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Bowling Green, Kentucky Population 2021

74,363

Bowling Green is a city located in Warren County Kentucky. It is also the county seat of Warren County. With a 2020 population of 74,363, it is the 3rd largest city in Kentucky (after Louisville and Lexington) and the 488th largest city in the United States . Bowling Green is currently growing at a rate of 2.64% annually and its population has increased by 28.06% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 58,067 in 2010. Bowling Green reached it's highest population of 74,363 in 2021. Spanning over 40 miles, Bowling Green has a population density of 1,885 people per square mile.

The average household income in Bowling Green is $61,314 with a poverty rate of 24.40%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $778 per month, and the median house value is $161,000. The median age in Bowling Green is 27 years, 27 years for males, and 27.1 years for females.

It is the third-most populous city in Kentucky, falling only behind Lexington and Louisville. Bowling Green is home to many major manufacturers, including Fruit of the Loom and the Bowling Green Assembly Plant that assembles Chevy Corvettes. The city is also the site of Western Kentucky University, the second largest public university in Kentucky. In the past, the city has been named as one of the best places in the nation for retirement.

Population Growth

The educational and job opportunities available in Bowling Green have contributed to its steady growth since its founding. Recent estimates show that the city’s population is up 12.3% since the last census was taken in 2010, indicating that an increase in Bowling Green is showing no sign of slowing down in the years ahead.

Bowling Green Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Bowling Green was:

White: 74.79%
Black or African American: 12.80%
Asian: 4.92%
Two or more races: 3.89%
Other race: 2.79%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.59%
Native American: 0.22%

The current population of Bowling Green, Kentucky is 74,363 based on our projections of the latest US Census estimates. The US Census estimates the 2018 population at 68,633.The last official US Census in 2010 recorded the population at 58,067.

Bowling Green, Kentucky Population 2021

2019 and 2020 population is estimated by projecting the raw 2018 numbers.

Year	Population	Growth	Growth Rate
2021	183,992	2,376	1.29%
2020	181,616	2,376	1.31%
2019	179,240	2,376	1.33%
2018	176,864	1,883	1.06%
2017	174,981	3,079	1.76%
2016	171,902	2,395	1.39%
2015	169,507	2,877	1.70%
2014	166,630	1,977	1.19%
2013	164,653	2,203	1.34%
2012	162,450	1,465	0.90%
2011	160,985	1,644	1.02%
2010	159,341		0.00%

Bowling Green Metro Area Population by Year

Population by Race

Race	Population	Percentage
White	50,556	74.79%
Black or African American	8,654	12.80%
Asian	3,324	4.92%
Two or More Races	2,632	3.89%
Some Other Race	1,884	2.79%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	398	0.59%
American Indian and Alaska Native	152	0.22%

Bowling Green Population by Race

Bowling Green Population Pyramid $2021

Bowling Green Population by Age

Bowling Green Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Bowling Green Household Types

Type	Owner	Renter
Married	60.8%	39.2%
All	38.8%	61.2%
Male	34.9%	65.1%
Female	33.8%	66.2%
Non Family	25.2%	74.8%

38.8%

Rate of Home Ownership

Bowling Green Households and Families

Type	Count	Average Size	Owned
All	25,305	2.38	38.8
Non Family	11,946	1.43	25.2
Married	8,433	3.27	60.8
Female	3,506	3.15	33.8
Male	1,420	3.19	34.9

3.1

Average Family Size

2.38

Average Household Size

Bowling Green Households by Type

Education Attained	Count	Percentage
Less Than 9th Grade	2,778	7.57%
9th to 12th Grade	2,582	7.03%
High School Graduate	8,309	22.63%
Some College	7,967	21.70%
Associates Degree	3,125	8.51%
Bachelors Degree	7,037	19.17%
Graduate Degree	4,914	13.39%

Bowling Green Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Bowling Green Educational Attainment by Race

Race	Total	High School	Bachelors
White	27,344	24,667	10,318
Black	4,323	3,580	702
Hispanic	2,325	1,250	317
Asian	1,691	971	461
Other Race	1,021	447	28
2+ Races	759	664	158
Islander	250	196
Native American	91	91	19

The highest rate of high school graduation is among native american people with a rate of 100.00%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among white people with a rate of 37.73%.

Bowling Green Educational Attainment by Race

Name	Average	Male	Female
Overall	$31,371	$36,075	$27,157
Less Than 9th Grade	$22,385	$25,255	$16,154
High School Graduate	$24,403	$30,227	$19,904
Some College	$29,218	$33,009	$24,381
Bachelors Degree	$42,196	$48,426	$35,720
Graduate Degree	$52,620	$56,575	$46,675

$31,371

Average Earnings

$36,075

Average Male

$27,157

Average Female

Bowling Green Earnings by Educational Attainment

Bowling Green Language by Age

Bowling Green Language

83.82% of Bowling Green residents speak only English, while 16.18% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 5.61% of the population.

Bowling Green Language

Bowling Green Poverty by Race

Name	Total	In Poverty	Poverty Rate
White	41,749	8,852	21.20%
Black	7,917	2,342	29.58%
Hispanic	4,862	1,657	34.08%
Asian	3,213	1,152	35.85%
Other	1,750	929	53.09%
Multiple	2,254	658	29.19%
Islander	390	175	44.87%
Native	144	14	9.72%

24.40%

Overall Poverty Rate

22.64%

Male Poverty Rate

26.10%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Bowling Green

The race most likely to be in poverty in Bowling Green is Other, with 53.09% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Bowling Green is Native, with 9.72% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 5.71%. Among those working part-time, it was 33.13%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 34.11%.

Bowling Green Poverty

Name	Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade	33.50%
High School	23.63%
Some College	13.77%
Bachelors or Greater	6.62%

Bowling Green Poverty Rate by Education

Rate	Poverty
Female Unemployed	53.80%
Male Unemployed	43.48%
Female Employed	16.73%
Male Employed	14.64%

Bowling Green Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Bowling Green Income by Household Type

Name	Median	Mean
Households	$42,216	$61,314
Families	$52,737	$77,516
Married Families	$68,513	-
Non Families	$27,843	$40,594

Income by Household Type

Bowling Green Marital Status

Marriage Rates

33.5%

Overall Marriage Rate

34.9%

Male Marriage Rate

32.2%

Female Marriage Rate

Bowling Green Married by Age and Sex

Bowling Green Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.

Bowling Green Marital Status by Race

Bowling Green Marital Status

3,011

Number of Veterans

2,738

Male Veterans

273

Female Veterans

War	Veterans
Vietnam	998
First Gulf War	659
Second Gulf War	534
Korea	209
World War II	51

Bowling Green Veterans by War

Age Group	Veterans
65 to 74	765
35 to 54	717
75+	671
55 to 64	501
18 to 34	357

Bowling Green Veterans by Age

Name	Veterans	% of Total
White	2,664	6.40%
Black	208	3.11%
2+ Races	88	6.26%
Hispanic	54	1.66%
Native American	28	22.05%
Islander	23	7.99%

Bowling Green Veterans by Race

Bowling Green Veterans by Education

10.77%

Veteran Poverty Rate

26.50%

Veteran Disability Rate

Bowling Green Veterans by Education

66.1%

Labor Force Participation

62.3%

Employment Rate

5.5%

Unemployment Rate

Bowling Green Employment by Age

Bowling Green Employment by Race

Bowling Green Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

56.21%

Born in Bowling Green

87.23%

Native Born

12.77%

Foreign Born

9.32%

Non Citizen

3.46%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

87.23% of Bowling Green residents were born in the United States, with 56.21% having been born in Kentucky. 9.32% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.

Bowling Green Place of Birth

Year	Population	Growth	Annual Growth Rate
2021	74,363	1,910	2.64%
2020	72,453	1,910	2.71%
2019	70,543	1,910	2.78%
2018	68,633	767	1.13%
2017	67,866	1,779	2.69%
2016	66,087	1,147	1.77%
2015	64,940	1,412	2.22%
2014	63,528	830	1.32%
2013	62,698	1,404	2.29%
2012	61,294	937	1.55%
2011	60,357	630	1.05%
2010	59,727	10,431	1.94%
2000	49,296	8,655	1.95%
1990	40,641	191	0.05%
1980	40,450	3,745	0.98%
1970	36,705	8,367	2.62%
1960	28,338	9,991	4.44%
1950	18,347	3,762	2.32%
1940	14,585	2,237	1.68%
1930	12,348	2,710	2.51%
1920	9,638	465	0.50%
1910	9,173	947	1.10%
1900	8,226	423	0.53%
1890	7,803	2,689	4.32%
1880	5,114	540	1.12%
1870	4,574		0.00%

Bowling Green, Kentucky Population 2021

Population Growth

Bowling Green Demographics

Bowling Green, Kentucky Population 2021

Bowling Green Metro Area Population by Year

Population by Race

Bowling Green Population by Race

Bowling Green Population Pyramid $2021

Bowling Green Median Age

Bowling Green Adults

Bowling Green Age Dependency

Bowling Green Sex Ratio

Bowling Green Population by Age

Bowling Green Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Bowling Green Household Types

Bowling Green Households and Families

Bowling Green Households by Type

Bowling Green Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Bowling Green Educational Attainment by Race

Bowling Green Educational Attainment by Race

Bowling Green Earnings by Educational Attainment

Bowling Green Language by Age

Bowling Green Language

Bowling Green Language

Bowling Green Poverty by Race

Poverty in Bowling Green

Bowling Green Poverty

Bowling Green Poverty Rate by Education

Bowling Green Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Bowling Green Income by Household Type

Income by Household Type

Bowling Green Marital Status

Marriage Rates

Bowling Green Married by Age and Sex

Bowling Green Marriage

Bowling Green Marital Status by Race

Bowling Green Marital Status

Bowling Green Veterans by War

Bowling Green Veterans by Age

Bowling Green Veterans by Race

Bowling Green Veterans by Education

Bowling Green Veterans by Education

Bowling Green Employment by Age

Bowling Green Employment by Race

Bowling Green Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Place of Birth

Bowling Green Place of Birth

Bowling Green Population by Year