Photo: File:Franklinton Main Street.jpg: Creator:FranklintonNC derivative work: Ianmacm · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Franklinton (9.6%) is higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
Only 2% stay in Franklinton for work; outside it, Raleigh is the main destination (24%, 21 miles). For jobs and income Franklinton is better than 16% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (C+). Measured by household income, Franklinton is behind 75% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Franklinton in brief
Franklinton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 25 across North Carolina. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Franklinton is a place people come home to
There are 455 jobs based in Franklinton, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Franklinton has about 1,800 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Franklinton’s grade explained
Job access by car holds Franklinton’s grade up (ahead of 49% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Franklinton could be anywhere from D to B−.
Time on the road from Franklinton: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Franklinton workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 831 commuters (the 20% who work from home are left out). Across North Carolina: 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 and out of Franklinton on a workday
On a workday 1,492 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 432 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Franklinton on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.30 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Where the trip to work from Franklinton ends
Where Franklinton clocks in
24% of workers
9% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Franklinton
455 jobs are based in Franklinton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Franklinton, 2013 → 2023: 340 → 455. 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.
The distance from Franklinton to work
About 17% 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.
For most of Franklinton, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,038 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). 1.6% of Franklinton households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Franklinton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Franklinton is 4,026th of 4,882 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,900 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Jamestown NC | 3,803 | $105K | 2.5% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 174 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,024 | Montezuma GA | 2,879 | $47K | 18.3% | 3.8% | 15% | C− |
| 4,025 | South Blooming Grove NY | 3,810 | $62K | 38.1% | 11.4% | 3% | C− |
| 4,026 | Franklinton NC | 2,890 | $59K | 17.2% | 9.6% | 2% | C− |
| 4,027 | Wilson's Mills NC | 2,987 | $63K | 31.9% | 10.7% | 1% | C− |
| 4,028 | Carrier Mills Township IL | 2,221 | $53K | 20.3% | 4.2% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,882 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 North Carolina.
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?
$59,464 (±$16,678) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Franklinton?
17.2%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Franklinton?
33 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Franklinton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Raleigh (24%, 21 mi), Durham (9%, 26 mi), Wake Forest (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Franklinton walkable?
Franklinton is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Franklinton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% 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.