Kentucky · County property tax · ACS 2024
Franklin County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Franklin County pays $1,716 a year, an effective rate of 0.79%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,716
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.79%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -14%
- vs U.S. average
- #28 of 120
- rank in KY
The verdict
Homeowners in Franklin County pay a median $1,716 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.79%, more affordable than 51% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,716
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.79%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1538 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -14%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($216,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kentucky. Population: 51,842. Owner-occupied homes: 14,646.
The median annual property tax in Franklin County is $1,716, which is 11% higher than the Kentucky state average and 14% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.79% on a median home value of $216,600. Property taxes represent 2.6% of the median household income in this county.
Franklin County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Franklin County's 0.79% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 51%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Kentucky counties by effective rate
Franklin County ranks #28 of 120 counties in Kentucky by effective rate (77% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill is near the usual comparison points
Homeowners in Franklin County pay a median annual property tax of $1,716, notably lower than the national median and notably higher than the Kentucky state median. On a $216,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.79% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Franklin County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $65,298 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Franklin County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
A falling rate took the edge off
Franklin County's effective rate fell 15.5% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 44.5%, leaving the median bill 22.1% higher at $1,716. That rate move is larger than the one in 66% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $1,405 to $1,716, a gain of 22%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 3,570 of 14,646 owner-occupied homes (24.4%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 2.6% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Franklin County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Franklin County homeowners, 3,570 of 14,646 owner-occupied homes (24.4%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 15.6% (2,287)
- $800 to $1,499 24.4% (3,570)
- $1,500 to $1,999 17.0% (2,488)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.6% (2,875)
- $3,000 or more 18.0% (2,641)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
785 homes here (5.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kentucky handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Franklin County pay a substantially higher bill, 40% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Franklin County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Franklin County's effective rate is higher than 77% of the 120 counties in Kentucky - ranking #28 of 120.
Where Franklin County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.79% more affordable than 51% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
Franklin County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Franklin County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.6% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Franklin County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Kentucky counties.
Franklin County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,716 +2.6% | 0.79% |
| 2023 | $1,672 +4.2% | 0.84% |
| 2022 | $1,605 +9.9% | 0.87% |
| 2021 | $1,460 +3.9% | 0.94% |
| 2020 | $1,405 | 0.94% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Franklin County: tax-to-income at 2.6%
Counties near Franklin County's effective rate
On effective rate, Franklin County sits nearest Randolph County (IN), Allen County (IN), Atkinson County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Waynesboro city (VA), Bibb County (AL), Valley County (NE).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Franklin County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 990 of 25,230 returns from Franklin County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,377 - 35% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Kentucky
Franklin County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Franklin County?
- Franklin County, Kentucky scores D (44/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is rate relief at C- (0.79%). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- What is the average property tax in Franklin County, Kentucky?
- The median annual property tax in Franklin County is $1,716, an effective rate of 0.79% on a $216,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Franklin County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Franklin County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.79% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Franklin County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Franklin County jumped 22.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,405 to $1,716, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Franklin County?
- Property taxes in Franklin County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $65,298 median household income.
What to do with Franklin County's UNDER rate
At Franklin County's 0.79% effective rate, a $216,600 home implies about $1,716/yr - plug in your own assessed value rather than quoting the county median. Estimate your bill →
Franklin County ranks #28 of 120 Kentucky counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Kentucky overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Franklin County's UNDER effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.79%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,716/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Franklin County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Franklin County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Clark County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Franklin County at $1,716/yr; rate 0.77% vs Franklin County 0.79%.
Coffey County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,717/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.09% vs Franklin County 0.79%.
Elkhart County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,717/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.82% vs Franklin County 0.79%.
Potter County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,717/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.42% vs Franklin County 0.79%.
Kentucky county set
State ACS overview for every published Kentucky county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Franklin County stamps UNDER · MID - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Franklin County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.