Franklin, KY, Kentucky: Realigner metro. In 2024, voted R+44%. Democratic peak: D+55 in 1948.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+44MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- RealignerAkashic typology
- Population
- 19,9722024 5-year
- Median household income
- $59,8582024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 84.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 6.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+55 in 1948MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+44 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Franklin, KY, KYOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,403 | 6,253 | 8,776 | ||
| R | 2,681 | 5,888 | 8,732 | ||
| R | 2,144 | 5,077 | 7,531 | ||
| R | 2,650 | 4,355 | 7,093 | ||
| R | 2,775 | 4,437 | 7,309 | ||
| R | 2,730 | 4,273 | 7,043 | ||
| R | 2,583 | 3,169 | 5,824 | ||
| D | 2,749 | 2,186 | 5,358 | ||
| D | 2,834 | 2,280 | 5,840 | ||
| R | 2,138 | 2,699 | 4,859 | ||
| R | 2,140 | 3,073 | 5,236 | ||
| D | 2,713 | 2,020 | 4,819 | ||
| D | 2,782 | 1,481 | 4,299 | ||
| R | 1,325 | 2,285 | 3,652 | ||
| D | 1,505 | 1,435 | 4,339 | ||
| D | 3,168 | 967 | 4,144 | ||
| D | 2,642 | 1,927 | 4,569 | ||
| D | 2,879 | 1,454 | 4,350 | ||
| D | 2,724 | 1,310 | 4,040 | ||
| D | 2,752 | 762 | 3,619 | ||
| D | 2,821 | 1,012 | 3,850 | ||
| D | 2,950 | 987 | 3,945 | ||
| D | 3,027 | 1,240 | 4,280 | ||
| D | 3,603 | 1,203 | 4,827 | ||
| D | 2,490 | 1,635 | 4,125 | ||
| D | 2,688 | 1,294 | 4,034 | ||
| D | 3,206 | 1,680 | 4,907 | ||
| D | 1,887 | 955 | 2,858 | ||
| D | 1,639 | 547 | 2,610 | ||
| D | 1,714 | 913 | 2,660 | ||
| D | 1,540 | 863 | 2,472 | ||
| D | 1,571 | 866 | 2,492 | ||
| D | 1,531 | 888 | 2,518 | ||
| D | 1,166 | 725 | 2,109 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
16.7%
English
16.5%
German
9.7%
Irish
8.9%
Scottish
3.1%
Italian
1.0%
French
0.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 38.8 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$59,858
Franklin, KY ranks near the middle of US counties.
Franklin, KY$59,858
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
15.5%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.8%
Working age (18–64)15.5%
Seniors (65+)15.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.8%
speak English only
Spanish2.0%
Other Indo-European1.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Franklin sits in Simpson County near the Tennessee line, a small city whose economy blends light industry with agriculture. Statewide Republican margins here have grown sharply over the past decade, tracking a broader rural Kentucky realignment.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Franklin, KY peaked at fifty-five points in 1948; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 2000 election delivered the metro to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of ten points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.
The economic and demographic context is severe. The median household income of $59,858 is among the lowest at this geographic scale; 16% of residents live below the federal poverty line.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Franklin, KY, Kentucky — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/23190/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Franklin, KY, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Franklin, KY, Kentucky voted Republican by 43.9 points (R+44), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,776 votes cast, 2,403 went Democratic and 6,253 went Republican.
What is Franklin, KY, Kentucky's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Franklin, KY, Kentucky as a "Realigner" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 24 times, Republican 10 times, and other 0 times.
When did Franklin, KY, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Franklin, KY, Kentucky voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Franklin, KY, Kentucky?
Franklin, KY, Kentucky has a population of 19,972 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Franklin, KY, Kentucky?
Median household income in Franklin, KY, Kentucky is $59,858 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Franklin, KY, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Franklin, KY, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 24 went Democratic and 10 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Realigner" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.