Hopkinsville local tax guide
Who pays Hopkinsville's local tax
Hopkinsville's tax is owed on work done in the city, wherever the worker lives. Commuters from Pembroke, Oak Grove, Cadiz, or Clarksville, Tennessee pay 2% on wages earned in Hopkinsville. A Hopkinsville resident who works on Fort Campbell or in Clarksville pays nothing to the city on that pay, since those jobs sit outside the city limits. Remote work performed from a home inside Hopkinsville is work done in the city, even for an employer located elsewhere.
One local tax, not two
The city levies a flat 2% on gross compensation for work performed in Hopkinsville, as shown in the Kentucky Secretary of State's occupational tax records. It applies from the first dollar: $800 at $40,000, $1,200 at $60,000, and $3,000 at $150,000.
Most Kentucky counties around the cities we cover charge their own occupational tax, which can push the local total well past the city rate. Christian County is listed without a county payroll tax in the Kentucky Association of Counties' 2026 survey, so for workers inside Hopkinsville our estimate captures the full local cost.
Worked example: $75,000 in Hopkinsville
Consider a single filer with a $75,000 salary from a Hopkinsville employer. Federal withholding totals $7,670 for the year, Social Security $4,650, and Medicare $1,088. Kentucky subtracts its $3,360 standard deduction and taxes the rest at 3.5%, for $2,507.
Hopkinsville's 2% removes $1,500, so the worker keeps $57,585, or $4,799 a month. Without the city tax the paycheck would be $59,085, a difference of about $125 a month.
The Kentucky $75,000 salary page shows the same state-level paycheck by pay period.
Fort Campbell and the Tennessee line
Hopkinsville sits less than 30 miles north of Clarksville, Tennessee, and Fort Campbell straddles the state line between them. Kentucky has no reciprocity agreement with Tennessee, which has no income tax on wages, so the state rules here run in one direction.
A Tennessee resident working in Hopkinsville pays Kentucky income tax on those wages plus the city's 2%. A Hopkinsville resident working in Clarksville owes Kentucky's 3.5% as a resident, but a Tennessee employer may not withhold Kentucky tax, so set up extra withholding or quarterly estimated payments.
Your Kentucky withholding certificate is Form K-4. Military pay follows separate rules that are outside the scope of this page.
Hopkinsville compared with other cities
On paper, Hopkinsville's 2% matches Bowling Green, Paducah, Richmond, and Florence, but those cities sit in counties that levy their own occupational taxes, so a Hopkinsville job can come out ahead locally. At $75,000 the city tax is $563 less than a Lexington resident pays and $150 less than a Louisville resident, and $262 more than Henderson's 1.65%. The Bowling Green calculator shows the nearest larger city.
Tips for Hopkinsville paychecks
Clarksville job? Cover your Kentucky tax
A Clarksville employer may withhold nothing for Kentucky. Ask yours to withhold Kentucky tax or make estimated payments.
Confirm the job site is inside the city
Industrial sites around Hopkinsville are not all inside city limits. A workplace outside the city avoids the 2% tax entirely, because Christian County has no payroll tax.
Tennessee commuters should file Kentucky returns
Kentucky taxes wages earned in Hopkinsville no matter where you live. Tennessee residents file a Kentucky nonresident return to settle the state tax.