Workers in the Bowling Green, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $26.31 in May 2025, compared to the nationwide average of $33.54, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($51.03), healthcare practitioners and technical ($45.60), and legal ($43.24). Lower paying occupational groups included food preparation and serving related ($14.62), personal care and service ($16.11), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($17.25). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment shares in the Bowling Green area included production (12.0 percent), office and administrative support (11.2 percent), transportation and material moving (10.5 percent), and food preparation and serving related (10.2 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.5 percent) and life, physical, and social science (0.7 percent).

One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Bowling Green had 9,840 jobs in production, accounting for 12.0 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.5-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $25.13, compared to the national wage of $24.81.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (2,030) and multiple metal and plastic machine tool setters, operators, and tenders (1,440). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were first-line supervisors of production and operating workers ($35.81) and computer numerically controlled tool programmers ($34.32). At the lower end of the wage scale were pressers, textile, garment, and related materials ($13.07) and laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($13.87). (Detailed data for the production occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0014540/2025.)

Location quotients allow us to explore the occupational make-up of a metropolitan area by comparing the composition of jobs in an area relative to the national average. (See table 1.) For example, a location quotient of 2.00 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the Bowling Green area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, multiple metal and plastic machine tool setters, operators, and tenders were employed at 21.95 times the national rate in Bowling Green, and tool and die makers, at 5.83 times the U.S. average.

The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 530 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels; and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. Full OEWS data tables are available online.

Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology is available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 66.2 percent based on establishments and 67.2 percent based on weighted sampled employment. Sample sizes and response rates by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area are available on the Additional OEWS data sets page.

Metropolitan area definitions

The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

The Bowling Green, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Allen County, Butler County, Edmonson County, and Warren County.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.

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