In Franklin County, Virginia, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Franklin County, 18.1% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 77% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Franklin County's score
In Franklin County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 55.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 25.9.
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.
- 55.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.9% · August 202537th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people192.6 · 202572nd percentile
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- 50.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202640th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.5% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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- 43.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.3% · 202442nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.6% · 202447th percentile
- People with a disability16.0% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- People without health insurance6.8% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,650 · 202436th percentile
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- 39.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202536th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.1% · second quarter of 202629th percentile
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- 25.9 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent14.6% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.1% · fiscal year 202722nd 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, 24.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Franklin County
Virginia
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Franklin County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 26.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Franklin County, Virginia, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.9%; 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 rose by about a third from 2009 to 2024, reaching 12.8%, with most of the change between 2021 and 2022
High on the chart: 13.0% in 2012. 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, Virginia.
How Franklin County has changed
Franklin County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 51,001 in 2004 to 55,732 in 2009.
Franklin County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 55,637
High on the chart: 55,732 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Franklin County, Virginia.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Franklin County rose by about half to 15,810, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 13,576. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Franklin County, Virginia.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.9% | 2024 12.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,397 | 2024 $71,650 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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
1785
Formed in 1785 from parts of Bedford and Henry counties. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 56,159. The 2020 Census counted 54,477, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A thunderstorm in June 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flood in May 2020 did $2.12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Franklin County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Franklin County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Franklin County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Franklin County ranks 3rd of the four; Patrick County is highest, at 40.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry County, VA | 85 | 16.0% | — |
| Pittsylvania County, VA | 63 | 13.5% | — |
| Patrick County, VA | 60 | 16.6% | 40.1% |
| Franklin County, VA | 37 | 12.3% | 26.9% |
| Bedford County, VA | 26 | 8.9% | 24.9% |
| Roanoke County, VA | 16 | 7.1% | — |
| Floyd County, VA | 15 | 11.4% | 29.2% |
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 Virginia?
No, Franklin County's poverty rate was 12.3% in 2024, 61st highest of 133 in Virginia (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Radford city, at 27.2%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Franklin County ranks 88th of 133 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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Blue Ridge Legal Services
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.