37,033 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.8% since 2020)
409 square miles of land · 91 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.
22 active community water systems list Franklin County in the area they serve, reporting 42,671 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| WEST FRANKFORT buys surface water · local government · IL0550700 | 8,650 served |
| BENTON buys surface water · local government · IL0550050 | 8,104 served |
| REND LAKE INTER-CITY WATER SYSTEM surface water · local government · IL0555100 | 3,650 served |
| CHRISTOPHER buys surface water · local government · IL0550150 | 3,072 served |
| SESSER buys surface water · local government · IL0550450 | 2,556 served |
| GREENWOOD-CREEK NATION WATER COMPANY buys surface water · local government · IL0555200 | 2,530 served |
| EWING-INA WATER COMMISSION buys surface water · local government · IL0555350 | 2,393 served |
| AKIN WATER DISTRICT buys surface water · local government · IL0555120 | 2,368 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 94 people were held in Franklin County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 400 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 90.
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.
9 school districts have their office in Franklin County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $33 million — $27.9 million to run schools, about $18,138 per student, plus $4.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.7 million local (mostly property tax), $20.3 million state, $8.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.4 million.
Spent $15.2 million — $14 million to run schools, about $13,057 per student, plus $197,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.4 million local (mostly property tax), $11.4 million state, $4 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.2 million.
Spent $13.7 million — $12.4 million to run schools, about $17,703 per student, plus $77,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.3 million local (mostly property tax), $9.2 million state, $3.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $4.8 million.
Spent $9.6 million — $8.4 million to run schools, about $13,811 per student, plus $694,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.3 million local (mostly property tax), $7.2 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.5 million.
Spent $12.1 million — $11 million to run schools, about $19,000 per student, plus $546,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.5 million local (mostly property tax), $7.3 million state, $1.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.2 million.
Spent $11.1 million — $8.7 million to run schools, about $17,539 per student, plus $1.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.5 million local (mostly property tax), $7.1 million state, $2.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.5 million.
Spent $4.8 million — $4.2 million to run schools, about $13,333 per student, plus $408,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.4 million local (mostly property tax), $3.2 million state, $988,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3 million.
Spent $4.3 million — $3 million to run schools, about $12,746 per student, plus $1.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.2 million local (mostly property tax), $2 million state, $1 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.1 million.
And 1 more.
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 $31.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
310 bridges in Franklin County: 238 in good condition, 63 fair, and 9 poor (2.9%). “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.
| ILL 154 over REND LAKE · built 1966 | 2,650 vehicles a day |
| ILL 154 over REND LAKE · built 1967 | 2,650 vehicles a day |
| ILL 154 over REND LAKE · built 1966 | 2,650 vehicles a day |
| ILL 34 over HALLTOWN CREEK · built 1929 | 2,100 vehicles a day |
| FAU 9452 over SUGAR CREEK · built 1964 | 1,050 vehicles a day |
| FAS 868 (Ewing Rd) over Sugar Camp Creek · built 1936 | 1,050 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $14 million of work in Franklin County in fiscal 2025, about $371 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.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Illinois are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
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 Illinois: the state government and every county in Illinois.
Nearby counties: Williamson County (18 mi) · Jefferson County (21 mi) · Hamilton County (22 mi) · Perry County (25 mi) · Saline County (27 mi) · Jackson County (29 mi).