About one in 11 people in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, lives below the poverty line
In Franklin County, 9.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Franklin County's score
In Franklin County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 49.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 34.8. About one in five people with a credit file (18.9%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 65% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Franklin County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Franklin County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 49.0 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent16.9% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th percentile
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- 43.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.4% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.8% · second quarter of 202632nd percentile
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- 36.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.3% · 202417th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.3% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability16.0% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- People without health insurance8.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,061 · 202429th percentile
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- 36.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.2% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 34.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.9% · August 202534th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people98.2 · 202535th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Franklin County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Franklin County, 20.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Franklin County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Franklin County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 22.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Franklin County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Franklin County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 11.0%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2011, reaching 6.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
How Franklin County has changed
Franklin County's population had its largest rise, from 135,742 in 2004 to 148,662 in 2009.
Franklin County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 159,285, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 128,875. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
The number of jobs located in Franklin County had its largest rise, from 48,649 in 2000 to 54,249 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Franklin County rose by about a third to 61,619, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 61,619 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.2% | 2024 9.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,340 | 2024 $75,061 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Franklin County's history
1784
Franklin County became an independent jurisdiction on September 9, 1784, from Cumberland County. Wikipedia
1996
A flash flood in June 1996 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 155,932, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Franklin County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Franklin County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Franklin County, in Pennsylvania and Maryland, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Franklin County ranks 6th of the nine; Huntingdon County is highest, at 30.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County, MD | 52 | 11.6% | 24.1% |
| Franklin County, PA | 32 | 9.3% | 22.7% |
| Perry County, PA | 29 | 8.6% | 23.9% |
| Huntingdon County, PA | 28 | 10.7% | 30.7% |
| Juniata County, PA | 22 | 9.7% | 22.6% |
| Frederick County, MD | 19 | 5.3% | 13.0% |
| Fulton County, PA | 17 | 10.7% | 28.5% |
| Cumberland County, PA | 16 | 8.1% | 18.0% |
| Adams County, PA | 15 | 7.7% | 23.2% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Franklin County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Franklin County's poverty rate was 9.3% in 2024, 57th highest of 67 in Pennsylvania (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Forest County, at 22.8%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Franklin County ranks 46th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Franklin County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Pathstone Corporation-pennsylvania
HUD-approved housing counselor
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MidPenn Legal Services
Legal aid
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Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN)
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Franklin County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Franklin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.