county

Franklin County, IL

Demographic and economic profile of Franklin County, IL, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Franklin County, IL is a rural southern Illinois county with a population of 37,541, where high school attainment reaches 89.2% but only 17.1% of residents hold a bachelor's degree, and median worker earnings of $35,324 reflect a lower-cost labor market. Labor force participation is notably low at 56.2%, unemployment sits at 6.5%, and a poverty rate of 16.9% signals ongoing economic stress alongside a population that has contracted 4.1% over five years. Housing costs are among the lowest in the state, with a median home value of $87,700 and median gross rent of $771/month, and a homeownership rate of 74.8% points to a stable, established resident base.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

37,541

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$56,740

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.1% since 2018

Franklin County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone35,347 (94.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races811 (2.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race669 (1.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone182 (0.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone154 (0.4%)
  • Asian Alone131 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish405
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic187
  3. 3.Other Indo-European91
  4. 4.Vietnamese60
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)58

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,380

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$26,056

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$29,659

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,954
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)2,154
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,858
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,029
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities1,011

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,559
  2. 2.Service Occupations3,188
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations3,076
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,959
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,811

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.92×)743
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.31×)2,076
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.13×)4,189
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.12×)1,949
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.10×)403

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$87,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$771/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

74.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,9991,187 (9.9%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999984 (8.2%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999963 (8.1%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999945 (7.9%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999800 (6.7%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999786 (6.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

17.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,324

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone12,148 (79.4%)
  • Carpooled1,572 (10.3%)
  • Worked At Home1,108 (7.2%)
  • Walked221 (1.4%)
  • Other144 (0.9%)
  • Public Transit50 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Franklin County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.