17,586 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.6% since 2020)
609 square miles of land · 29 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
10 active community water systems list Franklin County in the area they serve, reporting 29,394 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| HORSEHEAD WATER ASSOCIATION buys surface water · local government · AR0000617 | 5,792 served |
| OZARK WATERWORKS surface water · local government · AR0000201 | 4,368 served |
| MILLTOWN-WASHBURN WATER USERS buys surface water · local government · AR0000773 | 4,325 served |
| RIVERSOUTH RURAL WATER DIST buys surface water · local government · AR0000674 | 4,275 served |
| CHARLESTON WATERWORKS buys surface water · local government · AR0000200 | 3,386 served |
| WATALULA WATER ASS0CIATION buys surface water · local government · AR0000606 | 2,278 served |
| PLEASANT VIEW WATER FAC BOARD buys surface water · local government · AR0000202 | 1,938 served |
| ALTUS WATERWORKS buys surface water · local government · AR0000197 | 1,820 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 73 people were held in Franklin County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2021), or 691 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2016 it was about 43.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
3 school districts have their office in Franklin County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $24.2 million — $20.9 million to run schools, about $11,776 per student, plus $2.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.7 million local (mostly property tax), $15.8 million state, $4.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $20.3 million.
Spent $10.1 million — $9.3 million to run schools, about $10,417 per student, plus $574,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1 million local (mostly property tax), $7.6 million state, $1.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $8.9 million.
Spent $6.6 million — $6.1 million to run schools, about $10,874 per student, plus $295,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $844,000 local (mostly property tax), $5.2 million state, $1.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.8 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Franklin County about $9.6 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
142 bridges in Franklin County: 37 in good condition, 91 fair, and 14 poor (9.9%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| State Highway 23 over Arkansas River & Uprr · built 1930 | 6,925 vehicles a day |
| US Highway 64 over Hicks Creek-Franklin Co. · built 1931 | 3,700 vehicles a day |
| SH 23-Franklin Co. over North White Oak Creek · built 1951 | 1,732 vehicles a day |
| SH 23-Franklin Co over Mulberry River · built 1935 | 1,700 vehicles a day |
| Wire Road over Maxey Creek · built 1960 | 410 vehicles a day |
| Wire Road over Creek · built 1986 | 410 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $2 million of work in Franklin County in fiscal 2025, about $117 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-19 to 2026-11-02. Absentee application due (by mail, email, or fax): 2026-10-27. Absentee ballot hand-delivered by you: last day: 2026-10-30. Election Day — and mailed absentee ballots must arrive: 2026-11-03. Provisional ballot: show your ID by noon: 2026-11-09. General runoff (only where a race needs one): 2026-12-01.
Source: Arkansas Secretary of State, 2026 election calendar · Fayetteville Flyer, Oct. 5, 2026 · sos.arkansas.gov — voting in Arkansas
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Franklin County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Franklin County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Arkansas: the state government and every county in Arkansas.
Nearby counties: Crawford County (20 mi) · Logan County (22 mi) · Johnson County (24 mi) · Sebastian County (31 mi) · Madison County (36 mi) · Washington County (37 mi).