Madisonville, the County Seat, is located in Hopkins County (Central Western Kentucky) where “High Tech” meets Hospitality. Madisonville is a community with a small town atmosphere and the amenities of a much larger city.  The population of Hopkins County is 46,364, while the estimated population of Madisonville is 19,034. Madisonville is midway between the borders of Indiana and Tennessee. Larger cities in the area are Evansville, Indiana (50 Miles North), Louisville, Kentucky (150 Miles Northeast) and Nashville, Tennessee (100 Miles Southeast).

The coal industry has played a significant role in the development of Hopkins County. Still an important employer today, coal is joined by a numberof good corporate neighbors including General Electric Aircraft Engines, Ahlstrom Filtration, Carhartt Inc. and Lear Corporation. County employment data reflects the following occupational categories: manufacturing 3,289, mining 976, wholesale/retail 4,226, services 4,580 and construction 621.

There are more than 75 churches in Hopkins County representing most faiths and denominations.

Seven thousand five hundred students are enrolled in the Hopkins County School System. These students are served by two high schools (Madisonville North Hopkins and Hopkins County Central), three middle schools and eight elementary schools.

Madisonville Community College, a member or KCTCS (Kentucky Community and Technical College System), offers a wide array of post-secondary classes that can lead to associate degrees in ten different areas. The college has an enrollment of more than 2000 students. On campus is the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts, a 37,000 square foot performing and visual arts center with 1,061 seats.  It can also be converted to a 200 seat black box theater. It has always been the mission of the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts to develop diverse visual, cultural, and artistic programming that serves the community and the College’s service area; and through that programming, to nurture an appreciation for a wide variety of art forms. 

The four-year colleges and universities in the area are Kentucky Wesleyan, Owensboro (45 Miles); Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green (85 Miles); Murray State University, Murray (90 Miles); University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana (50 Miles); University of Southern Indiana, Evansville (50 Miles) and Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee (60 Miles).

Vocational schools provide training to develop skills that serve the needs of local.industry, and the health campus provides training for employment in the medical field.  

Madisonville has a daily newspaper (The Messenger) and three commercial radio stations. There is one religious television station and cable TV service is available. A modern airport serves general and corporate aviation. Commercial air service is available at major airports in Evansville, Indiana and Nashville, Tennessee.

Madisonville is one of the state’s leading medical centers with approximately 3,500 employed in the medical services field.  Baptist Health System, with the 400 bed hospital, Multi-Site Clinic, Merle Mahr Cancer Center, Jack Hamman Heart and Vascular Center, and Sports Medicine Center; along with Multicare Specialists, a division of Owensboro Medical Health System provide state of the art health care for the entire region. Health care services in Madisonville rival those found in much larger cities.

Hopkins County has abundant outdoor recreation opportunities. Natural and manmade resources allow residents to pursue a variety of activities including fishing, hunting, boating and golfing. Madisonville is located an hour east of Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. The city, with 480 acres of park land provides year round supervised recreational programs for all ages. The 185-acre Municipal Park includes an eighteen hole golf course, olympic size pool, tennis courts, exercise trail, two fishing lakes and picnic areas. Lake Pee Wee, a 452 acre man made reservoir, offers fishing and sailing. Two local country clubs sport 18 hole golf courses. Supervised baseball, basketball, football, swimming, and soccer leagues are available for youth. Tennis and golf clinics are sponsored by the city and local civic groups. The  Hopkins County FamilyYMCA, a movie theater, a roller-skating rink, and a bowling alley are just a few of the indoor recreational opportunities. 

The Hopkins County Family YMCA offers recreational facilities for all ages. One of the highlights of the local “Y” is the Child Development Center, a licensed day care facility offering full time care for first and second shift workers.  After school programs and transportation are also available.