Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Madisonville grades C− overall, 120th among Kentucky's 138 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 88% of the country. It also does better than most on safety: it reports less crime per resident than 71% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $54K, and 23% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $154K, 2.7 years of the Madisonville area’s $57K median household income. 43% of working residents work locally in Madisonville, above both Kentucky’s towns (15%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Madisonville Commercial Historic District and Madisonville Tuberculosis Hospital.
Where Madisonville beats most towns.
Chittenden P. Lyon Jr. House| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Madisonville Community College | 2,426 |
Census counts: 37 in 1810, a low of 37 in 1810, 19,542 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1954 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Madisonville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Madisonville, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Madisonville.
Madisonville has homes that are cheap against local pay and has commutes shorter than most of Kentucky.
44% of Madisonville adults sleep under 7 hours. Madisonville beats the Kentucky average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 21% of Madisonville adults smoke cigarettes.
| Madisonville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 40% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Madisonville | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.7% | 5.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 20.4% | 15.5% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 11% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Hopkins County school district. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse Stuart Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 486 | C |
| Madisonville North Hopkins High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,023 | B |
| Pride Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 404 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
6.9 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Mahr Park, at 242 acres.
| Madisonville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Madisonville City Park | 1.2 mi | 98 |
| 2. Dr. Festus Clayborn Park | 0.7 mi | 14 |
| 3. Mahr Park | — | 242 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2.7 years of the Madisonville area’s $57K median household income, the typical home (about $154K) costs less against local pay than in 84% of Kentucky towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. The typical value, about $154K, is 11% below its May 2025 peak.
Typical home values fell 8.2% in the year to September 2026. Madisonville’s median rent is $838 a month.
| Madisonville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $838 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 63% | 59% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The property crime rate in Madisonville is 4.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Madisonville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Madisonville has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 27° and about 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities. Since 1991, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Madisonville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 7,846 working residents takes 18 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky.
4.5% of workers work from home in Madisonville. Jobs based in Madisonville fell to 11,609 in 2023, 1,360 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Hanson (4%), Hopkinsville (4%) and Owensboro (3%).
| Madisonville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 4.5% | 10% | 11% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Kentucky average. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Kentucky.
| Madisonville | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 26% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.3 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.6 points). Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Madisonville | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.2% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.4% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.6% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.4% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12.7% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 21% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.7% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 12.3% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.4% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of Madisonville
About 4 of every 100 Madisonville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
12 places in Madisonville on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Kentucky, United States
Madisonville is a city in and the county seat of Hopkins County, Kentucky, United States, located along Interstate 69 in the state's Western Coal Fields region. As of the 2020 census, Madisonville had a population of 19,542. Madisonville is a commercial center of the region and is home to Madisonville Community College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Madisonville.
| Town | KY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madisonville | #120 | C− | B− | B+ | C | D |
| Earlington | — | — | A | — | C | D− |
Earlington has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Earlington reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Madisonville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Madisonville grades C− overall, better than 17% of U.S. towns and #120 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades D for health, B+ for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
