County outline
Where Franklin Parish is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 98.3% of Franklin Parish’s measured area and water for 1.7%. Its combined area converts to 1,645 square kilometers or approximately 406,482 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 624.298 | 1,616.924 | 399,550.7 |
| Water | 10.83 | 28.05 | 6,931.2 |
| Total | 635.128 | 1,644.974 | 406,481.9 |
How Franklin Parish compares
By original Census land area, Franklin Parish ranks #35 of 64 in Louisiana and #1543 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 0.966 times the Louisiana county-equivalent median of 645.9 square miles. It accounts for 1.4% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Louisiana ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Franklin Parish
The Census Bureau estimates that 19,002 people lived in Franklin Parish on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,938 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #46 of 64 in Louisiana. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 19,774, the population has declined by 772 (−3.9%), compared with −0.9% for Louisiana as a whole.
With 624.3 square miles of land, that is 30 people per square mile (12 per km²), placing Franklin Parish #1,996 nationally for density and #43 in Louisiana. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Louisiana median is 48. Put another way, there are about 21 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 19,714 | 19,618 | 19,340 | 19,275 | 19,143 | 19,002 |
| Change | — | −96 | −278 | −65 | −132 | −141 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Franklin Parish
4 incorporated places lie at least partly in Franklin Parish. Together they are home to 5,949 people (31.3%); the other 13,053 (68.7%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.
The largest is Winnsboro city, with 4,566 residents in the county.
| Incorporated place | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winnsboro cityCounty seat | 4,566 | −6% | 3.998 |
| Wisner town | 742 | −3.8% | 0.796 |
| Gilbert village | 436 | −2.7% | 1.049 |
| Baskin village | 205 | −2.4% | 1.333 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Franklin Parish. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Franklin Parish is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.
ZIP codes
7 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Franklin Parish; 6 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
71219712307123271243712957133671378
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Franklin Parish
Franklin Parish shares a land border with 5 county equivalents. It has more land than 4 of them. The largest neighbor is Catahoula Parish (709.3 mi²) and the smallest is Caldwell Parish (529.8 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Franklin Parish forms a block of 3,646.1 mi² of land, of which it holds 17.1%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Franklin | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catahoula Parish | 709.3 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
| Madison Parish | 623.9 | about the same | Compare |
| Tensas Parish | 603.3 | about the same | Compare |
| Richland Parish | 555.6 | 1.1× smaller | Compare |
| Caldwell Parish | 529.8 | 1.2× smaller | Compare |
How big is Franklin Parish compared with U.S. states?
Franklin Parish has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.7 times as much. Louisiana’s county land could hold about 69 areas the size of Franklin Parish.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 25 miles (40.2 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Franklin Parish?
Franklin Parish has more land than 1,679 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Franklin Parish at #1,628 nationally by total area, 85 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 1.7%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.5 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Franklin Parish in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1542 | Newton County, Missouri | 624.8 | Compare |
| #1543 | Franklin Parish, Louisiana | 624.3 | This county |
| #1544 | Miller County, Arkansas | 624.1 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 32.139076, -91.672371. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,616,925,541 m²; AWATER: 28,050,172 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Franklin Parish?
Franklin Parish, Louisiana has 624.3 square miles (1,616.9 km²) of land and 10.8 square miles of water, for a total area of 635.1 square miles. It ranks #1543 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Franklin Parish the largest county in Louisiana?
No. Franklin Parish ranks #35 of 64 in Louisiana by land area. The largest is Vernon Parish, with 1,326.7 square miles of land.
What counties border Franklin Parish?
Franklin Parish shares a land border with Richland Parish, Catahoula Parish, Tensas Parish, Madison Parish, and Caldwell Parish.
What is the population of Franklin Parish?
The Census Bureau estimates Franklin Parish had 19,002 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,938 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 30 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Franklin Parish?
The county seat of Franklin Parish is Winnsboro.
What cities and towns are in Franklin Parish?
Franklin Parish has 4 incorporated places. The most populous are Winnsboro city, Wisner town, Gilbert village, and Baskin village; 13,053 residents live outside any incorporated place.
Is Franklin Parish part of a metropolitan area?
No. Franklin Parish is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Franklin Parish?
7 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Franklin Parish, and 6 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Franklin Parish compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.7 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Franklin Parish?
The land measurement converts to approximately 399,551 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 406,482 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.