Photo: Mobilus In Mobili · CC BY-SA 2.0A job hub: Frankfort has 2.1 jobs per working resident, and 20,887 people come in to work
25,017 jobs are based in Frankfort; 12,155 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Frankfort are C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Frankfort stands out on work
Frankfort is where the jobs are
Frankfort has 25,017 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 42,000 people are in town, 45% more than the 29,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Frankfort are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kentucky worker. Time on the road ↓
Frankfort draws workers from far and wide
The 25,017 jobs in Frankfort are filled from a wide area. Frankfort’s own residents hold 17% and the ten next-biggest home towns 20%; the other 63% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Frankfort’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Frankfort is Lexington, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (1,779) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The biggest group of Frankfort’s workers comes from Lexington
2,000 of the people who work in Frankfort live in Lexington, 25 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Frankfort
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Frankfort is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #103 of 142 in Kentucky. Job access by car holds Frankfort’s grade up (ahead of 67% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.8%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Frankfort could be anywhere from D to C.
The daily commute in and out of Frankfort
On a workday 8,025 residents head out to work and 4,130 work right here.
About 42,000 people are in Frankfort on a workday afternoon, 45% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
From Frankfort, about 17 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Frankfort workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,547 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 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.
The towns that send workers to Frankfort
Where Frankfort clocks in
5% 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.
Frankfort’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Frankfort
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Frankfort, 2013 → 2023: 22,160 → 25,017. 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.
Most of Frankfort commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Frankfort is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #37 of 142 in Kentucky. Both inputs place Frankfort near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 12,941 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 6% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.7% of Frankfort households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Frankfort’s commuters take a bus or train.
Frankfort next to U.S. towns of 20,000 to 39,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 439 | Jeffersontown KY | 29,193 | $82K | 6.5% | 2.8% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 639 | Independence KY | 30,198 | $102K | 8.8% | 4.3% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 720 | Florence KY | 34,018 | $71K | 9.5% | 3.1% | 17% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,355 | Rome GA | 38,934 | $54K | 20.6% | 5.9% | 32% | C− |
| 1,356 | Galesburg IL | 28,581 | $48K | 19.1% | 5.0% | 40% | C− |
| 1,357 | Frankfort KY | 28,657 | $53K | 19.1% | 7.8% | 34% | C− |
| 1,358 | Bridgeton NJ | 28,307 | $56K | 27.2% | 5.8% | 14% | C− |
| 1,359 | Galesburg City Township IL | 28,581 | $48K | 19.1% | 5.0% | 40% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,467 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Kentucky.
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?
$53,073 (±$3,875) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Frankfort?
19.1%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Frankfort?
17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Frankfort work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lexington (15%, 25 mi), Georgetown (5%, 18 mi), Louisville (3%, 43 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Frankfort walkable?
Frankfort is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Frankfort without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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.