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Ohio›Scioto County
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Franklin FurnaceOH

Settled in 1828, this town now has 1,594 residents.

Population
1,594
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$179K
+5.4% in a year
Household income
$60K
median
Median age
37.9
years
Jobs based here
693
Balanced

Is Franklin Furnace a good place to live?

Franklin Furnace’s best subject grade is an A− for cost of living; its weakest is a D for walkability. Franklin Furnace’s mean commuting time is 31 minutes, against 24 minutes in Ohio’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Among 994 Ohio towns, just 3 have a higher midsummer high than Franklin Furnace. Only 4 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns score lower on the outdoors. Franklin Furnace has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.

StrongestA−Cost of livingWeakestDWalkabilityC−HealthC−Jobs & income

What makes Franklin Furnace stand out

Where Franklin Furnace beats most towns.

Typical home value

Franklin Furnace$179K
Ohio$246K
Cost of livingA−
3.5 years of income buys a home
More affordable than 80% of U.S. towns
Zillow Home Value Index; area median household income, Census ACS.

How Franklin Furnace grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Franklin Furnace is from typical.

How grading works

WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.7 of 20; 0% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitDOpen →Cost of livingGraded on home prices against local incomesA−Open →HealthSouthern Ohio Medical Center 11.2 miles awayC−Open →Jobs & incomeIncomes and work trail most townsC−Open →Hazard riskInland flooding tops the listC+Open →SchoolsBehind 56% of Ohio districts on tests and graduationC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsConserved land, trails and parksD−Open →History1 notable person born hereCOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Who lives hereMedian age 37.9; 16% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →

How TownRatings grades towns →

Getting set up

Moving to Franklin Furnace: who provides what

Franklin Furnace is unincorporated, so Scioto County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerAEP Ohio19.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterPortsmouth City water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers97% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesScioto CountyScioto County provides services here
SchoolsGreen Local School DistrictWhich school depends on your addressNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Ohio you can register online until 30 days before Election Day, in person until 30 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections hereDirector, Scioto County Board of ElectionsScioto County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2019
ZIP codes45629, 4563845629 95% · 45638 5%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Franklin Furnace.

HealthC−

Health in Franklin Furnace trails 80% of U.S. towns

Among adults in Franklin Furnace, 39% have high blood pressure. In Franklin Furnace, a fifth of adults report frequent mental distress, and 37% feel lonely.

20%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
Franklin FurnaceOhio townsU.S. towns
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)44%38%36%
Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES)20%18%17%
Feel lonely (CDC PLACES)37%34%33%
Obesity (CDC PLACES)43%38%35%
32 measures vs. Ohio
0 better26 too close to call6 worse
What stands outFranklin FurnaceOH
More older adults who have lost all their teeth23.8%15.3%
More adults who get no exercise31.5%26.9%
More adults in frequent mental distress20.4%17.5%
Southern Ohio Medical Center
11.2 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
Full pageFranklin Furnace’s health reportOpen the page
Everyday habitsMore adults who get no exerciseHospitals & doctors nearby11.2 miles to an ER · Southern Ohio Medical CenterHow adults are doingMore adults in frequent mental distressEvery CDC estimateBetter than OH on 0 of 32

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

HousingCost of living grade A−

The typical home in Franklin Furnace is valued at about $179K

Home values are up 5.4% over the year to September 2026. Franklin Furnace: four in five households are owner-occupiers.

$179KZillow home value

Typical home value

Franklin Furnace$179K
Ohio$246K
+5.4%
value change, 1 year
0
homes sold in September
Full pageFranklin Furnace’s housing & cost-of-living pageOpen the page
Prices over the yearsUp 5.4% in a yearYears of income to buyA typical home costs 3.0 years of incomeRents$706 a month · Median rentVs. the neighborsAhead of its graded neighbor

Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Climate

In Franklin Furnace, expect four seasons and pleasant summers

A winter brings about 7 inches of snow, with January nights at 24° and July afternoons at 87°.

7″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter26–45°
Spring42–67°
Summer63–86°
Fall44–68°
Oct 25
typical first frost
Apr 17
typical last frost
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
Full pageFranklin Furnace’s climate pageOpen the page
A year of weatherJuly highs 87°, January lows 24°Rain & snow7″ of snow a winter · 41 inches of rain and snow a yearHeating & coolingMostly a heating billThen and now+1.4° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−

With 1.3 jobs for every working resident, Franklin Furnace draws in 660 commuters

For most workers, Franklin Furnace is a place to come home to: only 6% work in town. The town’s median household income is $60,000. The top destinations are Portsmouth (16%), Ashland (5%) and Wheelersburg (5%). Since 2013, Franklin Furnace has lost 75 jobs, to 693 in 2023.

6%work in town
Franklin FurnaceOhio townsU.S. towns
Median household income$60,000$75,000$80,000
Below the poverty line13%9.1%9.6%

Where working residents work

In Franklin Furnace6%
Portsmouth16%
Ashland5%
Wheelersburg5%
Ironton5%
16 mi
median commute distance
693
jobs based in Franklin Furnace
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
D
Walkability grade: more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns
Full pageFranklin Furnace’s work & commute pageOpen the page
The jobs here693 jobs based here · BalancedWhere people work6% work in Franklin FurnaceCommute times31 minutes · The average commuteHow far they goHalf commute less than 16 miles

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+

The biggest natural risk in Franklin Furnace is inland flooding, at a moderate overall level

The risk rating from FEMA in Franklin Furnace is 58 of 100. Nearly four fifths of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by heat waves at 10%. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Franklin Furnace after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2004.

58risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
58Moderate riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingHeat waves
2
federal disasters paid out here
Full pageFranklin Furnace’s hazards pageOpen the page
What it facesModerate riskFlood claims0 paid flood claims · No paid flood claims on recordPast disasters2 federal disasters · Paid out in Franklin FurnaceGet ready3.5 events a year, on average · Ready for inland flooding

FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Franklin Furnace

17pages on Franklin Furnace
The big questions
SchoolsC+Behind 56% of OH districtsHealthC−Better than OH on 0 of 32 CDC measuresCost of livingA−$179K typical home · up 5.4% in a yearWork & commuteC−$60K median household income · 693 jobs hereNatural hazardsC+FEMA risk higher than 58% of U.S. communities · inland flooding
Out and about
PlacesAttractions16 nearby · Wayne National Forest 19 miLibraryGreenup County Public LibraryCollegesShawnee State University is 10.6 mi away
The story
HistoryCSettled 1828Famous people1 born in Franklin FurnaceClimate87° summer highs · 7″ of snow
Day to day
NewsWeatherHandbookZIP code 45629Town SquareNeighbors
After high school

Colleges nearby

2 within 15 miles of the center of Franklin Furnace

Shawnee State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Portsmouth10.6 mi$10,626 in-state tuitionOhio University-Southern CampusCommunity college · Public · Ironton12.1 mi$6,362 in-state tuition

About 2 of every 100 Franklin Furnace residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.

Prices by family income, graduation and earnings →

About Franklin Furnace

Census-designated place in Ohio, United States

Franklin Furnace is a census-designated place (CDP) in Scioto County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,525 at the 2020 census.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
2.8 sq mi
Elevation
574 ft
ZIP code
45629

Franklin Furnace’s neighbors

2 towns share a border with Franklin Furnace.

Explore the map →
Green TownshipGreenupGreen TownshipGreenupFranklin Furnace
Green Township
E · 5% of Franklin Furnace workers commute here
Visit
Greenup
S
Visit
How the neighbors grade
TownOH rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Franklin Furnace——A−—C+C−
Green Township#952DB+—C+D

Franklin Furnace has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Franklin Furnace and Green Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Franklin Furnace with a neighbor →

Questions about Franklin Furnace

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Franklin Furnace, OH expensive?

Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.