Franklin County, Washington
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 96,749, and was estimated to be 101,238 in 2024. The county seat and largest city is Pasco.
The county was formed out of Whitman County on November 28, 1883, and is named for Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin County is included in the Tri-Cities metropolitan area. Together, Kennewick, Richland and Pasco comprise Washington's Tri-Cities.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It is the 27th largest county in Washington by total area.Geographic features
Major highways
Adjacent counties
- Adams County - north
- Whitman County - east
- Walla Walla County - southeast
- Columbia County - southeast
- Benton County - southwest
- Grant County - northwest
National protected areas
Demographics
2024–2025 estimates
As of the second quarter of 2025, the median home value in Franklin County was $416,327.As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 31,564 estimated households in Franklin County with an average of 3.09 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $81,604. Approximately 17.8% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Franklin County has an estimated 58.1% employment rate, with 21.3% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 80.0% holding a high school diploma. There were 32,687 housing units at an average density of.
The median age in the county was 32.5 years.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 96,749. Of the residents, 31.5% were under the age of 18 and 9.9% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 30.9 years. For every 100 females there were 106.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 109.0 males. 88.6% of residents lived in urban areas and 11.4% lived in rural areas.The population density was and there were 29,740 housing units at an average density of. Of those units, 3.3% were vacant; among occupied housing units, 68.3% were owner-occupied and 31.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.6%.
The racial makeup of the county was 47.4% White, 1.9% Black or African American, 1.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0% Asian, 30.4% from some other race, and 16.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 54.2% of the population.
There were 28,748 households in the county, of which 47.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 20.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 78,163 people, 23,245 households, and 18,163 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 24,423 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 60.48% White, 1.88% African American, 0.68% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 31.83% from some other races and 3.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 51.18% of the population.In terms of ancestry, 13.1% were German, 6.8% were English, 6.5% were Irish, and 3.3% were American.
There were 23,245 households, 49.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 21.9% were non-families, and 16.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.28 and the average family size was 3.68. The median age was 28.4 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $47,749 and the median income for a family was $52,218. Males had a median income of $40,604 versus $29,517 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,660. About 16.5% of families and 19.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.6% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
Former communities
- Sperry