ZIP code
42104
in Bowling Green, KentuckyPopulation 42,076
46.69/ 100
Ranked #20,534 of 32,066 US ZIPs (bottom 36%)
Ranked #119 of 742 Kentucky ZIPs (top 16%)
Ranked #5 of 17 Bowling Green, KY ZIPs (top 29%)
Ranks are modeled estimates — ZIPs a few hundred places apart are effectively tied.
Some domains have limited local data — read this Score as directional
What defines this ZIP
Metrics where this ZIP sits in the tails of the national distribution — the ones that most set it apart. Select any tile for its definition and methodology.
Natural-disaster risk
in the top 0.6% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST99thUS99thDefinition & source ›
This area’s national rank on its single highest non-flood natural hazard — such as wildfire, tornado, or earthquake — in FEMA’s modeled National Risk Index; flooding is shown separately.
Full methodology ›Expected annual disaster loss
$0
in the top 5.3% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST96thUS95thDefinition & source ›
FEMA’s modeled estimate, in dollars per year, of the average harm to people expected from natural hazards — an annualized average, not a forecast for any single year.
Full methodology ›Radon
3 pCi/L
in the top 9.9% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST99thUS90thDefinition & source ›
The modeled typical indoor radon level for this area, in picocuries per liter — the EPA recommends fixing a home at 4 pCi/L or above.
Modeled from indoor-radon measurements. In Alaska and Hawaii, where those measurements are not published, a US Geological Survey geologic radon-potential category stands in — a coarser input, disclosed rather than hidden.
Full methodology ›Industrial-pollution burden
in the top 9.7% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST89thUS90thDefinition & source ›
The EPA’s modeled screening score for industrial chemical releases, weighting the amounts released by their toxicity and how many people live nearby — a relative comparison score, not a measured exposure.
Full methodology ›Subsidized affordable housing
240 units
in the top 10.3% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST96thUS90thDefinition & source ›
The number of affordable rental units in this ZIP supported by the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
Full methodology ›Physician access
1.6 per 1,000 residents
in the top 10.6% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST94thUS89thDefinition & source ›
The number of physicians’ offices located inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.
Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.
Full methodology ›Elder-services access
0.11 per 1,000 residents
in the top 14.3% nationally
Higher is healthier
ST90thUS86thDefinition & source ›
The number of services for older adults and people with disabilities inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.
Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.
Full methodology ›Energy-cost burden
2.1%
in the bottom 14.7% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST5thUS15thDefinition & source ›
The modeled share of household income spent on home energy bills — electricity, gas, and heating fuels.
A modeled share of household income spent on home energy. Estimates that hit the model’s 100% ceiling are suppressed rather than published, because at that point the figure reflects the model’s limit rather than a measured burden.
Full methodology ›Humid extreme heat
100.2 days/year
in the top 23% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST93rdUS77thDefinition & source ›
The average number of days per year when modeled heat stress — temperature, humidity, sun, and wind combined — reaches levels hard on the body outdoors.
Full methodology ›Fine-particle (PM2.5) exceedance
0.27%
in the top 32% nationally
Lower is healthier
ST94thUS68thDefinition & source ›
The share of days in the year when modeled fine-particle (PM2.5) pollution was above the EPA’s daily limit of 35 micrograms per cubic meter.
Full methodology ›The read
From the measures that could be gathered, ZIP 42104, one of several in Bowling Green, Kentucky lands in the bottom 36% nationally (20,534th) and the top 16% of Kentucky (119th), based on limited data; treat as directional.
From the data that is available, the profile takes shape carefully: distance to an emergency room rests at the national minimum, shared with about 11% of ZIPs. Subsidized affordable housing resides in the top 10.3% nationally, and physicians is in the top 10.6% nationally. Distance to a community health center lands at the national minimum, shared with about 23% of ZIPs. Mental-health providers stands in the top 13.3% nationally. Distance to a nursing home registers at the national minimum, shared with about 27% of ZIPs. On the other side, modeled disaster risk settles in the top 0.6% nationally, expected annual loss sits in the top 5.3% nationally, and radon lies in the top 9.9% nationally. Modeled industrial-pollution burden rests in the top 9.7% nationally.
Beside the areas that surround it, industrial-pollution burden runs far higher than the surrounding ZIPs on this measure. For readers new to these terms, disaster risk is the area's national rank on its highest non-flood peril in FEMA's modeled Risk Index, like wildfire or quake. Expected annual loss is FEMA's modeled estimate, in dollars, of average yearly harm to people from natural hazards. Radon is a radioactive soil gas the EPA identifies as the top cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers. Among nearby ZIPs, the nearest healthier one overall is ZIP 42103, just across the boundary.
What’s driving this score
Nine domains make up the ZipVitals Score — here is how this ZIP does on each, and how much each one counts.
Compared with the ZIP codes measured across all nine scoring domains — not with all US ZIP codes.
Lifting this score
Social Need / SDOH
healthier than 75%
19%
Healthcare Access
in the top 0.00%
6%
About typical
Preventive CarePartial
healthier than 44%
15%
Climate / Disaster Risk
healthier than 51%
6%
Holding it back
Environmental Hazard
healthier than 11%
16%
Not placed: Chronic Disease Burden and Risk Behavior — too little of each is measured here to compare reliably. They still count toward the score (together 38% of it); we just will not publish a standing we cannot stand behind.
No data: Mental Health and Disability — not measured in this ZIP, so it is left out of the score entirely rather than estimated.
Lifting this score
Social Need / SDOH
in the top 0.00%
19%
Preventive CarePartial
in the top 0.00%
15%
Healthcare Access
in the top 0.00%
6%
Holding it back
Environmental Hazard
in the bottom 0.00%
16%
Climate / Disaster Risk
healthier than 20%
6%
Not placed: Chronic Disease Burden and Risk Behavior — too little of each is measured here to compare reliably. They still count toward the score (together 38% of it); we just will not publish a standing we cannot stand behind.
No data: Mental Health and Disability — not measured in this ZIP, so it is left out of the score entirely rather than estimated.
“Share” is how much of this ZIP’s score the domain accounts for. Percentages are rounded; higher is healthier in every domain. How the score works, and who it compares you with ›
Nearby & similar ZIPs
Editorially selected — see how this ZIP compares to nearby and similar places.
Nearby
42101
Kentuckyshares a border
Score 30.44
Closest healthier
42103
Kentuckyshares a border
Score 55.51
Similar health profile
41042
Kentucky98% similar profile
Score 45.27
How these were chosen: only ZIPs with a published Score appear — a nearby ZIP with too little data to score won’t. Nearby means closest by distance between ZIP boundaries, which can cross state lines. A similar health profile is a close match across the nine Score domains, not similar demographics. Distances are measured between ZIP boundaries — ZIPs that touch share a border. How distance is measured
Evidence
Every measure this page draws on, by source. Collapsed by default — the full data stays in the page for search engines either way.
Health OutcomesCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years | 16.7% | 13.8–19.9 |
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years | 66.5% | 61.5–71.2 |
| Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults | 60.8% | 57.2–64.3 |
| Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years | 74.3% | 66.4–81.3 |
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
| Measure | Crude prevalence | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Short sleep duration among adults | 38.3% | 32.4–44.4 |
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | KY median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poverty rate | 12.4% | 10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,364 | 17.1% (4.6–39.2%) n=747 |
| Uninsured 18–64 | 10.4% | 9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,286 | 6.9% (0.0–16.5%) n=741 |
| No HS diploma (25+) | 9.8% | 7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,505 | 13.7% (3.8–29.1%) n=748 |
| Bachelor's or higher (25+) | 40.8% | 23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,505 | 14.8% (1.5–33.6%) n=748 |
| Unemployment rate (16+) | 5.6% | 3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,274 | 3.8% (0.0–11.2%) n=733 |
| Households without a vehicle | 7.0% | 3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,322 | 4.6% (0.0–15.0%) n=745 |
| Broadband subscription | 93.4% | 89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,322 | 86.7% (71.5–97.1%) n=745 |
| Housing cost burden (≥30% income) | 22.7% | 23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,322 | 20.9% (6.2–34.7%) n=745 |
| Homeownership rate | 61.7% | 78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,322 | 78.0% (58.2–96.7%) n=745 |
| Crowded housing (>1 per room) | 3.4% | 1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,322 | 0.7% (0.0–4.8%) n=745 |
| Foreign-born population | 13.2% | 2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,553 | 0.3% (0.0–5.4%) n=749 |
| Single-parent households | 45.3% | 53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,087 | 52.0% (34.7–75.0%) n=738 |
| Population 65+ | 14.9% | 19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,553 | 18.2% (9.6–29.6%) n=749 |
| Median age | 37.0 yr | 42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,292 | 41.8 yr (32.3–53.9) n=738 |
| Median household income | $75,164 | $72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318 | $57,097 ($34,611–$87,693) n=645 |
| Median home value | $306,400 | $222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049 | $144,600 ($66,860–$265,120) n=643 |
| Median gross rent | $1,029 | $1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670 | $821 ($592–$1,170) n=466 |
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
| Measure | Value | US median (p10–p90) | KY median (p10–p90) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy unavailable for this ZIP — fewer than 80% of the census tracts that make it up could be matched across the 2010→2020 tract-boundary revision, so no value is published rather than an unreliable one. See how coverage gaps are handled. | |||
More ZIPs to explore ▾More ZIPs to explore ▴
How these lists were built: they draw only from ZIPs that have a published Score, so ZIPs with too little data to score are not listed. Distance-based lists use distance between ZIP boundaries with no state filter, so an out-of-state ZIP can appear. Statistically similar means a close match across the nine Score domains, not a demographic match: the measure is the cosine similarity between two ZIPs’ domain scores, taken over the domains both ZIPs have data for and only where that overlap covers at least six of the nine — and where no ZIP clears that minimum-overlap floor, that list is left out rather than filled with a weak match. How distance is measured