco town539−0.2%0.61
Somerville town2490%0.357
Hazleton town196−1%0.346
Mackey town127−2.3%0.091

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Gibson County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Gibson County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.

ZIP codes

16 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Gibson County; 12 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

47612476134761647619476334763947640476484764947654476604766547666476704768347725

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Gibson County

Gibson County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents, including 2 in Illinois. It has more land than 5 of them. The largest neighbor is Knox County (515.8 mi²) and the smallest is Wabash County (223.3 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Gibson County forms a block of 3,083.3 mi² of land, of which it holds 15.8%.

Map of Gibson County and the 7 county equivalents that border it Pike County, Indiana: 334.4 mi² landWabash County, Illinois: 223.3 mi² landKnox County, Indiana: 515.8 mi² landPosey County, Indiana: 409.4 mi² landVanderburgh County, Indiana: 233.4 mi² landWarrick County, Indiana: 384.6 mi² landWhite County, Illinois: 495 mi² land
Gibson County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. GibsonCompare
Knox County515.81.1× largerCompare
White CountyIllinois495about the sameCompare
Posey County409.41.2× smallerCompare
Warrick County384.61.3× smallerCompare
Pike County334.41.5× smallerCompare
Vanderburgh County233.42.1× smallerCompare
Wabash CountyIllinois223.32.2× smallerCompare

How big is Gibson County compared with U.S. states?

Gibson County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 2.1 times as much. Indiana’s county land could hold about 74 areas the size of Gibson County.

Land area: Gibson County and the closest-sized states
Gibson County487.4 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 22.1 miles (35.5 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Gibson County?

Gibson County has more land than 1,089 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Gibson County487.4 mi²
Indiana median396.4 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Gibson County at #2,186 nationally by total area, 53 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 2.4%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 1.2 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Gibson County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#2132Claiborne County, Mississippi487.4Compare
#2133Gibson County, Indiana487.4This county
#2134Barren County, Kentucky487.4Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 38.317398, -87.580523. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,262,302,968 m²; AWATER: 30,891,640 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Gibson County?

Gibson County, Indiana has 487.4 square miles (1,262.3 km²) of land and 11.9 square miles of water, for a total area of 499.3 square miles. It ranks #2133 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Gibson County the largest county in Indiana?

No. Gibson County ranks #13 of 92 in Indiana by land area. The largest is Allen County, with 657.1 square miles of land.

What counties border Gibson County?

Gibson County shares a land border with Pike County, Wabash County, Illinois, Knox County, Posey County, Vanderburgh County, Warrick County, and White County, Illinois.

What is the population of Gibson County?

The Census Bureau estimates Gibson County had 33,091 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,406 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 68 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Gibson County?

The county seat of Gibson County is Princeton.

What cities and towns are in Gibson County?

Gibson County has 10 incorporated places. The most populous five are Princeton city, Fort Branch town, Oakland City city, Haubstadt town, and Owensville town; 14,598 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Gibson County part of a metropolitan area?

No. Gibson County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.

How many ZIP codes are in Gibson County?

16 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Gibson County, and 12 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Gibson County compare with U.S. states?

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 2.1 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Gibson County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 311,922 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 319,555 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

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