Work & commute · Bowling Green

Work & commute in Bowling Green, KY

57% of Bowling Green’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Franklin (4%), Lexington-Fayette urban county (2%) and Portland (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

57%

15,683 of 27,385 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,702 Bowling Green residents head out of town to work, 15,683 work right here, and 42,423 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bowling Green.

11,702live here, work elsewhere

15,683live and work here

42,423work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bowling Green goes to work

Bowling Green (in town)right here

57%15,683

Franklin19.1 mi away

4%970

Lexington-Fayette urban county130.9 mi away

2%516

Portland, TN26.7 mi away

2%457

Glasgow28.1 mi away

1%345

Owensboro65.7 mi away

1%276

Scottsville20.1 mi away

1%224

Hopkinsville58.2 mi away

1%184

Russellville27.2 mi away

1%153

Elizabethtown58.7 mi away

1%149

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%8,428

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Bowling Green commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

62%

23%

62%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bowling Green is a job hub

2.12jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Bowling Green are

58,106 jobs are based in Bowling Green. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bowling Green’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bowling Green

58,106 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Bowling Green residents hold

27,385 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+16%

Jobs based in Bowling Green, 2013 → 2023: 50,207 → 58,106. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.