Photo: Paul J Everett · CC BY 2.0Households in Frankfort have lower incomes than those in 78% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Frankfort are C+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. 12.9% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.3% across Indiana. About one in three work in Frankfort itself; outside it, Lafayette draws the most (12%, 19 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Frankfort
Frankfort makes and builds things
51% of the jobs based in Frankfort are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Frankfort residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 35%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Frankfort are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Indiana. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Indiana worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Frankfort workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 11% across Indiana. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Jobs & income in Frankfort: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Frankfort is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #376 of 593 in Indiana. Unemployment holds Frankfort’s grade up (3.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($57,412, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Frankfort could be anywhere from C to B.
A place that makes things: 51% of Frankfort’s jobs are in goods
8,529 jobs are based in Frankfort.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Frankfort, 2013 → 2023: 8,440 → 8,529. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Frankfort’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Frankfort takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Frankfort workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,387 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How a workday changes Frankfort
On a workday 4,395 residents head out to work, 2,283 work right here, and 6,246 people come in from elsewhere.
About 19,000 people are in Frankfort on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Frankfort: the destinations
Where Frankfort clocks in
8% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Frankfort
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Frankfort: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Frankfort is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #272 of 593 in Indiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Indiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,700 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.2% of Frankfort households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Frankfort’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Frankfort is 1,384th of 1,999 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Whitestown IN | 15,767 | $124K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | McCordsville IN | 13,094 | $111K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Brown Township IN | 15,523 | $140K | 2.3% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,382 | Traverse City MI | 15,832 | $74K | 12.3% | 5.2% | 45% | C+ |
| 1,383 | Unity Township PA | 21,196 | $75K | 11.2% | 5.8% | 17% | C+ |
| 1,384 | Frankfort IN | 16,837 | $57K | 12.9% | 3.0% | 34% | C+ |
| 1,385 | Auburn IN | 14,068 | $69K | 9.8% | 5.9% | 22% | C+ |
| 1,386 | Alsip IL | 18,483 | $67K | 12.1% | 8.9% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Frankfort, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
How Frankfort compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Frankfort workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfort | – | C+ | B− | 19 min | $57,412 |
| Center Township | under 2% | B− | C+ | 19 min | $59,611 |
| Union Township | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Union Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Frankfort’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Frankfort: questions
What is the median household income in Frankfort?
$57,412 (±$4,497) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Frankfort?
12.9%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Frankfort?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Frankfort work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lafayette (12%, 19 mi), Lebanon (8%, 17 mi), Indianapolis (7%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Frankfort walkable?
Frankfort is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Frankfort without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Frankfort, from the people who make the trip.
More of Frankfort
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.