The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Franklin County is a county of Vermont with 50,638 residents. Its economy produced $2,856 million in 2024 (ranked #6 of 14 counties) and had 17,250 jobs with an average annual pay of $62,487 (#4 for pay). The unemployment rate was 2.8% in 2026M09. It is part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metropolitan area (outlying county).
Franklin County produced about $2,856 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 6.2% of the combined output of the 14 counties of Vermont that BEA reports (about 7.8% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 6th of 14 on that measure. Per resident that is $56,405, 21% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $71,512. In current dollars output grew 5.6% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 17,250 jobs located in Franklin County on average in 2024, spread over 1,561 employer sites (about 11 jobs per site). That is 0.34 jobs for every resident, below the 0.41 of the typical county in Vermont, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $62,487, 3% below the average of all counties in the state ($62,487 against $64,611). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs did not change 0.0% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are manufacturing (21.9% of private jobs, $76,600 a year on average), retail trade (19.1% of private jobs, $42,267 a year on average), health care and social assistance (18.3% of private jobs, $62,089 a year on average). Together they hold 59.2% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is professional and technical services at $103,913 a year, followed by wholesale trade ($83,717). The county is specialised in several industries: manufacturing (1.9 times the US share, 2,768 jobs); retail trade (1.4 times the US share, 2,417 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: retail trade ($42,267), accommodation and food services ($29,724). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Franklin County was 2.8%, 9% above the average of the state's counties (2.8% against 2.6%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 25,954. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 2.4% (2026M05) to 3.5% (2026M01); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $81,313 (ACS 2020–2024), about the same as the state median ($81,313 against $81,203). The guide covers 2 cities with this as the main county: St. Albans, Swanton. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $1,150 in St. Albans to $1,238 in Swanton, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Franklin County in output are Windsor County, Windham County, Bennington County, Addison County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 14 counties of Vermont ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 50,638 | 5 of 14 |
| GDP 2024 | $2,856 million | 6 of 14 |
| GDP per resident | $56,405 | 10 of 14 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 17,250 | 6 of 14 |
| Average annual pay | $62,487 | 4 of 14 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +0.0% | 11 of 14 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 2.8% | 8 of 14 |
| Median household income | $81,313 | 6 of 14 |
Federal jobs in Vermont (113) →All cities of VermontState guide: Vermont
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Franklin County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Albans | 6,954 | $57,980 | $1,150 | $263,400 | 31.7% |
| Swanton | 2,670 | $66,607 | $1,238 | $229,000 | 20.2% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2,768 | 21.9% | $76,600 | 1.95 |
| Retail trade | 2,417 | 19.1% | $42,267 | 1.40 |
| Health care and social assistance | 2,315 | 18.3% | $62,089 | 0.94 |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,056 | 8.3% | $29,724 | 0.67 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 771 | 6.1% | $61,677 | 1.06 |
| Administrative and waste services | 655 | 5.2% | $60,138 | 0.65 |
| Wholesale trade | 645 | 5.1% | $83,717 | 0.95 |
| Construction | 600 | 4.7% | $63,523 | 0.66 |
| Professional and technical services | 414 | 3.3% | $103,913 | 0.35 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 374 | 3.0% | $41,768 | 0.72 |
| Finance and insurance | 270 | 2.1% | $72,334 | 0.39 |
| Information | 98 | 0.8% | $72,305 | 0.30 |
| Educational services | 80 | 0.6% | $44,522 | 0.22 |
| Real estate and rental | 75 | 0.6% | $37,905 | 0.28 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 55 | 0.4% | $33,992 | 0.19 |
| Management of companies | 34 | 0.3% | $82,613 | 0.12 |
| Utilities | 32 | 0.3% | $137,776 | 0.49 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 25,954 |
| Employed residents | 25,233 |
| Unemployed residents | 721 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.8% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 17,250 |
| Employer sites | 1,561 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chittenden County | 169,758 | $16,404 million | $96,629 | 103,301 | $73,186 | 2.2% |
| Rutland County | 60,425 | $3,787 million | $62,674 | 25,313 | $58,753 | 2.9% |
| Washington County | 60,017 | $5,191 million | $86,495 | 33,484 | $67,784 | 2.5% |
| Windsor County | 57,990 | $3,759 million | $64,826 | 23,153 | $62,855 | 2.6% |
| Franklin County | 50,638 | $2,856 million | $56,405 | 17,250 | $62,487 | 2.8% |
| Windham County | 45,923 | $3,098 million | $67,455 | 20,831 | $56,758 | 2.8% |
| Addison County | 37,664 | $2,305 million | $61,211 | 15,525 | $60,042 | 2.3% |
| Bennington County | 37,269 | $2,383 million | $63,928 | 16,750 | $58,906 | 3.1% |
| Caledonia County | 30,475 | $1,641 million | $53,841 | 11,117 | $55,371 | 2.3% |
| Orange County | 29,761 | $1,188 million | $39,919 | 7,898 | $55,315 | 2.4% |
| Orleans County | 27,606 | $1,563 million | $56,605 | 10,532 | $51,363 | 3.3% |
| Lamoille County | 26,148 | $1,654 million | $63,247 | 12,436 | $57,777 | 2.6% |
| Grand Isle County | 7,450 | $265 million | $35,565 | 1,383 | $50,181 | 2.9% |
| Essex County | 5,982 | $183 million | $30,572 | 1,069 | $49,646 | 3.0% |
50,638 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$2,856 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
2.8% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
17,250 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $62,487 (BLS QCEW).