How much do Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors make in Bowling Green, KY?

Percentile spread

For Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors, the published 10th percentile is $29,930 and the 90th percentile is $52,470. The difference is $22,540, which is 61.2% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $34,380 to the 75th at $48,870, covers $14,490.

The mean annual wage is $41,080, which sits above the median of $36,810. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Bowling Green, KY median is 25.9% lower than the national median of $49,690 for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors. In 2024 national prices the local median is $40,819, which is 17.9% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 14.6% lower than the Kentucky median of $43,100.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Bowling Green, KY is 90.179, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $36,810 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors at $40,819 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

19 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors. Bowling Green, KY ranks 18th of 20 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

• Elizabethtown, KY is 50 miles away, with a median of $47,700 and employment of 50. That median is 29.6% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $52,665, against $40,819 here.
• Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN is 68 miles away, with a median of $57,650 and employment of 520. That median is 56.6% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $59,841, against $40,819 here.
• Clarksville, TN-KY is 72 miles away, with a median of $49,670 and employment of 70. That median is 34.9% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $54,614, against $40,819 here.

Employment share

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors accounts for 0.09% of wage-and-salary employment in Bowling Green, KY (70 of 82,160). Nationally the occupation is 0.09% of employment (147,240 of 155,495,730). The local share is 0.90 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.