Franklin County, Kentucky: Democratic loyalist county. In 2024, voted R+5%. Democratic peak: D+63 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+5MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Democratic loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 51,8422024 5-year
- Median household income
- $65,2982024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 81.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 9.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+63 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+17 in 1984MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Washington County, GA · similarity 0.93
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Franklin CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Franklin County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 11,996 | 13,246 | 25,763 | ||
| R | 12,652 | 12,900 | 26,072 | ||
| R | 10,717 | 11,819 | 23,865 | ||
| D | 11,535 | 11,345 | 23,337 | ||
| R | 11,767 | 11,911 | 24,079 | ||
| R | 11,620 | 12,281 | 24,133 | ||
| D | 10,853 | 10,209 | 21,654 | ||
| D | 11,251 | 7,132 | 20,367 | ||
| D | 9,896 | 7,591 | 21,031 | ||
| R | 9,271 | 9,805 | 19,271 | ||
| R | 7,790 | 11,057 | 19,024 | ||
| D | 11,193 | 6,455 | 18,530 | ||
| D | 10,475 | 5,536 | 16,441 | ||
| R | 5,601 | 7,781 | 13,679 | ||
| D | 6,396 | 4,057 | 13,165 | ||
| D | 10,130 | 2,320 | 12,494 | ||
| D | 7,052 | 4,742 | 11,794 | ||
| D | 6,412 | 4,047 | 10,553 | ||
| D | 7,309 | 3,097 | 10,411 | ||
| D | 6,679 | 1,962 | 8,822 | ||
| D | 6,356 | 2,050 | 8,448 | ||
| D | 6,956 | 1,927 | 8,897 | ||
| D | 6,222 | 2,010 | 8,258 | ||
| D | 6,331 | 2,034 | 8,404 | ||
| D | 3,853 | 3,485 | 7,345 | ||
| D | 4,678 | 2,826 | 7,606 | ||
| D | 5,878 | 2,710 | 8,609 | ||
| D | 3,345 | 1,426 | 4,801 | ||
| D | 2,980 | 783 | 4,387 | ||
| D | 3,233 | 1,632 | 4,910 | ||
| D | 2,941 | 1,449 | 4,439 | ||
| D | 2,946 | 1,863 | 4,845 | ||
| D | 2,465 | 2,175 | 4,752 | ||
| D | 2,186 | 1,231 | 3,665 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
16.5%
American
14.8%
Irish
13.2%
German
12.3%
Scottish
2.8%
Italian
1.8%
Polish
1.1%
African American
7.4%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
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: 40.8 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
$65,298
Franklin County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Franklin County$65,298
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.6%
Working age (18–64)12.3%
Seniors (65+)9.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.8%
speak English only
Spanish3.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.9%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Franklin County seats Kentucky's government in Frankfort, and its mix of state employees, a historically Black university, and surrounding rural precincts has kept presidential margins tighter here than in most of the Bluegrass region.
The Democratic margin in Franklin County reached its widest at sixty-three points in 1964. The margin in 2024 was five points — a notable narrowing.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $65,298, a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 51,842 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Washington County and Bienville Parish.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Franklin County, Kentucky — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/21073/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More democratic loyalist counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Franklin County, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Franklin County, Kentucky voted Republican by 4.9 points (R+5), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 25,763 votes cast, 11,996 went Democratic and 13,246 went Republican.
What is Franklin County, Kentucky's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Franklin County, Kentucky as a "Democratic loyalist" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 26 times, Republican 8 times, and other 0 times.
When did Franklin County, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Franklin County, Kentucky voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Franklin County, Kentucky?
Franklin County, Kentucky has a population of 51,842 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Franklin County, Kentucky?
Median household income in Franklin County, Kentucky is $65,298 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Franklin County, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Franklin County, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 26 went Democratic and 8 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Democratic loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.