Franklin, KY

Micro Area Profile

19,972 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Franklin, KY micropolitan area.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 42% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity798th of 835 metro and micro areas measured18
SchoolsTop 45% of 695 metro and micro areas measured55
GrowthTop 27% of 834 metro and micro areas measured64
Housing affordabilityTop 28% of 835 metro and micro areas measured78
ClimateTop 22% of 835 metro and micro areas measured74
Physical resilienceTop 38% of 835 metro and micro areas measured64
Access438th of 835 metro and micro areas measured76
Economic stability529th of 835 metro and micro areas measured37
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places Franklin in the bottom 4%.

In the public schools here, 49% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.7 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 300 units authorized over the past twelve months, 15% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
19,972
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,858
Bottom 26% nationally
Density
85/sq mi
234.2 sq mi of land
Median age
38.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Kentucky
Nearest major airport
BNA
43 mi · Nashville Intl
Median home value
$229,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.3% — higher than in all but 18% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 3.5% over the past year, to 8,162 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$5,2212024 ACS 5-Year$59,858Bottom 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2162024 ACS 5-Year$31,249Bottom 24%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.0%Bottom 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.5 minTop 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year18.8%Bottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.2%67th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20268,162Bottom 1%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.3%Bottom 24%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−3.5%Bottom 8%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 20268,6201st percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year73.3%Bottom 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%38th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 33%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.3%Bottom 18%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%15th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.53.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.3% 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.

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 53% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.7 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
48.6%
Top 20% in Kentucky
Reading proficiency
53.1%
Bottom 33% in Kentucky
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Franklin-Simpson High SchoolSimpson County83014.146%52%
Simpson Elementary SchoolSimpson County73116.258%54%
Franklin-Simpson Middle SchoolSimpson County66218.453%61%
Lincoln Elementary SchoolSimpson County46314.538%49%
Franklin Elementary SchoolSimpson County32416.2——
Franklin-Simpson High School West CampusSimpson County7017.510%10%

64.7% 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 $1,371 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 $1,012 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 $59,858.

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 $1,012 a month.

A median home at $229,400 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $73,561, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
27.1%
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
$1,012
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$229,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Franklin’s median household income of $59,858, 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 ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year66.7%31st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±252024 ACS 5-Year8,6272nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$872Top 45%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,405Top 46%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,055Top 40%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$692024 ACS 5-Year$1,012Bottom 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$21,7132024 ACS 5-Year$229,40056th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1022024 ACS 5-Year$1,37128th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,2782024 ACS 5-Year$73,561Bottom 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.60%25th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year27.1%Top 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±762024 ACS 5-Year704th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%21st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.2%32nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2072024 ACS 5-Year6021st 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

64/ 100
Top 27% 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 4% since 2020, reaching 20,350 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 20,350 residents in 2024, up 0.6% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

At 15.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
300
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
15.0
Top 1% nationally
Year over year
−15%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
23.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202420k20k
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 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, 17.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
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
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. 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
EarthquakeHigh
Ice stormModerate
Strong windModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, lightning, drought, cold wave, 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. 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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Nashville Intl at 43 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year88.7%Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle43 miBottom 47%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%Top 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Nashville IntlBNA43 mi11,030 ft
SmyrnaMQY51 mi8,038 ft
Owensboro/Daviess County RgnlOWB76 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
55
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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)
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.

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