Franklin County, Pennsylvania

Franklin County population, land area and income

Franklin County had 159,285 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 772.3 square miles of land. It ranks 23rd of 67 in Pennsylvania by population and 27th by land area. That works out to 206.3 people per square mile, 2.1 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Pennsylvania has 82,953 residents; Franklin County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $75,532 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Franklin County's population changed since 2020

Franklin County gained 3,334 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 2.1%. That ranks 12th of 67 in Pennsylvania for growth. The median Pennsylvania county changed by -0.5%, and the state as a whole by +0.6%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Franklin County recorded 7,186 births and 8,142 deaths, a natural change of -956. Net international migration added +1,184 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +3,079. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 3,079 people.

Where Franklin County is

The Census internal point of Franklin County is at 39.926800, -77.724500. It sits in UTM zone 18N. The map shades Pennsylvania's 67 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Franklin County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Franklin County

6 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Franklin County, 42,605 people together, or 27% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Franklin County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Chambersburg with 23,041.

Counties bordering Franklin County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 8 neighbors for Franklin County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Frederick County, MD, with 299,317 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• MD

  Frederick County, MD

  299,317 people

  36 mi SSE

• Cumberland County

  275,516 people

  29 mi NE

• MD

  Washington County, MD

  157,228 people

  23 mi SSW

• Adams County

  107,914 people

  27 mi E

• Perry County

  46,816 people

  41 mi NE

• Huntingdon County

  43,359 people

  37 mi NNW

• Juniata County

  23,395 people

  45 mi NNE

• Fulton County

  14,452 people

  21 mi W

Distance to Harrisburg and the nearest big city

Harrisburg is 50.2 miles ENE of Franklin County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Baltimore, MD (population 568,271), 73.4 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Chambersburg, PA (population 23,041), 3.7 miles away.

Franklin County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Franklin County is 42055: state code 42 for Pennsylvania plus county code 055. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $75,532.