{"id":6538,"date":"2023-07-31T09:28:52","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T09:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=6538"},"modified":"2026-08-07T13:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T13:07:41","slug":"franklin-county-north-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/franklin-county-north-carolina\/","title":{"rendered":"Franklin County, North Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Franklin County is a county in North Carolina, United States, about 30 miles northeast of<br \/>\nRaleigh. It had a population of 68,573 at the 2020 census, an estimated 74,386 by 2024, and<br \/>\ncovers 491.80 square miles (1,273.8 km2) centred near 36\u00b005\u2032N 78\u00b017\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Louisburg is the county seat; its postal code is 27549. The county holds 4 incorporated towns<br \/>\nand 4 unincorporated or census-designated communities across 10 townships, and it runs on<br \/>\nEastern Time. Its FIPS code is 37069.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Franklin County<\/h2>\n<p>Franklin County has 8 named places on record: 4 incorporated towns and 4 unincorporated or<br \/>\ncensus-designated communities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census<br \/>\ndesignated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Township<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Louisburg<\/td>\n<td>Town &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>Louisburg<\/td>\n<td>3,064<\/td>\n<td>27549<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Franklinton<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>Franklinton<\/td>\n<td>2,456<\/td>\n<td>27525<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Youngsville<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>Youngsville<\/td>\n<td>2,016<\/td>\n<td>27596<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lake Royale<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>Cypress Creek<\/td>\n<td>3,392<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bunn<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>Cedar Rock<\/td>\n<td>327<\/td>\n<td>27508<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Centerville<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>Gold Mine<\/td>\n<td>149<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Wake Forest<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp. edge<\/td>\n<td>Youngsville<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Justice<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>Sandy Creek<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Wake Forest is almost entirely a Wake County town &mdash; its population of 47,601 at the 2020<br \/>\ncensus is counted there, not in Franklin, and only a thin northern edge of its corporate limits<br \/>\ncrosses into Youngsville Township. Centerville was an incorporated town until it dissolved on 22<br \/>\nJuly 2017 and is now a CDP with no post office of its own; mail there uses Louisburg&#8217;s ZIP.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>27549 &mdash; Louisburg (also serves Centerville and Justice, both without a ZIP of their own)<\/li>\n<li>27525 &mdash; Franklinton<\/li>\n<li>27596 &mdash; Youngsville<\/li>\n<li>27508 &mdash; Bunn<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Lake Royale, the county&#8217;s largest CDP by population, has no dedicated ZIP and is served by<br \/>\nBunn&#8217;s and Louisburg&#8217;s codes depending on the street. The small edge of Wake Forest inside<br \/>\nFranklin County uses Wake Forest&#8217;s own 27587 ZIP, administered from Wake County.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Franklin County sits in North Carolina&#8217;s upper Piedmont, a belt of rolling hills and<br \/>\nred-clay farmland between the mountains and the coastal plain. Of its 491.80 square miles, 489.03<br \/>\nare land and 2.77 are water, under 1 percent &mdash; the county has no large natural lake, and<br \/>\nLake Royale, a man-made reservoir on Cypress Creek, accounts for most of its open water. The Tar<br \/>\nRiver crosses the county&#8217;s eastern half, and Cedar Creek and Cypress Creek both feed it from<br \/>\nthe west.<\/p>\n<p>Warren County lies to the north, Vance and Granville counties to the west, Wake County to the<br \/>\nsouth, and Johnston and Nash counties to the southeast and east. <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/warren-county-north-carolina\/\">Warren County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/vance-county\/\">Vance County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/granville-county\/\">Granville County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wake-county\/\">Wake County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/nash-county\/\">Nash County<\/a> all border Franklin directly;<br \/>\nJohnston County borders it too but has no page live on this site yet.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Franklin County had a population of 68,573 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts<br \/>\nthe county near 74,386 residents in 2024. Lake Royale and Louisburg are the two largest named<br \/>\ncommunities, though most residents live outside any incorporated town, in the unincorporated<br \/>\nland between them. Median household income runs $74,240, close to North Carolina&#8217;s statewide<br \/>\nfigure of $70,804 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 140 people per square mile<br \/>\nof land, reflecting the county&#8217;s position on the outer edge of the Raleigh metro area rather<br \/>\nthan inside its dense core.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Construction employs the most workers in the county, about 4,533 people, followed by retail<br \/>\ntrade at 4,102 and health care and social assistance at 3,974. Growth in neighboring Wake County<br \/>\nhas pulled much of that construction and retail activity toward Youngsville and the Wake Forest<br \/>\nedge of the county, the fastest-growing part of Franklin. Louisburg College, a two-year school<br \/>\nfounded in 1787 and the oldest coeducational junior college in the country still operating on its<br \/>\noriginal site, anchors the county seat&#8217;s economy along with county government offices. A<br \/>\nVance-Granville Community College satellite campus also serves the county. The county&#8217;s<br \/>\nbiggest annual event is the Bunn Boilerfest, a spring festival built around the town&#8217;s<br \/>\nvolunteer fire department.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The North Carolina General Assembly formed Franklin County in 1779, carving it from the<br \/>\nsouthern half of Bute County. It was named for Benjamin Franklin, then serving as a diplomat for<br \/>\nthe fledgling United States in Paris. Louisburg, laid out the same year on land bought for a new<br \/>\ncourthouse, took its name from King Louis XVI of France, whose government was funding the<br \/>\nAmerican war effort at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Franklinton, incorporated in 1842, grew up around the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad depot and<br \/>\nlater a cotton mill. In December 1919 a mob seized a Black man being held on an assault charge<br \/>\nthere and killed him, one of the documented lynchings carried out in the county in the era; the<br \/>\ncounty does not soften that history in its own historical markers. Former heavyweight boxing<br \/>\nchampion Jack Johnson died in a car crash on U.S. Highway 1 in Franklinton on 10 June 1946.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>No interstate highway crosses Franklin County. U.S. Route 1 runs the length of the county<br \/>\nthrough Franklinton and Youngsville, and US 401 crosses it through Louisburg; NC 96, NC 98 and NC<br \/>\n39 also serve the county.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Raleigh &mdash; about 30 miles southwest<\/li>\n<li>Henderson &mdash; about 20 miles northwest<\/li>\n<li>Rocky Mount &mdash; about 30 miles southeast<\/li>\n<li>Wake Forest &mdash; about 10 miles south<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Raleigh-Durham International Airport, roughly 35 miles southwest of Louisburg, is the nearest<br \/>\nmajor commercial airport. Amtrak&#8217;s Silver Star and Silver Meteor trains stop at the Raleigh<br \/>\nUnion Station, the closest Amtrak service to the county.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Franklin County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits in North Carolina&#8217;s upper Piedmont, about 30 miles northeast of Raleigh, bordered by<br \/>\nWarren, Vance, Granville, Wake, Johnston and Nash counties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Franklin County?<\/strong><br \/>\n68,573 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 74,386.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Franklin County?<\/strong><br \/>\n491.80 square miles (1,273.8 km2), of which 489.03 square miles are land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Franklin County?<\/strong><br \/>\nLouisburg is the county seat, laid out in 1779 and named for King Louis XVI of France.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Franklin County?<\/strong><br \/>\nFour incorporated towns &mdash; Louisburg, Franklinton, Youngsville and Bunn &mdash; plus the<br \/>\nCDPs of Lake Royale and Centerville and a thin edge of Wake Forest.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Franklin County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n27549 for Louisburg, 27525 for Franklinton, 27596 for Youngsville and 27508 for Bunn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Franklin County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nLouisburg College, the oldest two-year coeducational college in the country, and its position on<br \/>\nthe fast-growing northern edge of the Raleigh metro area.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/north-carolina\/\">Towns and villages in North Carolina<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Franklin County is a county in North Carolina, United States, about 30 miles northeast of Raleigh. It had a population of 68,573 at the 2020 census, an estimated 74,386 by 2024, and covers 491.80 square miles (1,273.8 km2) centred near 36\u00b005\u2032N 78\u00b017\u2032W. Louisburg is the county seat; its postal code is 27549. The county holds [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Franklin County, North Carolina","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 8 places in Franklin County, North Carolina - type, township, population and ZIP, plus Louisburg College and Franklin history.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-6538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-north-carolina","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6538"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9317,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6538\/revisions\/9317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}