Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky: Sunbelt Conservative metro. In 2024, voted R+36%. Republican peak: R+40 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+36MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Sunbelt ConservativeAkashic 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
2024 presidential election
Bowling Green, KY
TrumpR+36
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 67.1% | 52,639 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 31.4% | 24,653 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.5% | 1,207 |
D+60R+60
4 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 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
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
2024 ACS
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.
2024 ACS
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.
2024 ACS
Median household income
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.
2024 ACS
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.
2024 ACS
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.
2020 religion census
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.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of fourteen points in 1912 and a Republican high of forty points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-six points.
A population of 186,959, a 80% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $63,933 describe the metro.
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
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky. Akashic. https://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 typology?
Akashic places Bowling Green, KY, Kentucky in the "Sunbelt Conservative" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. 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 typology — "Sunbelt Conservative" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.