Franklin, Kentucky

Area Profile

10,360 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Franklin, in Simpson County.

57out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 42% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity4,107th of 4,199 cities measured22
SchoolsTop 33% of 4,162 cities measured63
GrowthTop 29% of 4,224 cities measured60
Housing affordabilityTop 18% of 4,218 cities measured78
ClimateTop 30% of 4,225 cities measured74
Physical resilienceTop 44% of 4,226 cities measured64
Access3,486th of 4,226 cities measured77
Economic stability3,684th of 4,226 cities measured33
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places Franklin in the bottom 2%. The unemployment rate is published for Simpson County, KY, which contains Franklin, rather than for Franklin alone.

In the public schools here, 51% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.4 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 88 units authorized over the past twelve months, 15% below the prior year. The change in permitting is published for Simpson County, KY, which contains Franklin, rather than for Franklin alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
10,360
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,052
Bottom 38% nationally
Density
687/sq mi
15.1 sq mi of land
Median age
35.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Kentucky
Micro area
Nearest major airport
BNA
42 mi · Nashville Intl
Median home value
$195,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Simpson County, KY, which contains Franklin, is 5.3% — higher than in all but 17% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Simpson County, KY, which contains Franklin, fell 3.5% over the past year, to 8,162 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsSimpson County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$47,5465th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSimpson County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$45,5703rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$8,4252024 ACS 5-Year$59,052Bottom 38%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,0142024 ACS 5-Year$27,990Bottom 30%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year17.5%Bottom 28%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.4 minTop 19%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.5%Bottom 36%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year78.3%54th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentSimpson County, KY’s figureJuly 20268,162Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Simpson County, KY’s figureJuly 2026−2.3%Bottom 21%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Simpson County, KY’s figureJuly 2026−3.5%Bottom 4%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceSimpson County, KY’s figureJuly 20268,6201st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year67.7%Bottom 22%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Simpson County, KY’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 41%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateSimpson County, KY’s figureJuly 20265.3%Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.4%33rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202459k51k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,052 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Simpson County, KY, which contains this city.

51% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.4 students for every full-time teacher across 4 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
4
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
51.2%
Top 22% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
55.2%
Top 44% in Kentucky
All 4 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Simpson Elementary SchoolSimpson County73116.258%54%
Franklin-Simpson Middle SchoolSimpson County66218.453%61%
Lincoln Elementary SchoolSimpson County46314.538%49%
Franklin Elementary SchoolSimpson County32416.2——

66.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Kentucky’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky is up 51% over five years, and up 5.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,313 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.67% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,055, close to the $1,010 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,055 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $42,200 a year, about 71% of the median household income here of $59,052.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,010 a month.

A median home at $195,400 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $73,395, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
27.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,055
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,010
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$195,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Franklin’s median household income of $59,052, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+5.6%83rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+50.5%81st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+91.9%49th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 44%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year55.0%14th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2472024 ACS 5-Year4,23387th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$872Top 12%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,405Top 13%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,055Top 11%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$632024 ACS 5-Year$1,010Bottom 46%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$32,0262024 ACS 5-Year$195,40052nd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1032024 ACS 5-Year$1,31335th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,5252024 ACS 5-Year$73,395Bottom 42%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.12%2024 ACS 5-Year0.67%26th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year27.7%Top 47%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±202024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%43rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1482024 ACS 5-Year24281st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

60/ 100
Top 29% of 4,224 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 10,524 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 10,524 residents in 2024, up 0.4% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 88 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Simpson County, which contains Franklin, gained about 2.0% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $47,546, close to the $45,570 of households that moved out.

At 8.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
88
2025 calendar year
Per 1,000 residents
8.5
Top 15% nationally
Year over year
−15%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202411k10k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+2.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
59%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$47,546
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$45,570
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Sumner County, TN 298 people · 22% of arrivals
  2. Warren County, KY 284 people · 21% of arrivals
  3. Logan County, KY 95 people · 6.9% of arrivals
  4. Robertson County, TN 79 people · 5.8% of arrivals
  5. Davidson County, TN 66 people · 4.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Warren County, KY 303 people · 28% of departures
  2. Sumner County, TN 118 people · 11% of departures
  3. Allen County, KY 75 people · 7.0% of departures
  4. Logan County, KY 74 people · 7.0% of departures
  5. Robertson County, TN 54 people · 5.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Simpson County, KY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 50.1 inches, including 8.5 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BOWLING GREEN WARREN CO AP, 18.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals50.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals8.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

64 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 32% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

HailHigh
EarthquakeElevated
Ice stormModerate
Strong windModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, cold wave, drought, heat wave, winter weather, hurricane, inland flooding, landslide, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
151
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
679
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Franklin's police department reported 151 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 679.

Simpson County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 14.0 per 100,000 residents in Simpson County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
14.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Franklin’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Franklin (Simpson County) rather than Franklin itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Nashville Intl at 42 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year89.9%Top 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle42 miBottom 18%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%Top 43%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Nashville IntlBNA42 mi11,030 ft
SmyrnaMQY49 mi8,038 ft
Owensboro/Daviess County RgnlOWB78 mi8,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
57
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026; 2025 calendar year
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Franklin

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Franklin with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4213419,380$59,113$226,80056