akashic
1876–2024
Bowling Green·Kentucky

Bowling Green has voted Republican in twelve straight presidential elections — R+40 in 2024.

South-central Kentucky's anchor market, where rural counties dominate the dial

1876 — 2024·38 elections
KY
LatestR+40in 2024
TypologySunbelt Conservativecluster typology
Population240,6322024 ACS

Bowling Green, Kentucky: Sunbelt Conservative market. In 2024, voted R+40%. Republican peak: R+40 in 2024.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+40MIT Election Lab
Political typology
Sunbelt ConservativeAkashic typology
Population
240,6322024 5-year
Median household income
$60,1842024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
81.8%2024 5-year
Black
6.5%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
5.6%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+22 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+40 in 2024MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Bowling Green
TrumpR+40
—
2024 presidential margin by county for Bowling Green, KYA map of the constituent counties of Bowling Green, KY, each outlined and filled by its 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic).Edmonson County, KY · R+63Butler County, KY · R+66Metcalfe County, KY · R+65Warren County, KY · R+24Barren County, KY · R+53Hart County, KY · R+60
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
Donald Trump ✓Republican69.1%70,722
Kamala HarrisDemocratic29.5%30,239
OtherAll other candidates1.4%1,458
D+60
R+60
6 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
Presidential margin over timeDemocratic-minus-Republican presidential margin from 1876 to 2024. Most recent: −39.5% in 2024.flipped R · 1980−39.5%DR18762024
Presidential margin over time
YearMargin (D minus R)
1876No data
1880No data
1884No data
1888No data
1892+5.0%
1896+2.7%
1900−1.2%
1904−1.2%
1908−2.6%
1912+21.5%
1916+1.5%
1920−3.7%
1924−0.2%
1928−30.2%
1932+16.7%
1936+8.2%
1940+5.4%
1944−0.9%
1948+7.3%
1952−6.8%
1956−9.7%
1960−16.2%
1964+19.9%
1968−20.5%
1972−33.3%
1976+5.9%
1980−14.5%
1984−31.1%
1988−23.5%
1992−7.5%
1996−12.8%
2000−27.7%
2004−30.5%
2008−26.1%
2012−27.9%
2016−37.5%
2020−33.4%
2024−39.5%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−39.5%
30,23970,722102,419
R
−33.4%
32,79566,537101,103
R
−37.5%
25,87359,53089,646
R
−27.9%
28,58051,18781,005
R
−26.1%
29,95051,51582,546
R
−30.5%
26,77650,54077,851
R
−27.7%
23,63842,08166,692
R
−12.8%
23,41730,98659,053
R
−7.5%
24,89329,51461,931
R
−23.5%
21,19534,29555,740
R
−31.1%
18,54835,42054,186
R
−14.5%
22,08729,77353,131
D
+5.9%
23,60720,94444,964
R
−33.3%
14,49029,29744,456
R
−20.5%
12,69321,59343,472
D
+19.9%
24,16416,12140,397
R
−16.2%
19,15326,55745,710
R
−9.7%
19,86424,12044,078
R
−6.8%
18,67321,39540,150
D
+7.3%
17,17714,78532,821
R
−0.9%
18,96819,31338,356
D
+5.4%
20,35018,25238,689
D
+8.2%
20,90517,74338,764
D
+16.7%
24,97517,79742,961
R
−30.2%
13,86525,87239,770
R
−0.2%
17,93818,01436,335
R
−3.7%
19,45020,96440,703
D
+1.5%
12,78512,39725,432
D
+21.5%
10,6795,78522,734
R
−2.6%
11,49112,11724,062
R
−1.2%
10,91511,18922,642
R
−1.2%
11,65711,95323,871
D
+2.7%
11,58310,96923,121
D
+5.0%
8,0437,15717,617
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Demographics

2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.8%
American
12.0%
Irish
8.8%
German
8.7%
Scottish
2.2%
Italian
2.1%
Polish
0.9%
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: 36.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.6%
85+
1.0%
2.0%
75–84
2.5%
4.4%
65–74
5.0%
5.9%
55–64
6.2%
6.0%
45–54
5.9%
6.2%
35–44
6.2%
6.6%
25–34
6.5%
5.9%
18–24
5.8%
8.6%
5–17
8.5%
3.1%
<5
3.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$60,184
Bowling Green ranks near the middle of US counties.
Bowling Green$60,184
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
18.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1822.9%
Working age (18–64)17.0%
Seniors (65+)13.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.5%
speak English only
Spanish3.9%
Other Indo-European3.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.6%
Other languages1.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
26.5%
Other Christian
9.4%
Catholic & Orthodox
4.8%
Methodist
4.5%
Mainline Protestant
1.7%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.1%
Non-Christian
0.4%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

The Bowling Green DMA stretches across a swath of south-central Kentucky where agricultural counties consistently post some of the state's widest partisan margins, making it a reliable bellwether for statewide rural turnout patterns.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of twenty-two points in 1912 and a Republican high of forty points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty points.

A population of 240,632, a 82% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $60,184 describe the market.

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, Kentucky. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/736/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Bowling Green, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Bowling Green, Kentucky voted Republican by 39.5 points (R+40), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 102,419 votes cast, 30,239 went Democratic and 70,722 went Republican.
What is Bowling Green, Kentucky's political typology?
Akashic places Bowling Green, 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 market has voted Democratic 10 times, Republican 24 times, and other 0 times.
When did Bowling Green, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Bowling Green, Kentucky voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in Bowling Green, Kentucky?
Bowling Green, Kentucky has a population of 240,632 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Bowling Green, Kentucky?
Median household income in Bowling Green, Kentucky is $60,184 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Bowling Green, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Bowling Green, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 10 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The market's typology — "Sunbelt Conservative" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.