Franklin County, particularly Columbus, has been a centerpiece for presidential and U.S. congressional politics, most notably the 2000 presidential election, the 2004 United States presidential election, and the 2006 United States midterm elections. Franklin County is home to the largest university in the United States, The Ohio State University, which, as of Fall 2006, has an enrollment of 51,818 students.
The county was established on April 30, 1803, less than two months after Ohio became a state, and was named after Benjamin Franklin. Franklin County originally extended all the way north to Lake Erie before Ohio subdivided further into more counties.
Franklin County has diverse levels of development, ranging from the urban core of Columbus to the quite rural southern and western portions of the county. The far south-west, near Harrisburg, offers little to no indication of a city of over 730,000 people (according the U.S. Census Bureau's estimates from July 1, 2005) less than 20 minutes away. This may be partly due to a development restriction established to protect the scenic Darby Creek on the border of Madison County.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,068,978 people, 438,778 households, and 263,705 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,980 people per square mile (765/km²). There were 471,016 housing units at an average density of 872 per square mile (337/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.48% White, 17.89% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 3.07% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.03% from other races, and 2.23% from two or more races. 2.27% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 438,778 households out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.00% were married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.90% were non-families. 30.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.10% under the age of 18, 11.70% from 18 to 24, 33.30% from 25 to 44, 20.10% from 45 to 64, and 9.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,734, and the median income for a family was $53,905. Males had a median income of $37,672 versus $29,856 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,059. About 8.20% of families and 11.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.20% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.