Varnado, D.A. and Son Store · Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Franklinton have lower incomes than those in 98% of U.S. towns
About one in five stay in Franklinton for work; outside it, New Orleans is the main destination (8%, 56 miles). 20.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 18.9% across Louisiana. The two grades for Franklinton are D for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Franklinton: the gist
Franklinton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Franklinton is New Orleans, 56 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (102) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Franklinton is where the jobs are
Franklinton has 3,123 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,400 people are in town, 50% more than the 3,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
The figures behind Franklinton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Franklinton is better than 9% of U.S. towns, #128 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Franklinton’s grade up (ahead of 30% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($34,235, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Franklinton could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Near or far: the trip to work from Franklinton
About 34% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Who leaves Franklinton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,039 residents head out to work, 300 work right here, and 2,823 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,400 people are in Franklinton on a workday afternoon, 50% more than live here.
2.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The daily trip into Franklinton
Where Franklinton clocks in
8% of workers
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.
What the 3,123 jobs in Franklinton are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Franklinton, 2013 → 2023: 3,289 → 3,123. 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 Franklinton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Franklinton, about 29 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Franklinton workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,370 commuters (the 2% who work from home are left out). Across Louisiana: 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.
In Franklinton, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Franklinton is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #13 of 161 in Louisiana. Both inputs place Franklinton 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 1,395 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). 12.3% of Franklinton households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Franklinton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Franklinton sits among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 310 | Hahnville LA | 3,520 | $101K | 6.7% | 0.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 763 | South Vacherie LA | 2,954 | $81K | 3.7% | 1.6% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 926 | Greenwood LA | 3,077 | $64K | 3.7% | 1.3% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,992 | Munising Township MI | 2,759 | $62K | 15.9% | 7.0% | 13% | D |
| 3,993 | Royston GA | 2,693 | $34K | 22.2% | 5.3% | 9% | D |
| 3,994 | Franklinton LA | 3,576 | $34K | 20.7% | 5.8% | 22% | D |
| 3,995 | Little Falls NY | 4,481 | $54K | 24.3% | 7.6% | 18% | D |
| 3,996 | Anson TX | 2,570 | $48K | 28.1% | 5.7% | 25% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Franklinton, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
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 Franklinton: questions
What is the median household income in Franklinton?
$34,235 (±$10,361) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Franklinton?
20.7%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Franklinton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Franklinton work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Orleans (8%, 56 mi), Bogalusa (5%, 18 mi), Covington (5%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Franklinton walkable?
Franklinton is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Franklinton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Franklinton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Franklinton
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.