Metro Life Score
Bowling Green, KY
Top-10% composite Life Score — grade A, 94th percentile of the national corpus.
- 62.8
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #24
- of 387 metros
- 94%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Bowling Green is top-10% composite Life Score — #24 of 387 (62.8/100, grade A, 94th percentile). Carried by rent at 93/100; held back most by wages at 12/100.
- 94th
- composite percentile
- #24
- of 387 peers
- 74th
- cost dimension percentile
- 12th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature composite
Bowling Green: top-third composite Life Score
Bowling Green clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#24 of 387, 62.8/100, grade A, 94th percentile). Stamps TOP · BALANCED; cost CHEAP (74th) · wages LOW (12th). Rent at 93/100 carries the lead; Wages (12/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Bowling Green, KY ranks #24 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #102 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 90.2 (rent-RPP 63.4). BLS median salary $57,585, 74,850 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand). HUD 2BR FMR $996/mo (studio $759).
FBI UCR (KY): 225 violent, 1397 property/100K. NCES: 15.1:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,238/yr. EPA: 20 Superfund sites (KY).
Where Bowling Green sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
63 Top 6% higher than 94% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 62.8 is built
Bowling Green's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Bowling Green scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are KY state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Bowling Green With...
Ranking Context
Bowling Green outranks 94% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #21 | Hattiesburg, MS | 62.9 | A |
| #22 | Dubuque, IA | 62.9 | A |
| #23 | Idaho Falls, ID | 63.2 | A |
| #24 | Bowling Green, KY | 62.8 | A |
| #25 | Duluth, MN-WI | 62.7 | A |
| #26 | Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 62.7 | A |
| #27 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 62.4 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Bowling Green, KY is top 6% highest-quality nationally but only top 26% most affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
KY Metro Scores
Read with Bowling Green
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Bowling Green (TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Duluth, MN-WI
ABS(composite) peer at 62.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Dubuque, IA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Hattiesburg, MS
ABS(composite) peer at 62.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Las Cruces, NM (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 74/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Manhattan, KS (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 74/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Bowling Green, KY relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Bowling Green's top-third Life Score
Bowling Green scores 62.8/100 overall, but Rent (93.0) and Wages (11.7) sit 81.3 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Bowling Green's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Paducah is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Paducah
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.