FranklinCA
A town of 7,392.
Is Franklin a good place to live?
Franklin earns a D−, 825th of 841 graded towns in California, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $58K, and 23% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are less healthy than 81% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. 23% of residents live below the poverty line in Franklin, above both California’s towns (10%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). The typical home is worth about $308K, 4.7 years of the Merced metro’s $66K median household income.
Franklin has grown 13% from 2010 to 2020
6,149 counted in 2010 and 6,919 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Franklin grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Franklin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Franklin: who provides what
Franklin is unincorporated, so Merced County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Franklin.
Franklin has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to Merced and beyond, but it has poverty well above the California rate.
Conserved land covers 0.3% of Franklin
2.8 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. The trail density in Franklin is 1.4 miles per square mile.
| Franklin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Franklin’s public schools trail 70% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Merced City Elementary school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe StefaniLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 641 | – |
| Stone Ridge Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 481 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Franklin’s grade for health is a C−
32% of Franklin adults say their health is fair or poor. Franklin beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 33% of Franklin adults worry about having enough food.
| Franklin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 22% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 16% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Franklin | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.6% | 6.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 32.9% | 17.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents commute out of Franklin
Franklin has 313 jobs for its 2,653 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Franklin for work: only 1% work in town. Franklin’s average trip to work is 23 minutes. Jobs based in Franklin grew to 313 in 2023, 25 more than in 2013.
| Franklin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $58,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Franklin faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 77% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Franklin, expect mild winters and hot summers
The Merced weather station records that about 106 days a year reach 90°, more than in 96% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 95.5°, hotter than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 38.6°.
Franklin has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Franklin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 39°F | 41°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Franklin sell for about $350K
The median property tax bill is $2,129, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
79% of households own their home in Franklin.
| Franklin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 79% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,399 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Franklin
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Franklin
About 10 of every 100 Franklin residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
99% of working residents leave Franklin for work
Where Franklin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Franklin
Census-designated place in California, United States
Franklin (also referred to as Franklin-Beachwood) is a census-designated place in Merced County, California, United States, sitting at an elevation of 161 feet (49 m). As of the 2020 census the population was 6,919, up from 6,149 in 2010. Franklin-Beachwood is administered by Merced County as one of its unincorporated urban communities.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 161 ft
- Area code
- 209
Franklin’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Franklin.
Franklin reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Franklin with a neighbor →
Questions about Franklin
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Franklin, CA a good place to live?
Franklin grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #825 of 841 in California. It grades C− for health and C for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Franklin, CA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $308,000, 60% below the California typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.