42134 — Franklin, Kentucky

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 42134. Its median home value runs 16% above Franklin as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 41% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity3,027th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured21
SchoolsTop 39% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured58
GrowthTop 32% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured59
Housing affordabilityTop 18% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured78
ClimateTop 32% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Physical resilienceTop 43% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured64
Access2,542nd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured76
Economic stability2,538th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured33
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places 42134 in the bottom 3%. The unemployment rate is published for Franklin, KY, which contains 42134, rather than for 42134 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 permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Franklin, KY, which contains 42134, rather than for 42134 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
19,380
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,113
Bottom 28% nationally
Density
91/sq mi
212.7 sq mi of land
Median age
38.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Franklin
Kentucky
Micro area
Nearest major airport
BNA
42 mi · Nashville Intl
Median home value
$226,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Franklin, KY, which contains 42134, is 5.3% — higher than in all but 19% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Franklin, KY, which contains 42134, 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$47,5466th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSimpson County, KY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$45,5703rd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,1952024 ACS 5-Year$59,113Bottom 28%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2562024 ACS 5-Year$30,926Bottom 30%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.3%Bottom 26%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.7 minTop 23%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year18.9%Bottom 37%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.4%64th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentFranklin, KY’s figureJuly 20268,162Bottom 1%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Franklin, KY’s figureJuly 2026−2.3%Bottom 21%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Franklin, KY’s figureJuly 2026−3.5%Bottom 5%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceFranklin, KY’s figureJuly 20268,6201st percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year71.9%Bottom 28%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%67th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Franklin, KY’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 40%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateFranklin, KY’s figureJuly 20265.3%Bottom 19%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%24th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202459k53k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,113 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 does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Franklin, KY, the city containing this ZIP code.

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 29% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
55.2%
Top 48% 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 $1,354 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.60% 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 $1,002 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 $59,113.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,002 a month.

A median home at $226,800 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $73,240, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
27.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,055
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,002
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$226,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 42134’s median household income of $59,113, 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%86th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+50.5%77th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Kentucky’s figure2026 Q2+91.9%45th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 37%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year65.3%22nd percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1972024 ACS 5-Year8,32680th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$872Top 16%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,405Top 17%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,055Top 13%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$772024 ACS 5-Year$1,002Top 49%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$24,5682024 ACS 5-Year$226,80052nd percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1042024 ACS 5-Year$1,35431st percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,0802024 ACS 5-Year$73,240Bottom 35%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.60%22nd percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year27.0%Top 42%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±762024 ACS 5-Year7069th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%47th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%51st percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2242024 ACS 5-Year65279th percentileof 33,7722024 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

59/ 100
Top 32% of 3,124 published ZIP 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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 88 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Franklin, KY, which contains 42134, rather than for 42134 alone.

At 8.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Franklin, KY, which contains 42134, rather than for 42134 alone.

Units permitted
88
2025 calendar year
Per 1,000 residents
8.5
Top 17% nationally
Year over year
−15%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

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.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Franklin, KY, the city containing this ZIP code.

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.

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, 18.2 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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

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.

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 42134 (Simpson County) rather than 42134 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Franklin carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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-Year88.0%Bottom 43%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle42 miBottom 19%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 21%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.9%Bottom 44%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Nashville IntlBNA42 mi11,030 ft
SmyrnaMQY50 mi8,038 ft
Owensboro/Daviess County RgnlOWB77 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
56
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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.

42134 vs Franklin

How this ZIP area compares with Franklin as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

42134
Franklin
Median household income: 42134 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$59,113
vs
$59,052
Per capita income: 42134 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$30,926
vs
$27,990
Population density
91/sq mi
vs
687/sq mi
Median home value
$226,800
vs
$195,400
Median gross rent: 42134 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,002
vs
$1,010
Homeownership rate
65.3%
vs
55.0%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 42134 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
18.9%
vs
15.5%
Poverty rate: 42134 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
16.3%
vs
17.5%
Median age
38.7
vs
35.8

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.