Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Kentucky
Grocery and convenience stores in the Bowling Green, KY metro area
How the Bowling Green, KY metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #224 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 165
- 58 chain locations (35%)
- Official establishments
- 32
- +24.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $416.6M
- On groceries · $5,681 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.5M
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 22.5
- 20% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 197,180
- +9.5% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Bowling Green metro area
The site report maps the grocery and convenience stores 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
At $5,681 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in the Bowling Green metro area spend about $416.6M a year on groceries. That works out to $2.5M per store, 25% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The Bowling Green metro area has 165 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 58 of them (35%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 22.5, 20% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Bowling Green metro area was 32 in 2023, up 24.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,292 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 59 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $400K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Bowling Green metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Bowling Green metro area grew 9.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the Bowling Green metro area is 47 (lower middle), #224 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 groceries by the grocery and convenience stores 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 | 22.5 | 19.4 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.5M | $3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,292 | 1,728 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +24.0% | +11.4% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +9.5% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,681 | $5,746 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $63,328 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 32+24.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 912
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $24.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 59Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 16558 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 123The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $400K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores 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 grocery and convenience stores 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 cardGrocery and convenience stores across Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for grocery and convenience stores, 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 | 67 | 1,323 | 14.6 | $4.3M | +2.7% | #72 of 387 |
| 1Lexington-Fayette, KY | 66 | 335 | 15.5 | $3.9M | +3.4% | #85 of 387 |
| 2Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 65 | 891 | 16.0 | $3.8M | +2.9% | #93 of 387 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 55 | 231 | 18.5 | $3.1M | +8.5% | #171 of 387 |
| 3Elizabethtown, KY | 50 | 97 | 19.2 | $3M | +2.4% | #200 of 387 |
| 4Bowling Green, KY | 47 | 165 | 22.5 | $2.5M | +9.5% | #224 of 387 |
| 5Owensboro, KY | 46 | 84 | 18.6 | $3.1M | +1.3% | #227 of 387 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 34 | 272 | 17.9 | $3.1M | −2.6% | #302 of 387 |
| 6Paducah, KY-IL | 32 | 82 | 19.6 | $2.9M | −1.2% | #313 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
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores47
- Grocery stores35
- Convenience stores62
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many grocery and convenience stores are in the Bowling Green, KY metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 165 grocery and convenience stores in the Bowling Green metro area. 58 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 32 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 24.0% from 2019. Official counts list 59 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Bowling Green, KY metro area spend on groceries?
About $416.6M a year, or $5,681 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 165 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.5M per store. 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 grocery and convenience stores?
The Bowling Green metro area has 22.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.5M, 25% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Bowling Green metro area would have about 123, against 165 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,292 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 24.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% 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 47 for grocery and convenience stores (lower middle), #224 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 grocery and convenience stores 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 grocery and convenience stores · 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.