City · Monroe County, Kentucky

Tompkinsville, Kentucky

Tompkinsville is a city in Monroe County, Kentucky. It has 2,613 residents. Tompkinsville, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 32 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,677 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #112 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on reading scores (high), math scores (high) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on preventable hospital stays (high), hospital quality rating (low) and primary care shortage (high).

32Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,677 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #112 of 243 in KY
Population: 2,613 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 795.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2177160

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety91#1,426/15,637
Economy6#14,715/15,631
Housing96#562/14,977
Health10#14,028/15,609
Healthcare17#13,047/15,650
Environment54#7,111/15,453
Education54#7,125/15,649
Infrastructure15#13,359/15,650
Community12#13,746/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,608/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Tompkinsville, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Monroe County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Reading scores · high3.92
100/100Kentucky 3.05United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonroe County value
Math scores · high3.76
100/100Kentucky 3.00United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonroe County value
Grocery stores · high5.4 /10k
99/100Kentucky 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMonroe County value
Pharmacies · high3.6 /10k
99/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMonroe County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Kentucky 23.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMonroe County value
Property crime rate · low277 /100k
98/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureMonroe County value

Weaknesses

Preventable hospital stays · high8,273 /100k
0/100Kentucky 3,415 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonroe County value
Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100Kentucky 2.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMonroe County value
Primary care shortage · high20.0
1/100Kentucky 10.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMonroe County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.9 /10k
2/100Kentucky 4.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMonroe County value
Broadband subscriptions · low72.6%
3/100Kentucky 88.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Dental care shortage · high19.0
3/100Kentucky 10.9United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMonroe County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
2,966 (2015-2019) → 2,613 (2020-2024)
−12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
50.9% (2015-2019) → 28.9% (2020-2024)
−22 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
56.8% (2015-2019) → 36.9% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
68.4% (2015-2019) → 79.0% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
36.4% (2015-2019) → 26.8% (2020-2024)
−9.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Poverty rateImproving
35.1% (2015-2019) → 27.3% (2020-2024)
−7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Tompkinsville, Kentucky improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

High school++11 points68.4% → 79.0%
Child poverty−22 points50.9% → 28.9%
Inequality−0.0730.483 → 0.410

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Tompkinsville, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.0 min2015-2019	14.6 min2020-2024	−8.4 min	Within the margin of error	97%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.6%2015-2019	11.0%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Broadband subscriptions	71.7%2015-2019	72.6%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Child poverty rate	50.9%2015-2019	28.9%2020-2024	−22 points	Improved	95%
Effective property tax rate	0.57%2015-2019	0.71%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	4%
High school diploma or higher	68.4%2015-2019	79.0%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	96%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	66%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4832015-2019	0.4102020-2024	−0.073	Improved	91%
Median household income	$31,3642015-2019	$38,6282020-2024	+23%	Within the margin of error	40%
Poverty rate	35.1%2015-2019	27.3%2020-2024	−7.8 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Rent as share of income	36.4%2015-2019	26.8%2020-2024	−9.6 points	Within the margin of error	93%
Rent-burdened households	56.8%2015-2019	36.9%2020-2024	−20 points	Within the margin of error	94%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Tompkinsville, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Tompkinsville, Kentucky in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Tompkinsville, Kentucky itself moved +15.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,613 residents (±361)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,161 households (±167)

Tompkinsville, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k33%†382
$25k–50k26%†300
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,161 households (±167)

Tompkinsville, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own52%608
Rent48%553

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,094 workers (±219)

Tompkinsville, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone77%844
Carpool9.1%†100
Public transit0.2%†2

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Monroe County, the county holding most of Tompkinsville's residents.

Monroe County has 209 employer establishments, 186 for every 10,000 residents (0.75× the US rate of 248; 0.90× Kentucky's), with 2,649 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,737. The Census Bureau also counts 919 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 209; 919 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 186; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 2,649
Average annual pay: $46,737; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Monroe County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	17	15.1	0.73×Fewer than typical	120	$54,725	20
Specialty trade contractors	14	12.4	0.80×About typical	92	$87,043	142
Restaurants and other eating places	11	9.8	0.53×Fewer than typical	142	$12,430	10
Gasoline stations	8	7.1	2.19×Too few to compare	49	$43,633	—
Lessors of real estate	8	7.1	0.58×Too few to compare	17	$26,647	41
Religious organizations	8	7.1	1.28×Too few to compare	19	$19,421	—
Banks and credit unions	7	6.2	1.93×Too few to compare	49	$55,653	—
Truck transportation	7	6.2	1.23×Too few to compare	38	$50,211	28
Building equipment contractors	6	5.3	0.89×Too few to compare	37	$73,946	23
General merchandise stores	6	5.3	3.02×Too few to compare	190	$29,889	3
Insurance agencies and brokerages	6	5.3	1.21×Too few to compare	19	$47,947	20
Limited-service restaurants	6	5.3	0.67×Too few to compare	112	$10,946	4

Rank places for an industry Open Monroe County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 11,246 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Tompkinsville, Kentucky: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

7.7FY2021

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Tompkinsville, Kentucky, so they do not add up across cities.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Tompkinsville is mostly in Monroe County.

See federal money in Monroe County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Tompkinsville, Kentucky is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

James ComerR-KY-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Monroe County32100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Monroe County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2177160

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends