Bowling Green, Kentucky Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Bowling Green, KY Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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B
Health Around average
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D
Income Well below average
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C
Education Below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population
| Metric | Bowling Green | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 66,489 | 4,533,530 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 1573.8 | 112.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 1.33% | 0.33% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 28.0 | 37.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 27,488 | 1,813,524 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Bowling Green grew by 41.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 66,489 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Bowling Green is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 35.7% of residents. That is 14.3 points above Kentucky as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 23,709 35.7% +14.3 pts
- Millennials 29–44 12,818 19.3% -1.6 pts
- Gen X 45–60 9,766 14.7% -5.4 pts
- Boomers 61–79 8,093 12.2% -5.7 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Kentucky, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 51.1% of the people living in Bowling Green and men 48.9%.
- Women 51.1% Kentucky 50.5%
- Men 48.9% Kentucky 49.5%
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Economy
Bowling Green has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Bowling Green | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $50,661 | $64,312 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.22% | 4.62% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.7% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Bowling Green is about 21% lower than in Kentucky.
Housing
| Metric | Bowling Green | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $133,889 | $118,017 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $979 | $967 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 40.3% | 68.3% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Bowling Green is about 11.4 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $979 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Bowling Green spend about 32 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 132 hours, about 5.5 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Bowling Green | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 15.9 | 20.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 31.7 | 41.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 132 | 173 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,100 | $5,369 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 6.8% | 10.2% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 11,572 | 6,995 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 2,540 | 832 | 1,355 |
The average commute time in Bowling Green is 16 minutes, shorter than the 21 minutes in Kentucky.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Bowling Green has a education index of C, which means it is somewhat educated.
| Metric | Bowling Green | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 26.5% | 24.5% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.23 | 2.43 | 2.53 |
Health
Bowling Green has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Bowling Green | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 75.9 | 75.0 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 19.6% | 23.2% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 21.5% | 26.0% | 19.0% |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Bowling Green, Kentucky.
How big is Bowling Green, Kentucky by population?
About 66,489 people live in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 27,488 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 28.0, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 9 years.
Is Bowling Green, Kentucky mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Bowling Green, Kentucky has 1,574 people per square mile, a density typical of urban and suburban areas. That is about 18 times the U.S. average of 86.
Can a typical household afford a home in Bowling Green, Kentucky?
The median home costs 2.6 times the median household income ($133,889 against $50,661), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $979 a month takes about 23% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
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