Located 60 miles north of Nashville and 110 miles south of Louisville off Interstate 65, Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington. The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau total for Bowling Green is 58,067, and the population of Warren County is 113,792. In 2003, Bowling Green and its surrounding communities were designated as a "metropolitan area" but separate city and county governments remain.
Significant companies in Bowling Green include the GM Corvette Assembly Plant, Fruit of the Loom/ Russell Athletics, Houchens Industries, Holley Performance Products, Bowling Green Metalforming, and Camping World. The third largest Kentucky public university, Western Kentucky University, is situated upon a hill in central Bowling Green. Its athletic teams are called Hilltoppers, and the Men’s Basketball program is the 14th winningest Division 1 program in the country. The city of Bowling Green and the county of Warren (as of January 2019) are both ‘wet’ allowing establishments with alcohol licenses to serve and sale liquor, beer and wine seven days a week.
- Designated one of National Geographic's World's Best Cities with inclusion on its 10 Best All-American Cities list
- Ranked by MONEY Magazine as The Best Place to Live in Kentucky in 2018 (Learn more from our Chamber of Commerce here)
- Named a Dozen Distinctive Destination by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Selected as an All-America City Finalist in 2010 by the National Civic League
- Chosen as a Top Ten Great Public Space (Downtown Fountain Square) by the American Planning Association
- Included in Forbes' Top 25 Places to Retire list in 2014 and 2015, and regularly appear on its list of Best Small Places for Businesses and Careers (highest placement of #5 in 2011)
- Tabbed as one of the Fifty Best Adventure Towns in the country by National Geographic Adventure magazine - 2007 '50 Best Places to Live and Play' issue
- Named by SportsEvents as a "Destination to Watch" and recipient of a Readers' Choice Award based on our high standard of professionalism and quality service in hosting events
- Picked as a top 25 Best Place to Launch a Small Business by CNNMoney.com
- Ranked among the top metropolitan areas with populations less than 200,000 for its number of industry expansions and locations by Site Selection magazine
- Included in the 2020 Top 100 Places to Live list by Livability.com, coming in at #89
- Designated one of National Geographic's World's Best Cities with inclusion on its 10 Best All-American Cities list
- Ranked by MONEY Magazine as The Best Place to Live in Kentucky in 2018 (Learn more from our Chamber of Commerce here)
- Named a Dozen Distinctive Destination by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Selected as an All-America City Finalist in 2010 by the National Civic League
- Chosen as a Top Ten Great Public Space (Downtown Fountain Square) by the American Planning Association
- Included in Forbes' Top 25 Places to Retire list in 2014 and 2015, and regularly appear on its list of Best Small Places for Businesses and Careers (highest placement of #5 in 2011)
- Tabbed as one of the Fifty Best Adventure Towns in the country by National Geographic Adventure magazine - 2007 '50 Best Places to Live and Play' issue
- Named by SportsEvents as a "Destination to Watch" and recipient of a Readers' Choice Award based on our high standard of professionalism and quality service in hosting events
- Picked as a top 25 Best Place to Launch a Small Business by CNNMoney.com
- The National Corvette Museum was honored as the Best Attraction for Car Lovers in the 2020 USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice awards and previously named one of the Top 10 Automobile Museums by Edmunds.com
- The NCM Motorsports Park was named as the 2014 Outstanding Facility of the Year (the track opened in August 2014!) by the Race Track Business Conference
- The Historic Railpark & Train Museum has been recognized numerous times with a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence for consistently receiving great traveler reviews
- The Club at Olde Stone has been included in Golfweek Magazine's Best Residential Golf Course, Best Modern Golf Course, Top 100 Modern Courses lists as well as ranking #8 in Golf Digest's ranking of America's Best New Courses when it opened
- Beech Bend Amusement Park is consistently recognized as one of the Top 5 Friendliest Parks and its Kentucky Rumbler one of the Top 20 Best Wooden Roller Coasters by Amusement Today readers
- The Professional Disc Golf Association rated Kereiakes Park Disc Golf Course a National Top 25 Disc Golf Course
- Chaney’s Dairy Barn was named the Best Ice Cream Parlor in Kentucky by USA Today in 2010
- Western Kentucky University (WKU) has been the fastest growing university in Kentucky for fourteen years and is one of three universities in Kentucky listed in “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition," making its third appearance in the guide
- WKU is one of 25 Safe Communities in the U.S. as accredited by the National Safety Council, becoming the fourth academic institution worldwide to receive the designation.
