Franklin County, Kentucky Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Franklin County, KY Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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C
Health Below averageHealthier than 82% of counties in Kentucky
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C
Income Below averageWealthier than 89% of counties in Kentucky
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C
Education Below averageBetter educated than 93% of counties in Kentucky
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Franklin County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 51,842 | 4,533,530 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 244.5 | 112.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.41% | 0.33% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 41.4 | 37.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 22,718 | 1,813,524 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Franklin County grew by 6.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 51,842 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Franklin County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 21.7% of residents. That is 1.6 points above Kentucky as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 10,992 21.2% -0.2 pts
- Millennials 29–44 10,644 20.5% -0.4 pts
- Gen X 45–60 11,231 21.7% +1.6 pts
- Boomers 61–79 9,511 18.3% +0.5 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Kentucky, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 51.4% of the people living in Franklin County and men 48.6%.
- Women 51.4% Kentucky 50.5%
- Men 48.6% Kentucky 49.5%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Franklin County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Franklin County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.
| Metric | Franklin County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $67,514 | $64,312 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.50% | 4.62% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.9% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Franklin County is about 5% higher than in Kentucky.
Housing
| Metric | Franklin County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $117,377 | $118,017 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $967 | $967 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 64.5% | 68.3% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Franklin County is about 10.1 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $967 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Franklin County spend about 33 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 137 hours, about 5.7 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Franklin County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 16.4 | 20.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 32.9 | 41.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 137 | 173 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,244 | $5,369 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 14.2% | 10.2% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 8,940 | 6,995 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 822 | 832 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Kentucky:
Calloway County (13.9 min), Owsley County (15.0 min), Taylor County (15.3 min).
Slowest:
Owen County (37.7 min), Spencer County (33.3 min), Bracken County (33.2 min).
The average commute time in Franklin County is 16 minutes, shorter than the 21 minutes in Kentucky.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Franklin County has a education index of C, which means it is somewhat educated.
| Metric | Franklin County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 28.9% | 24.5% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.20 | 2.43 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Kentucky:
Fayette County (0.4), Oldham County (0.4), Campbell County (0.3).
Lowest:
Leslie County (0.1), Lee County (0.1), Elliott County (0.1).
Health
Franklin County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Franklin County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 75.8 | 75.0 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 18.6% | 23.2% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 20.8% | 26.0% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Kentucky:
Oldham County (0.8), Boone County (0.8), Scott County (0.8).
Lowest:
Clay County (0.7), Bell County (0.7), McCreary County (0.7).
Franklin County, KY Compared With Nearby Counties
Franklin County, KY is the 2nd largest of the 5 counties compared here, 51,842 residents against a local median of 38,187. The measure that sets Franklin County, KY apart most is commute: 16.4 min, 32% below the local median of 24.1 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
Median household income tells the same story from another angle: $67,514 against a local median of $84,965, 21% below it. The picture is mixed rather than uniform: commute runs ahead of the neighbourhood while median household income runs behind it, so Franklin County, KY is trading one against the other rather than simply out-performing what surrounds it. The counties themselves spread 8.7 min on commute, so Franklin County, KY sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Franklin County, KY has the lowest commute of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County, KY | 51,842 | $67,514 #5/5 | $117,377 #3/5 | 16.4 min #1/5 |
| Woodford County, KY | 27,278 | $83,715 | $38,589 | 22.8 min |
| Anderson County, KY | 24,353 | $74,458 | $41,316 | 29.0 min |
| Scott County, KY | 59,536 | $87,024 | $186,911 | 20.3 min |
| Shelby County, KY | 49,096 | $86,215 | $223,863 | 25.5 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Franklin County, Kentucky.
How many people live in Franklin County, Kentucky?
About 51,842 people live in Franklin County, Kentucky, in 22,718 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 41.4, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 4 years.
How densely populated is Franklin County, Kentucky?
Averaged over its land area, Franklin County, Kentucky has 245 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 2.8 times the U.S. average of 86.
Can a typical household afford a home in Franklin County, Kentucky?
The median home costs 1.7 times the median household income ($117,377 against $67,514), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $967 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
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