Franklin County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,541, making it the second-least populous capital county in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

after Hughes County,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Frankfort, the state capital. The county was formed in 1795 from parts of Woodford, Mercer and Shelby counties, and was named after the American inventor and statesman

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

. Franklin County is part of the Frankfort, Kentucky Micropolitan Statistical Area. It shares a name with Franklin County in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, where Columbus is located. This makes it one of two pairs of capital cities in counties of the same name, along with Marion Counties in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

History

The three original counties of Kentucky ( Jefferson, Fayette and Lincoln counties) intersected in what is today Franklin County. Franklin County was established in 1795 from land given by Mercer, Shelby, and Woodford counties. Franklin was the 18th Kentucky county in order of formation.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water.

Transit

* Frankfort Transit

Major highways

* Interstate 64 * US 127 * US 60 * US 421 * US 460 * KY 676

Adjacent counties

* Owen County (north) * Scott County (east) * Woodford County (southeast) * Anderson County (south) * Shelby County (west) * Henry County (northwest)

Politics

In recent presidential elections the county has supported both Democrats and Republicans. In 2000 Democrat

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

won 50% of the vote to Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's 47%. In 2004, Bush won 50% of the vote to Democrat John Kerry's 48%. In 2008 Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

defeated Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

49.47% to 48.87%, a difference of only 144 votes, only for Obama to narrowly edge out Mitt Romney in 2012. However,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

won the county in 2016. He won it again in 2020, but only by a slim margin of 248 votes. In 2023, incumbent Democratic governor Andy Beshear won it by a large margin over Republican attorney general Daniel Cameron, getting 68% of the vote. The county voted "No" on 2022 Kentucky Amendment 2, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 67% to 33%, and backed

with 49.5% of the vote to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's 48.5% in the 2020 presidential election.

Elected officials

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 47,687 people, 19,907 households, and 12,840 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 21,409 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.98%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 9.36%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.55% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. 1.11% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 19,907 households, out of which 29.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.70% were married couples living together, 12.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.50% were non-families. 30.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.86. 22.60% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,011, and the median income for a family was $51,052. Males had a median income of $32,826 versus $26,201 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $21,229. About 6.90% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.80% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The county is served by two public school districts: Franklin County Public Schools and Frankfort Independent Schools.
Text list
- For more detailed boundaries of the independent school districts see:

Franklin County Public Schools

This district takes in almost all of the county, including the majority of the city of Frankfort. It operates the following schools: * Bridgeport Elementary School (grades K-5) * Collins Lane Elementary School (grades K-5) * Early Childhood Education Center (grades K-1) * Elkhorn Elementary School (grades 2–5) * Hearn Elementary School (grades 2–5) * Peaks Mill Elementary School (grades 2–5) * Westridge Elementary School (grades K-5) * Bondurant Middle School (grades 6–8) * Elkhorn Middle School (grades 6–8) * Franklin County High School (grades 9–12) * Western Hills High School (grades 9–12) * The Academy (grades 9–12) (For kids with problems/juveniles) * Franklin County Career and Technical Center (grades 9–12) (Career center for all public high schools in the county.)

Frankfort Independent Schools

This district serves an area roughly covering the Frankfort neighborhoods known as "downtown", South Frankfort (the vicinity of the state capitol building), and Bellepoint. It operates two schools: * Second Street School (grades K-6) * Frankfort High School (grades 7–12)

Private schools

* Capital Day School (grades PreK-8) * Frankfort Christian Academy (grades K-12) * Good Shepherd Catholic School (grades PreK-8)

University

* Kentucky State University

Parks

* Capitol View Park * Cove Spring Park and Nature Preserve * Dolly Graham Park * East Frankfort Park * Josephine Sculpture Park * Juniper Hill Park and Golf Course * Lakeview Park and Golf Course * Leslie Morris Park on Fort Hill: of woodland overlooking downtown Frankfort. It contains trails that guide visitors through the remains of earthwork forts that were the main defensive position for Union troops protecting the city during an 1864

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

skirmish. * Riverview Park and riverside walk * Todd Park

Communities

City

* Frankfort (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Bald Knob * Bridgeport * Forks of Elkhorn * Jett * Peaks Mill * Switzer

References

External links

Franklin County web site

Frankfort/Franklin County Tourist & Convention Commission
{{authority control Kentucky counties Frankfort, Kentucky micropolitan area 1795 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1795