Groundwork

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Gas stations in the Bowling Green, KY metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for gas stations in the Bowling Green, KY metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #107 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky

Listings
85
74 chain locations (87%)
Official establishments
73
+2.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$216.5M
On gasoline and other fuels · $2,952 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
7% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.6
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
197,180
+9.5% since 2020

See the gas stations around any address in the Bowling Green metro area

The site report maps the gas stations 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.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 85 gas stations in the Bowling Green metro area. 74 of them (87%) are chain locations, against 84% across the U.S. That is 11.6 per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 10.9.

Household spending on gasoline and other fuels in the Bowling Green metro area comes to about $216.5M a year: $2,952 per household, 14% above the U.S. average. Spread across 85 gas stations, that is $2.5M per station, 7% above the U.S. figure of $2.4M.

In 2023, official counts showed 73 businesses with payroll in the Bowling Green metro area classed as gasoline stations, up 2.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,005 households, against one for every 1,184 across the U.S.

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%). For gas stations, the Bowling Green metro area has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #107 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 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 gasoline and other fuels by the gas stations counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Gas stations in Bowling Green, KY metro area compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureBowling Green metro areaKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.615.210.9
Spending per listing$2.5M$1.9M$2.4M
Households per official establishment1,0059121,184
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.8%−2.2%−3.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+9.5%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on gasoline and other fuels$2,952$2,887$2,595
Median household income$63,328$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score6339

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
73+2.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
706
Annual payroll, 2023
$17.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8574 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
91The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as gasoline stations 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.

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 gas stations 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.

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Gas stations across Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for gas stations, 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

Metro areas in Kentucky ranked for gas stations by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN655229.3$3M+2.9%#101 of 387
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN638519.4$2.9M+2.7%#106 of 387
2Bowling Green, KY638511.6$2.5M+9.5%#107 of 387
Clarksville, TN-KY5916112.9$2.3M+8.5%#135 of 387
3Lexington-Fayette, KY5225811.9$2.3M+3.4%#182 of 387
4Owensboro, KY346815.0$1.9M+1.3%#296 of 387
5Elizabethtown, KY338817.4$1.7M+2.4%#311 of 387
6Paducah, KY-IL306816.3$1.8M−1.2%#324 of 387
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH1828018.4$1.5M−2.6%#368 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.

Questions

How many gas stations are in the Bowling Green, KY metro area?

There are 85 gas stations on map listings in the Bowling Green metro area as of September 2026. 74 of them (87%) are chain locations. The listings count gas stations. Official counts show 73 businesses with payroll classed as gasoline stations in 2023, up 2.8% from 2019.

How much do households in the Bowling Green, KY metro area spend on gasoline and other fuels?

About $216.5M a year, or $2,952 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 85 gas stations on map listings, it comes to $2.5M per station. 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 gas stations?

The Bowling Green metro area has 11.6 gas stations per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 10.9. Spending per station is $2.5M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $2.4M. At the national ratio of gas stations to household spending, the Bowling Green metro area would have about 91, against 85 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,005 households, against one for every 1,184 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.8% from 2019 to 2023, against −3.1% 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 63 for gas stations (upper middle), #107 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 gas stations 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 gas stations · 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.