Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Madisonville earns a D−, 161st among Tennessee's 175 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $40K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 66% of U.S. towns. Madisonville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Monroe County Courthouse and Cooke-Kefauver House. 18% of residents live below the poverty line in Madisonville, against 14% in Tennessee’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns.
Where Madisonville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Stickley House| Widest gap | Madisonville | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 22.8% | 14.6% |
Census counts: 324 in 1870, 5,132 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1845 and 4 maps from 1936 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), 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 draws workers from Sweetwater and beyond, fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
3,496 jobs are based in Madisonville, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Among working residents in Madisonville, 15% work locally. Jobs in Madisonville grew by 616 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 3,496. The top destinations are Vonore (17%), Knoxville (8%) and Athens (6%).
| Madisonville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $40,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
One of its 4 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. The public schools here belong to the Monroe County school district. The 4 public schools in Madisonville teach 1,707 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madisonville PrimaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 529 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Against the 2,359 U.S. towns with household incomes like Madisonville’s, it is less healthy than 58%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income. Within Tennessee it is less healthy than 71% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
20% of adults worry about having enough food in Madisonville. Among adults in the town, 22% smoke cigarettes and 22% report frequent mental distress.
| Madisonville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 29% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 20% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | Madisonville | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 22.8% | 14.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.3% | 8.6% |
| More smokers | 22.4% | 17.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 35.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 67% of Tennessee’s graded towns.
In Madisonville, the violent offense rate is 3.3 per 1,000 residents. The level of property crime in the town is 17.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Madisonville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.9 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Summer afternoons peak near 88° in July, and January nights bottom out around 30°; snowfall runs to about 4 inches a winter. Winters in Madisonville are mild and summers warm, with plenty of rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 5.7% in value. In Madisonville, the median rent is $726 a month. The share of households in Madisonville who are owner-occupiers: 60%.
| Madisonville | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $726 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 60% | 66% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 56% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Madisonville after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2015.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In 2 parks and preserves, walkers have 0.2 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Kefauver Park, at 47 acres. Parks and preserves in Madisonville: 2, covering 53 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kefauver Park | — | 47 |
| 2. Houston Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Madisonville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaNeyland Stadium
4 mi CaveCraighead Caverns
39 mi LookoutSunsphere
10 mi LandmarkFort Loudoun
13 mi Ancient siteTanasiGreat Smoky Mountains National Park: Scott Basford, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Neyland Stadium: Neomrbungle, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Craighead Caverns: Brenda, CC BY 2.0 · Sunsphere: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Loudoun: The original uploader was LMUBill at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tanasi: Brian Stansberry (photographer), CC BY 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Madisonville
About 3 of every 100 Madisonville residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
4,577 counted in 2010 and 5,132 in 2020; an estimated 5,428 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 5.7% since 2020, after 12.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
4 places in Madisonville on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Madisonville.
City in Tennessee, United States
Madisonville is the county seat of Monroe County, Tennessee, United States. It is located in East Tennessee on the eastern border of the state. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 5,132.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Madisonville grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #161 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades D for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 5.1 years of the area's median household income ($56,895 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
4 notable people were born here, including Estes Kefauver and Sue K. Hicks.
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