Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · Kentucky

Real estate businesses in the Bowling Green, KY metro area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #104 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky

Listings
211
12 chain locations (6%)
Official establishments
96
+30.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1B
On rent and homeowner costs · $14,081 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
113
13% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
28.8
25% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
197,180
+9.5% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Bowling Green metro area

The site report maps the real estate businesses 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 211 real estate businesses in the Bowling Green metro area. Of those, 12 are chain locations, or 6%, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 28.8, 25% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Households in the Bowling Green metro area spend about $1B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $14,081 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 13% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.

Official counts show 96 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Bowling Green metro area in 2023, up 30.6% from 2019. That is one for every 764 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts also show 714 one-person businesses without payroll.

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 real estate businesses in the Bowling Green metro area is 59 (upper middle), #104 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 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. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Bowling Green, KY metro area compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureBowling Green metro areaKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households28.827.438.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)113120100
Households per official establishment764683414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+30.6%+20.5%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+9.5%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$14,081$14,283$16,661
Median household income$63,328$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score5960

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
96+30.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
402
Annual payroll, 2023
$18.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
714Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
21112 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
238The 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 real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors 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 real estate businesses 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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Real estate across Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for real estate businesses, 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 real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH6222314.7216−2.6%#73 of 387
1Bowling Green, KY5921128.8113+9.5%#104 of 387
2Paducah, KY-IL589121.8149−1.2%#107 of 387
3Elizabethtown, KY5314528.6117+2.4%#154 of 387
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN522,69629.7115+2.7%#163 of 387
Clarksville, TN-KY4853042.478+8.5%#208 of 387
4Owensboro, KY4713830.5109+1.3%#211 of 387
5Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN411,99435.796+2.9%#272 of 387
6Lexington-Fayette, KY3496844.878+3.4%#346 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 real estate businesses are in the Bowling Green, KY metro area?

There are 211 real estate businesses on map listings in the Bowling Green metro area as of September 2026. 12 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 96 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 30.6% from 2019. Another 714 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Bowling Green, KY metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $1B a year, or $14,081 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 211 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 13% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. 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 real estate businesses?

The Bowling Green metro area has 28.8 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 113, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Bowling Green metro area would have about 238, against 211 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 764 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 30.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% 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 59 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #104 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 real estate businesses 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 real estate businesses · 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.