Franklin County, Missouri

Franklin County is a county in Missouri, United States, about 50 miles west of St. Louis on the south bank of the Missouri River. It had a population of 104,682 at the 2020 census, an estimated 105,950 by 2024, and covers 923 square miles (2,390 km2) of land, centred near 38°25′N 91°05′W.

Union is the county seat; its postal code is 63084. The county holds 8 cities, 5 villages and 4 census-designated places among its named settlements, plus dozens of smaller unincorporated hamlets, and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 29071.

Towns & Villages in Franklin County

Franklin County has 17 named places with their own Census Bureau data: 8 incorporated cities, 5 incorporated villages and 4 census-designated places (CDPs) with no local government of their own. City · seat marks the county seat.

Two cities on this list straddle county lines. Pacific’s population figure is citywide — most of the city sits in Franklin County, with a smaller portion crossing into St. Louis County and a sliver reaching into Jefferson County. Sullivan runs along the Franklin–Crawford county line, so a share of its 6,906 residents live on the Crawford County side.

Franklin County’s road maps also carry dozens of smaller crossroads and rural hamlets that appear on USGS topographic maps but are not tracked individually by the Census Bureau — Beaufort, Robertsville, Labadie, St. Albans, Catawissa, Moselle, Lonedell and Campbellton among them. None has its own population count, ZIP code or local government.

ZIP Codes

• 63084 — Union
• 63090 — Washington
• 63069 — Pacific
• 63080 — Sullivan (also serves Stanton and Oak Grove Village)
• 63077 — St. Clair (also serves Parkway and Lake St. Clair)
• 63068 — New Haven
• 63037 — Gerald
• 63014 — Berger
• 63056 — Leslie
• 63079 — Charmwood
• 63039 — Gray Summit
• 63089 — Villa Ridge

Miramiguoa Park has no ZIP code of its own; mail there is delivered under a neighboring town’s code. The unincorporated hamlets scattered across the county’s rural areas likewise share ZIPs with their nearest incorporated town or CDP rather than carrying one of their own.

Geography

Franklin County sits where the rolling hills of Missouri’s Ozark border country meet the Missouri River bottomlands. Of its 931 square miles, 923 are land and 8.0 are water, about 0.9 percent — low for a river county, since most of its surface water is confined to the Missouri River’s edge rather than large lakes. The Missouri River forms much of the county’s northern boundary, and the Bourbeuse River runs roughly 107 miles through the county’s interior with limited road access and few bridges. The Meramec River crosses the southern part of the county near Stanton and Sullivan.

Warren County lies to the north across the Missouri River, St. Charles County and St. Louis County to the northeast, Jefferson County to the east, Washington County to the southeast, Crawford County to the southwest, and Gasconade County to the west. Warren County, St. Charles County, St. Louis County, Jefferson County, Washington County, Crawford County and Gasconade County all border Franklin directly.

Demographics

Franklin County had a population of 104,682 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the county near 105,950 residents by 2024. Washington and Union are the two largest communities, together holding roughly a quarter of the county’s population. Median household income runs $73,165, above Missouri’s statewide figure of $68,545 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 113 people per square mile of land, low compared with the St. Louis metro core to the east, reflecting the county’s mostly rural character outside its river towns.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 9,662 people, followed by retail trade at 6,072 and construction at 5,978. Washington is home to the Missouri Meerschaum Company, based on the city’s riverfront, which is why locals call Washington the corncob pipe capital of the world. Washington’s Main Street district carries 445 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, and the nation’s first Walmart Supercenter opened in the city in 1988. Union, the county seat, is home to East Central College, a public two-year college, and more than 300 businesses operate there. Vineyards along the Missouri River bluffs in the county’s northern reaches fall within the Hermann AVA, a wine region planted by 19th-century German immigrant families.

History

The Spanish colonial log fort San Juan del Misuri stood in present-day Washington from 1796 to 1803, predating American control of the area. Explorer Daniel Boone moved into the region starting in 1799, part of a wave of settlers pushing west after the American Revolution. Missouri’s territorial government organized Franklin County on 11 December 1818 and named it for Benjamin Franklin. Beginning in 1833, large numbers of German immigrant families settled the county and soon outnumbered its slaveholders; the newcomers largely opposed slavery. Confederate general and former Missouri governor Sterling Price led his cavalry through the county during his 1864 Missouri Raid. The county’s struggle with rural methamphetamine production was the subject of the 2005 A&E documentary Meth: A County in Crisis.

Getting There

Interstate 44 crosses the county’s southern half through Sullivan, St. Clair and Stanton. US Route 50 runs west–east through Union and Villa Ridge, and Missouri Routes 30, 47, 100 and 185 connect the county’s smaller towns.

• St. Louis — about 50 miles east
• Hermann — about 15 miles northwest of Washington
• Rolla — about 50 miles southwest
• Jefferson City — about 65 miles west

St. Louis Lambert International Airport, roughly 45 miles east of Union, is the nearest major commercial airport. Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner stops at the Washington station, connecting the county to Kansas City and St. Louis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Franklin County located?
It sits in eastern Missouri along the Missouri River, about 50 miles west of St. Louis, bordered by Warren, St. Charles, St. Louis, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and Gasconade counties.

What is the population of Franklin County?
104,682 at the 2020 census, with an estimated 105,950 residents by 2024.

How big is Franklin County?
931 square miles (2,410 km2) in total, of which 923 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Franklin County?
Union, incorporated in 1826 and named county seat the following year.

How many towns and cities are in Franklin County?
Eight incorporated cities — Washington, Union, Pacific, Sullivan, St. Clair, New Haven, Gerald and Berger — plus five incorporated villages, four census-designated places, and dozens of unincorporated hamlets.

What ZIP codes does Franklin County use?
63084 for Union, 63090 for Washington, 63069 for Pacific, 63080 for Sullivan and Stanton, 63077 for St. Clair and Parkway, plus smaller codes for the county’s other towns.

What is Franklin County known for?
Washington’s Missouri Meerschaum Company, the corncob pipe capital of the world, and the county’s vineyards along the Hermann AVA wine trail.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Missouri.