† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
4 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupBowling Green, KYKentuckyUnited States
English13.2%14.5%9.5%
American12.2%11.5%5.3%
Irish9.1%11.0%9.4%
German8.9%12.7%12.5%
Italian2.3%2.0%4.8%
Scottish2.1%2.0%1.3%
Polish1.2%—2.2%
Scotch-Irish1.0%0.8%—
African American†6.4%6.6%9.9%
African0.2%0.5%0.5%
Haitian0.2%—0.3%
Mexican3.2%2.4%11.3%
Guatemalan0.7%0.3%0.5%
Salvadoran0.6%—0.7%
Cuban0.4%0.7%0.7%
Spanish0.3%——
Puerto Rican0.3%0.5%1.8%
Colombian0.2%—0.4%
Burmese2.0%——
Asian Indian0.5%0.3%1.4%
Vietnamese0.3%—0.6%
Pakistani0.2%——
Chinese0.2%—1.3%
Korean0.2%—0.4%
Japanese0.2%—0.2%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Bowling Green, KY
Kentucky
United States
Median age
35.5
39.2
39.1
Age 18–24
13.0%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
14.7%
17.3%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Bowling Green, KY
Kentucky
United States
Median household income
$63,933
$63,726
$84,427
Poverty rate
16.7%
16.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
27.8%
27.7%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Bowling Green, KY
Kentucky
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
13.1%
6.8%
22.3%
Spanish
4.3%
3.4%
13.6%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic
1.7%
0.3%
0.7%
Other Asian & Pacific Island
2.7%
0.5%
1.1%
Other languages
1.4%
0.5%
0.8%
Religious landscape
Measure
Bowling Green, KY
Kentucky
United States
Catholic
5.4%
7.9%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
33.2%
31.3%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
52.6%
50.7%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
6.0%
5.5%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Bowling Green, KY
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
+1.8%
1896
−1.0%
1900
−7.5%
1904
−9.4%
1908
−9.2%
1912
+14.4%
1916
−5.7%
1920
−13.2%
1924
−6.8%
1928
−39.1%
1932
+8.7%
1936
+2.2%
1940
−3.1%
1944
−9.5%
1948
−0.8%
1952
−16.9%
1956
−20.8%
1960
−25.9%
1964
+8.3%
1968
−28.3%
1972
−40.2%
1976
−4.4%
1980
−19.8%
1984
−37.3%
1988
−30.5%
1992
−13.5%
1996
−17.8%
2000
−29.2%
2004
−31.9%
2008
−25.1%
2012
−28.4%
2016
−34.8%
2020
−29.5%
2024
−35.7%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
31.4%Harris24,653
67.1%Trump52,639
1.5%
R+35.7
R+6.1
R+34.2
78,499
R
34.3%Biden26,427
63.8%Trump49,166
1.9%
R+29.5
D+5.3
R+34.0
77,022
R
30.0%Clinton20,241
64.9%Trump43,702
5.1%
R+34.8
R+6.4
R+36.9
67,370
R
35.0%Obama21,280
63.4%Romney38,516
1.5%
R+28.4
R+3.3
R+32.2
60,731
R
36.9%Obama22,900
62.0%McCain38,509
1.1%
R+25.1
D+6.7
R+32.4
62,112
R
33.7%Kerry19,541
65.6%Bush38,006
0.7%
R+31.9
R+2.7
R+29.4
57,933
R
34.7%Gore17,139
63.9%Bush31,554
1.4%
R+29.2
R+11.4
R+29.7
49,409
R
37.6%Clinton16,278
55.3%Dole23,966
7.1%
R+17.8
R+4.3
R+26.3
43,304
R
37.3%Clinton16,690
50.8%Bush22,710
11.9%
R+13.5
D+17.0
R+19.0
44,702
R
34.6%Dukakis13,745
65.1%Bush25,878
0.4%
R+30.5
D+6.8
R+22.8
39,774
R
31.2%Mondale11,713
68.5%Reagan25,716
0.3%
R+37.3
R+17.5
R+19.1
37,557
R
38.8%Carter14,179
58.6%Reagan21,412
2.7%
R+19.8
R+15.4
R+10.0
36,565
R
47.3%Carter14,894
51.8%Ford16,286
0.9%
R+4.4
D+35.8
R+6.5
31,461
R
29.2%McGovern8,750
69.4%Nixon20,774
1.3%
R+40.2
R+11.9
R+17.0
29,915
R
25.1%Humphrey7,497
53.3%Nixon15,953
21.6%
R+28.3
R+36.6
R+27.6
29,906
D
54.0%Johnson14,487
45.7%Goldwater12,256
0.3%
D+8.3
D+34.3
R+14.3
26,812
R
37.0%Kennedy11,188
63.0%Nixon19,024
0.0%
R+25.9
R+5.1
R+26.1
30,212
R
39.5%Stevenson11,412
60.3%Eisenhower17,426
0.3%
R+20.8
R+3.9
R+5.4
28,913
R
41.4%Stevenson11,005
58.3%Eisenhower15,488
0.3%
R+16.9
R+16.1
R+6.1
26,562
R
48.0%Truman10,509
48.8%Dewey10,677
3.2%
R+0.8
D+8.7
R+5.3
21,880
R
45.1%Roosevelt11,439
54.6%Dewey13,851
0.3%
R+9.5
R+6.4
R+17.0
25,367
R
48.3%Roosevelt12,392
51.4%Willkie13,179
0.3%
R+3.1
R+5.3
R+13.0
25,647
D
50.9%Roosevelt13,101
48.8%Landon12,537
0.3%
D+2.2
R+6.6
R+22.1
25,714
D
54.1%Roosevelt15,580
45.4%Hoover13,064
0.5%
D+8.7
D+47.8
R+9.0
28,776
R
30.4%Smith8,414
69.5%Hoover19,230
0.1%
R+39.1
R+32.3
R+21.6
27,658
R
46.1%Davis11,738
53.0%Coolidge13,472
0.9%
R+6.8
D+6.3
D+18.4
25,435
R
43.1%Cox11,792
56.2%Harding15,395
0.7%
R+13.2
R+7.4
D+13.0
27,370
R
46.7%Wilson7,968
52.4%Hughes8,944
0.9%
R+5.7
R+20.1
R+8.9
17,069
D
43.2%Wilson6,491
28.9%Taft4,334
27.9%
D+14.4
D+23.6
R+5.2
15,009
R
44.5%Bryan7,014
53.7%Taft8,470
1.8%
R+9.2
D+0.2
D+0.3
15,766
R
44.1%Parker6,574
53.5%Roosevelt7,975
2.4%
R+9.4
R+1.9
D+10.3
14,908
R
45.6%Bryan6,994
53.1%McKinley8,142
1.3%
R+7.5
R+6.5
D+0.1
15,328
R
48.3%Bryan7,178
49.2%McKinley7,320
2.5%
R+1.0
R+2.7
D+5.1
14,866
D
45.7%Cleveland5,189
43.9%Harrison4,987
10.4%
D+1.8
—
D+0.1
11,356
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
34.6%18,297
65.4%34,620
52,921
2020
R
36.2%27,888
59.2%45,547
76,981
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024R+16.0
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+35.7
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 20 points more Democratic.
Domestic migration in Bowling Green, KY in Bowling Green, KY: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+645
2012
+339
2013
+799
2014
+796
2015
+1,535
2016
+1,014
2017
+1,898
2018
+1,090
2019
+1,570
2021
+1,952
2022
+2,618
2023
+1,619
2024
+1,529
2025
+1,738
Bowling Green's electorate has trended reliably Republican at the federal level, but its large international refugee and immigrant community — one of Kentucky's most diverse — adds demographic complexity that distinguishes it from surrounding rural counties.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 14.4 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 40.2 points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 6.1 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 35.7 points.
A population of 186,959, a 78% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $63,933 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Richmond-Berea, KY and Joplin, MO-KS.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
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Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/14540/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky voted Republican by 35.7 points (R+35.7), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 78,499 votes cast, 24,653 went Democratic and 52,639 went Republican.
When did Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky?
Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky has a population of 186,959 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky?
Median household income in Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky is $63,933 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 29 went Republican.
