Food and drink · Metro area · Kentucky
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Bowling Green, KY metro area
How the Bowling Green, KY metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #272 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 106
- 96 chain locations (91%)
- Official establishments
- 154
- All limited-service restaurants · +16.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $249.9M
- On food away from home · $3,408 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.4M
- 23% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 14.5
- 9% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 197,180
- +9.5% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Bowling Green metro area
The site report maps the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Bowling Green metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
As of September 2026, map listings count 106 fast food and sandwich shops in the Bowling Green metro area. Chain locations make up 91% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 14.5 for every 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.
Households in the Bowling Green metro area spend about $249.9M a year on food away from home, or $3,408 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.4M per shop, 23% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which fast food and sandwich shops share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Bowling Green metro area was 154 in 2023, up 16.7% from 2019. That is one for every 476 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Official counts list 27 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $542K have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Bowling Green metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Bowling Green metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +9.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops in the Bowling Green metro area is 38 (lower middle), #272 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky.
How the Bowling Green metro area compares
The same measures for Kentucky and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the fast food and sandwich shops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Bowling Green metro area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 14.5 | 14.8 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $2.4M | $2.4M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 476 | 519 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +16.7% | +5.7% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +9.5% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,408 | $3,489 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $63,328 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 38 | 28 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 154All limited-service restaurants · +16.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,810
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $67.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 27All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10696 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 82The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $542K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Bowling Green metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Population and households in the Bowling Green metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 197,180+9.5% since 2020
- Households
- 73,344
- Median age
- 36.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,614 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 116
- Median household income
- $63,328+27.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $85,606
- Median home value
- $233,700
- Jobs located here
- 78,351
- Daytime population
- 187,870Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bowling Green metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Bowling Green metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFast food and sandwich shops across Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Kentucky (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Bowling Green metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 54 | 1,292 | 14.2 | $2.9M | +2.7% | #175 of 387 |
| 1Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 51 | 807 | 14.5 | $2.6M | +2.9% | #190 of 387 |
| 2Owensboro, KY | 45 | 59 | 13.0 | $2.7M | +1.3% | #228 of 387 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 43 | 187 | 15.0 | $2.4M | +8.5% | #243 of 387 |
| 3Lexington-Fayette, KY | 42 | 331 | 15.3 | $2.5M | +3.4% | #246 of 387 |
| 4Bowling Green, KY | 38 | 106 | 14.5 | $2.4M | +9.5% | #272 of 387 |
| 5Elizabethtown, KY | 37 | 76 | 15.0 | $2.4M | +2.4% | #276 of 387 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 15 | 224 | 14.7 | $2.3M | −2.6% | #373 of 387 |
| 6Paducah, KY-IL | 14 | 65 | 15.6 | $2.2M | −1.2% | #376 of 387 |
Other business types in the Bowling Green metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes58
- Sit-down restaurants57
- Fast food and sandwich shops38
- Pizza33
- Coffee shops and cafes66
- Bakeries and dessert shops54
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many fast food and sandwich shops are in the Bowling Green, KY metro area?
The Bowling Green metro area has 106 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 96 of them (91%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 154 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 16.7% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts also show 27 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Bowling Green, KY metro area spend on food away from home?
About $249.9M a year, or $3,408 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 106 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.4M per shop. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 73,344 households in the Bowling Green metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bowling Green, KY metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Bowling Green metro area has 14.5 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.4M, 23% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Bowling Green metro area would have about 82, against 106 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 476 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 16.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Bowling Green, KY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Bowling Green metro area at 197,180 people in 2025, up 9.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 73,344 households. The median household income in the Bowling Green metro area is $63,328 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.4% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Bowling Green metro area scores 38 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #272 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Bowling Green metro area. It maps the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for fast food and sandwich shops · All 56 business types in the Bowling Green metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bowling Green metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Bowling Green metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.