Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted R+36%. Republican peak: R+40 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+36MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 186,9592024 5-year
- Median household income
- $63,9332024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 80.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 7.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+14 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+40 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Bowling Green, KY, KYOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 24,653 | 52,639 | 78,499 | ||
| R | 26,427 | 49,166 | 77,022 | ||
| R | 20,241 | 43,702 | 67,370 | ||
| R | 21,280 | 38,516 | 60,731 | ||
| R | 22,900 | 38,509 | 62,112 | ||
| R | 19,541 | 38,006 | 57,933 | ||
| R | 17,139 | 31,554 | 49,409 | ||
| R | 16,278 | 23,966 | 43,304 | ||
| R | 16,690 | 22,710 | 44,702 | ||
| R | 13,745 | 25,878 | 39,774 | ||
| R | 11,713 | 25,716 | 37,557 | ||
| R | 14,179 | 21,412 | 36,565 | ||
| R | 14,894 | 16,286 | 31,461 | ||
| R | 8,750 | 20,774 | 29,915 | ||
| R | 7,497 | 15,953 | 29,906 | ||
| D | 14,487 | 12,256 | 26,812 | ||
| R | 11,188 | 19,024 | 30,212 | ||
| R | 11,412 | 17,426 | 28,913 | ||
| R | 11,005 | 15,488 | 26,562 | ||
| R | 10,509 | 10,677 | 21,880 | ||
| R | 11,439 | 13,851 | 25,367 | ||
| R | 12,392 | 13,179 | 25,647 | ||
| D | 13,101 | 12,537 | 25,714 | ||
| D | 15,580 | 13,064 | 28,776 | ||
| R | 8,414 | 19,230 | 27,658 | ||
| R | 11,738 | 13,472 | 25,435 | ||
| R | 11,792 | 15,395 | 27,370 | ||
| R | 7,968 | 8,944 | 17,069 | ||
| D | 6,491 | 4,334 | 15,009 | ||
| R | 7,014 | 8,470 | 15,766 | ||
| R | 6,574 | 7,975 | 14,908 | ||
| R | 6,994 | 8,142 | 15,328 | ||
| R | 7,178 | 7,320 | 14,866 | ||
| D | 5,189 | 4,987 | 11,356 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.2%
American
12.2%
Irish
9.1%
German
8.9%
Italian
2.3%
Scottish
2.1%
Polish
1.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 35.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$63,933
Bowling Green, KY ranks near the middle of US counties.
Bowling Green, KY$63,933
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
16.7%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.0%
Working age (18–64)16.1%
Seniors (65+)11.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
86.9%
speak English only
Spanish4.3%
Other Indo-European4.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.1%
Other languages1.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 52.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
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.
The Democratic margin in Bowling Green, KY has rarely exceeded fourteen points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded forty points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Republican candidate by thirty-six points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 80% non-Hispanic-white share, a 17% poverty rate, and a median household income of $63,933 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/14540/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky voted Republican by 35.7 points (R+36), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 78,499 votes cast, 24,653 went Democratic and 52,639 went Republican.
What is Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 5 times, Republican 29 times, and other 0 times.
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 38 presidential elections in Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.