Metro area · Kentucky
Bowling Green, KY metro area
Bowling Green, KY is a metropolitan area of 4 counties in Kentucky, home to 197,180 residents. Bowling Green, KY metro area has a quality-of-life score of 43 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #524 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Kentucky it ranks #7 of 21. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), violent crime rate (low) and gyms and fitness centers (high). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and income adjusted for local prices (low).
- Quality-of-life score
- #524 of 925 metro and micro areas
- Kentucky
- #7 of 21 in KY
- Population
- 197,180 (2025)
- Land area
- 1,614 mi²
- Density
- 122.1 /mi²
- CBSA code
- 14540
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 68 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.
- Safety67#306/924
- Economy29#654/925
- Housing57#401/925
- Health52#446/925
- Healthcare50#464/923
- Environment45#508/917
- Education47#492/925
- Infrastructure41#546/925
- Community6#866/925
- Leisure & amenities71#271/925
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Bowling Green, KY metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Child care cost burden · low22.5%86/100Kentucky 25.2%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
- Violent crime rate · low121 /100k86/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationAggregated from counties
- Gyms and fitness centers · high1.6 /10k85/100Kentucky 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
- Grocery stores · high2.1 /10k83/100Kentucky 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
- Pharmacies · high2.1 /10k82/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
- New homes permitted · high5.8 /1k
Weaknesses
- Comfortable days · low22.6%5/100Kentucky 23.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAggregated from counties
- Distance to an Amtrak station · high141 mi8/100Kentucky 78 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAggregated from counties
- Income adjusted for local prices · low$53,7059/100Kentucky $64,615United States $73,2042024U.S. Bureau of Economic AnalysisAggregated from counties
- Access to exercise opportunities · low57.3%16/100Kentucky 69.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
- Public transit commuters · low0.1%
- Social associations · low8.3 /10k20/100Kentucky 10.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- PopulationRising
180,073 (2020) → 197,180 (2025)
+9.5%5 yearsUS 331,578,104 → 341,784,857
- Drought exposureWorsening
0% (2021) → 24% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+24 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- New business applicationsImproving
8.2 /1k (2020) → 14.1 /1k (2025)
+72%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
- Drug overdose deathsImproving
27.7 /100k (2021) → 12.6 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−54%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
- New homes permittedWorsening
12.5 /1k (2021) → 5.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−54%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
- Gyms and fitness centersImproving
1.1 /10k (2020) → 1.6 /10k (2025)
+49%5 yearsUS 1.2 /10k → 1.3 /10k
What changed in five years
How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.
Metro and micro areas like Bowling Green, KY metro area five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Bowling Green, KY metro area in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.
Who lives here
Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
Local businesses
Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Counties in Bowling Green, KY
Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.
Principal cities
The cities the area is named for.
Largest cities and towns
By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.
Other metro and micro areas in Kentucky
Areas based in Kentucky, best score first.
- Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN53
- Lexington-Fayette, KY78
- Corbin, KY14
- Richmond-Berea, KY33
- Elizabethtown, KY46
- Owensboro, KY55
- Paducah, KY-IL53
- Pikeville, KY20
- Frankfort, KY58
- Somerset, KY22
- Henderson, KY26
- Danville, KY28
- Glasgow, KY19
- Mount Sterling, KY20
- Madisonville, KY29
- Murray, KY32
- Campbellsville, KY38
- Mayfield, KY12
- Middlesborough, KY15
- Franklin, KY42
Neighboring metro and micro areas
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar metro and micro areas
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Elizabethtown, KY46Alike on Precipitation, Child care cost, Preventable stays
- Glasgow, KY19Alike on Comfortable days, Precipitation, Real income
- Dalton, GA19Alike on Real income, Income per capita, Precipitation
- Rome, GA23Alike on Real income, Income per capita, Pharmacies
- Cookeville, TN26Alike on Amtrak, New homes, Preventable stays
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
- Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08