Owensboro, KY vs Bowling Green, KY
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Owensboro, KY spends 32% more per resident than Bowling Green, KY: $13,719 against $10,426. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Owensboro, KY edges Bowling Green, KY on the Fiscal Health Score by 2 points — 82/100 (grade A) to 80/100 (grade A). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Owensboro, KY at $925 per resident and in Bowling Green, KY at $1,273.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 15% of total revenue in Owensboro, KY and 100% in Bowling Green, KY.
Summary
Owensboro spends 31.6% more per capita than Bowling Green ($3,293/person difference). Owensboro, KY has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 82/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $366 | $348 |
| Income Tax | $1,330 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $12,627 | $23,385 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,601 | $0 |
| Other | $5,535 | $1,819 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Education | $459 | $85 |
| Public Welfare | $1,139 | $861 |
| Hospitals | $1,646 | $1,024 |
| Parks & Recreation | $925 | $1,273 |
| Housing | $1,738 | $2,188 |
| Sewerage | $53 | $0 |
| Utilities | $2,558 | $4 |
| Interest on Debt | $370 | $227 |
| Other | $4,831 | $4,763 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.