Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,541, making it the 2nd least populous capital county in the United States after Hughes County, South Dakota. Its county seat is Frankfort, the state capital. The county was formed in 1795 from parts of Woodford, Mercer and Shelby counties, and was named after the American inventor and statesman Benjamin Franklin. Franklin County is part of the Frankfort, Kentucky Micropolitan Statistical Area. It shares a name with Franklin County in Ohio, where Columbus is located. This makes it one of two pairs of capital cities in counties of the same name, along with Marion Counties in Oregon and Indiana.

Frankfort is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kentucky and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city. The population was 28,602 at the 2020 United States census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the principal city of the Frankfort, Kentucky Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Franklin and Anderson counties. It is the 4th least populous state capital in the United States, and the 13th most populous city in Kentucky.