Madisonville is a commercial center of the region featuring shopping, dining, and entertainment. The Madisonville area is home to malls, a movie theater, casual dining establishments, a community college, fast-food establishments and its own radio and television stations. Currently, new commercial interests are being developed.
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,307 people, 8,077 households, and 5,330 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,085.0 people per square mile (418.8/km²). There were 8,889 housing units at an average density of 499.5/sq mi (192.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.21% White, 11.24% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.34% of the population.
There were 8,077 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,097, and the median income for a family was $38,688. Males had a median income of $32,064 versus $20,940 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,381. About 13.0% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.5% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
Madisonville is bisected laterally by the Pennyrile Parkway: a north-south corridor that connects Hopkinsville with Henderson and feeds into U.S. 41A at Hopkinsville, leading to I-24 East. This section of the Pennyrile Parkway is to be incorporated into the new I-69 Corridor. The Western Kentucky Parkway is only a few miles south. The Western Kentucky Parkway's westbound lanes feed into I-24 West; the eastbound lanes feed into I-65 East via the Blue Grass Parkway at Elizabethtown. The Western Kentucky Parkway also intersects I-65, which feeds into Bowling Green to the south. In addition to trucking routes, CSX Railway runs through Madisonville.
The Madisonville Municipal Airport, after a recent expansion, currently has a runway that is 6050 x 100 ft.