Food and drink · Metro area · Kentucky
Sit-down restaurants in the Bowling Green, KY metro area
The sit-down restaurants in the Bowling Green, KY metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #135 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 366
- 158 chain locations (43%)
- Official establishments
- 106
- −7.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $249.9M
- On food away from home · $3,408 a household
- Spending per listing
- $683K
- 3% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 49.9
- 19% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 197,180
- +9.5% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Bowling Green metro area
The site report maps the sit-down restaurants 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 366 sit-down restaurants in the Bowling Green metro area. Chain locations make up 43% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 49.9, 19% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the Bowling Green metro area comes to about $249.9M a year: $3,408 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. Spread across 366 sit-down restaurants, that is $683K per restaurant, 3% above the U.S. figure of $664K. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 106 businesses with payroll in the Bowling Green metro area classed as full-service restaurants, down 7.8% from 2019. That is one for every 692 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 29 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1.3M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Bowling Green metro area.
Population estimates show the Bowling Green metro area grew 9.5% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Bowling Green metro area scores 57 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #135 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. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the sit-down restaurants 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 | 49.9 | 49.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $683K | $707K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 692 | 646 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −7.8% | +1.2% | +1.5% |
| 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 | 57 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 106−7.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,762
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $64.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 29Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 366158 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 377The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $1.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-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.
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 sit-down restaurants 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 cardSit-down restaurants across Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for sit-down restaurants, 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 | 4,626 | 51.0 | $803K | +2.7% | #66 of 387 |
| 1Bowling Green, KY | 57 | 366 | 49.9 | $683K | +9.5% | #135 of 387 |
| 2Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 55 | 2,979 | 53.4 | $711K | +2.9% | #145 of 387 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 54 | 639 | 42.0 | $799K | −2.6% | #150 of 387 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 52 | 640 | 51.3 | $687K | +8.5% | #173 of 387 |
| 3Elizabethtown, KY | 51 | 257 | 50.8 | $701K | +2.4% | #179 of 387 |
| 4Owensboro, KY | 49 | 216 | 47.7 | $738K | +1.3% | #194 of 387 |
| 5Lexington-Fayette, KY | 40 | 1,341 | 62.0 | $609K | +3.4% | #277 of 387 |
| 6Paducah, KY-IL | 16 | 253 | 60.6 | $575K | −1.2% | #381 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 sit-down restaurants are in the Bowling Green, KY metro area?
There are 366 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Bowling Green metro area as of September 2026. 158 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 106 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 7.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 29 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 366 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $683K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. 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 sit-down restaurants?
The Bowling Green metro area has 49.9 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 19% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $683K, 3% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Bowling Green metro area would have about 377, against 366 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 692 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 7.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% 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 57 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #135 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 sit-down restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants · 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.