With 29,983 people, Bowling Green is a city in Ohio. This skews young, with a median age of 23.5. 34% of homes are owner-occupied. 63% were living in the same home a year earlier. The poverty rate is 28.6%, above the 12.5% national rate. That trails the Ohio median by roughly 37%.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $45,154, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 23.5
US median: 38.9
More educated
44% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Stable housing
home values roughly flat, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Bowling Green
What changed most since 1990
Median home value (2024 dollars)$196,566 → $226,100(+15%)US over the same years: +67%
Homes owned by their occupants42.2% → 34.1%(−8.1 pts)US over the same years: +0.9 pts
White share93.1% → 81.7%(−11.3 pts)US over the same years: −17.8 pts
Bowling Green's population equals 23% of Wood County's. Its number of residents living in poverty equals 53% of the county's. Its number of households without a car equals 41% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)38.1%(375)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)12.1%(119)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era28.5%(280)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War8.9%(88)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0.6%(6)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 984 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Bowling Green, decade by decade
Bowling Green population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
28,176
$52,240
$196,566
41.6%
16.5
2000
29,636
$55,741
$222,242
44.2%
22.2
2010
30,028
$47,174
$246,859
47.7%
34.2
2020
30,808
$47,524
$208,228
42.7%
42.5
2024
29,983
$45,154
$226,100
44.2%
40.3
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
