Franklin County, Illinois
County seat: Benton · Population 36,916 (2025) · 409 sq mi
Franklin County is the 36th most populous of Illinois's 102 counties, with 36,916 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Benton. It is part of the Southern region, one of the 10 Illinois economic development regions (DCEO). The map shows its 16 cities and towns and the 6 neighboring counties.
Franklin County facts
- County seat
- Benton
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 36,916 −2.3% since 2020
- Land area
- 409 sq mi 72nd largest of 102
- Water area
- 23 sq mi
- Population density
- 90 per sq mi
- Established
- 1818
- Same name
- One of 24 Franklin Counties in the US
- Named after
- Benjamin Franklin American polymath and statesman (1706–1790)
- Largest city
- West Frankfort 7,105
- Median household income
- $56,740
- Cities and towns
- 16 plus 1 CDPs
- ZIP codes
- 19
- Time zone
- Central
- FIPS code
- 17055
Cities and towns in Franklin County
Franklin County has 16 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Franklin County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Frankfort | City | 7,105 | |
| Benton (county seat) | City | 6,558 | |
| Christopher | City | 2,607 | |
| Sesser | City | 1,888 | |
| Zeigler | City | 1,456 | |
| Royalton | Village | 1,031 | |
| West City | Village | 640 | |
| Valier | Village | 538 | |
| North City | Village | 503 | |
| Thompsonville | Village | 477 | |
| Buckner | Village | 393 | |
| Orient | City | 321 | |
| Hanaford | Village | 315 | |
| Ewing | Village | 295 | |
| Freeman Spur | Village | 120 | Williamson County |
| Macedonia | Village | 12 | Hamilton County |
Unincorporated communities (CDPs)
Census-designated places are communities without their own city government; the county provides their services.
| Community | Population | Also in |
|---|---|---|
| Mulkeytown | 117 |
ZIP codes in Franklin County
19 ZIP codes reach into Franklin County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 62812
- 62819
- 62822
- 62825
- 62836 also Jefferson County
- 62856
- 62859 also Hamilton County
- 62860 also Hamilton County
- 62865
- 62874
- 62883 also Jefferson and Perry counties
- 62884
- 62890 also Williamson, Hamilton and Saline counties
- 62891
- 62896 also Williamson County
- 62897
- 62932 also Jackson County
- 62983
- 62999
Population of Franklin County, 2020–2025
Franklin County shrank by 885 people (−2.3%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 1,062 more deaths than births and a net gain of 190 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 37,694 |
| 2021 | 37,460 |
| 2022 | 37,194 |
| 2023 | 37,105 |
| 2024 | 36,954 |
| 2025 | 36,916 |
Neighboring counties
- Williamson County south · 67,225 people
- Jefferson County north · 36,147 people
- Perry County west · 20,160 people
- Hamilton County east · 7,859 people
- Jackson County southwest · 52,501 people
- Saline County southeast · 22,772 people
Printable Franklin County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (107 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (70 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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