Frankfort, KY

Micro Area Profile

76,195 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Frankfort, KY micropolitan area.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 31% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
OpportunityTop 21% of 835 metro and micro areas measured67
Schools640th of 695 metro and micro areas measured16
GrowthTop 6% of 834 metro and micro areas measured79
Housing affordabilityTop 25% of 835 metro and micro areas measured78
ClimateTop 23% of 835 metro and micro areas measured74
Physical resilienceTop 47% of 835 metro and micro areas measured57
Access495th of 835 metro and micro areas measured73
Economic stabilityTop 40% of 835 metro and micro areas measured60
The quick read

Frankfort ranks in the top 21% of metro and micro areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.5% and median household income of $68,568.

In the public schools here, 42% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.4 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 331 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 55% on the prior year.

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
76,195
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$68,568
Top 45% nationally
Density
186/sq mi
410.2 sq mi of land
Median age
41.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Kentucky
Nearest major airport
SDF
44 mi · Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl
Median home value
$219,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.5% — higher than in all but 38% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 3.5% over the past year, to 37,912 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$5,0232024 ACS 5-Year$68,568Top 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,6162024 ACS 5-Year$38,105Top 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.8%Top 50%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.1 minBottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year30.1%Top 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year75.4%36th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202637,912Bottom 49%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+8.2%Top 1%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+3.5%Top 3%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202639,71149th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year77.8%Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%61st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 35%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.5%Bottom 38%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.7%80th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.13.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.5% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

42% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.4 students for every full-time teacher across 20 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
23
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.4
across 20 of them
Math proficiency
42.2%
Bottom 7% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
50.7%
Bottom 13% in Kentucky
The 12 largest of 23 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Anderson County High SchoolAnderson County1,15718.139%45%
Franklin County High SchoolFranklin County99018.331%48%
Western Hills High SchoolFranklin County82717.642%47%
Anderson County Middle SchoolAnderson County76817.544%61%
Elkhorn Middle SchoolFranklin County72516.534%57%
Bondurant Middle SchoolFranklin County60015.038%56%
Robert B. Turner Elementary SchoolAnderson County57815.655%56%
Second Street SchoolFrankfort Independent56513.851%56%
Collins LaneFranklin County50913.458%59%
Hearn ElementaryFranklin County47614.941%47%
Peaks Mill ElementaryFranklin County45314.664%55%
Emma B. Ward Elementary SchoolAnderson County45212.945%52%

53.9% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,709 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.78% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,070, some 12% above the $953 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,070 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $42,800 a year, about 62% of the median household income here of $68,568.

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 $953 a month.

A median home at $219,900 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $85,714, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
27.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,070
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$953
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$219,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Frankfort’s median household income of $68,568, 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 to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.6Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year68.4%41st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±922024 ACS 5-Year34,48948th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$888Top 48%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,382Top 43%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,070Top 42%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$292024 ACS 5-Year$953Top 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,7552024 ACS 5-Year$219,90054th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$572024 ACS 5-Year$1,70941st percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,9192024 ACS 5-Year$85,714Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.78%48th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.4%Top 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1302024 ACS 5-Year19015th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%11th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%24th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4262024 ACS 5-Year2,11822nd percentileof 9352024 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

79/ 100
Top 6% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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 2% since 2020, reaching 77,325 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 331 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 10% are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 4.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
331
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.3
Top 29% nationally
Year over year
+55%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
9.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202477k75k
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.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.3 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station FRANKFORT CAPITAL CITY AP, 4.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals47.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

57 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 53% of it.

Strong windModerate
TornadoModerate
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeModerate

Low or minimal exposure: ice storm, winter weather, lightning, cold wave, landslide, hail, heat wave, hurricane, drought, wildfire, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their 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.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl at 44 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year87.1%Bottom 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle44 miBottom 46%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%Top 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF44 mi11,887 ft
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky IntlCVG66 mi10,000 ft
Wilmington Air ParkILN109 mi10,701 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
63
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

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)
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
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
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.