Franklin Parish, Louisiana

Franklin Parish (: Paroisse de Franklin) is a located in the  of. The is. As of 2000, the population was 21,263.

Franklin Parish has had difficulty in recent years in financing public school operations. Several schools were closed because of the lack of finances available. Voters repeatedly voted down school tax renewals. School has also recently been plagued by gun threats and student violence. The school superintendent is former state Representative Lanny Johnson, a.

Geography
The parish has a total area of 1,646 (635 ). 1,615 km² (624 sq mi) of it is land and 31 km² (12 sq mi) of it (1.86%) is water.

Major Highways

 * [[Image:Louisiana 4.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Louisiana 15.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Louisiana 17.svg|20px]]

Adjacent parishes

 * (north & northwest)
 * (northeast)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 21,263 people, 7,754 households, and 5,706 families residing in the parish. The was 13/km² (34/sq mi). There were 8,623 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (14/sq mi). The racial makeup of the parish was 67.16%, 31.61% or , 0.27% , 0.19% , 0.15% from , and 0.62% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 7,754 households out of which 33.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.30% were living together, 16.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the parish the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 25.80% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.40 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $22,964, and the median income for a family was $27,440. Males had a median income of $26,305 versus $16,758 for females. The for the parish was $12,675. About 23.10% of families and 28.40% of the population were below the, including 41.40% of those under age 18 and 25.00% of those age 65 or over.