Bowling Green, KY vs Owensboro, KY: Crime Rate Comparison (2025)
A side-by-side look at reported crime in Bowling Green and Owensboro, on the FBI-based Crime Index (0–100, higher = safer) for 2025.
Bowling Green is the safer city
Bowling Green scores 73/100 (grade C) versus 62/100 (grade C) for Owensboro — a 11-point gap. Owensboro's violent-crime rate is 2.2× Bowling Green. Across the 8 offense categories, Bowling Green has the lower rate in 7.
Bowling Green, KY
SaferCrime Index
- Population
- 80,821
- Violent / 100k
- 184
- Property / 100k
- 2,274
- In Kentucky
- #1 of 2
Owensboro, KY
Crime Index
- Population
- 60,774
- Violent / 100k
- 411
- Property / 100k
- 2,332
- In Kentucky
- #2 of 2
Crime rates head-to-head
| Metric | Bowling Green | Owensboro | US average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Index (higher = safer) | 73C | 62C | 73C |
| Violent crime /100k | 184 | 411 | 315 |
| Property crime /100k | 2,274 | 2,332 | 1,487 |
| Homicide /100k | 2.5 | 4.9 | 4.1 |
| Total reported /100k | 2,459 | 2,743 | 1,802 |
Grade shown per index band (88–100 = A … 0–29 = F). Rates are reported offenses per 100,000 residents.
By offense
Rate per 100,000 residents — the lower (safer) city is highlighted.
| Offense | Bowling Green | Owensboro |
|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 2.5 | 4.9 |
| Rape | 69.3 | 64.2 |
| Robbery | 27.2 | 42.8 |
| Aggravated assault | 85.4 | 299 |
| Burglary | 261 | 275 |
| Larceny-theft | 1,813 | 1,848 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 197 | 204 |
| Arson | 3.7 | 4.9 |
Crime trends
Bowling Green
Owensboro
Frequently asked questions
Is Bowling Green or Owensboro safer?
Which has more violent crime, Bowling Green or Owensboro?
What are the odds of violent crime in Bowling Green vs Owensboro?
No area has zero risk
A high Crime Index score means lower reported crime relative to other US cities — it is not a guarantee of safety. Reported crime is not the same as actual crime. Research on the gap between crime that occurs and crime that gets reported to police — often called the "dark figure" of crime — estimates that roughly 40% of violent crime and about a third of property crime go unreported each year. Every index built on official statistics, including this one, necessarily undercounts real crime. That gap is exactly why homicide — the offense with the smallest dark figure — anchors the calculation instead of a more commonly reported but less reliable category like theft.
Scores on this page reflect FBI-reported data for 2025. See the full methodology →
Protecting yourself in Bowling Green & Owensboro
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