Bowling Green is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Bowling Green have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Bowling Green’s economy is one such example of this.
Bowling Green, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
The citizens of Bowling Green are among the most well-educated in the nation: 46.29% of adults in Bowling Green have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Bowling Green in 2022 was $26,768, which is lower middle income relative to Ohio and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $107,072 for a family of four. However, Bowling Green contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Bowling Green also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 30.80% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Bowling Green is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Bowling Green home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Bowling Green residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Bowling Green include German, Irish, English, Polish, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Bowling Green is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
