Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Franklin has higher unemployment (6.8%) than 81% of U.S. towns
7% of workers work from home (Connecticut 16%). Jobs and income earn Franklin B; getting around on foot earns it B−. Household incomes here are higher than in 80% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Franklin in brief
Franklin’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Franklin is better than 56% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Franklin’s grade up ($105,000, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Franklin could be anywhere from C+ to A.
72% of the jobs in Franklin pay over $3,333 a month
1,267 jobs are based in Franklin.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Franklin, 2013 → 2023: 947 → 1,267. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Franklin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Franklin
On a workday 873 residents head out to work, 63 work right here, and 1,204 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Franklin on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.35 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
14% of working residents work in Norwich
Where Franklin clocks in
14% of workers
9% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
About 27 minutes to work from Franklin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Franklin workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 869 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Franklin
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
For most of Franklin, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Franklin is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Franklin near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 932 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 57% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.3% of Franklin households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Franklin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,600, Franklin ranks 1,970th of 5,921 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 166 | Newtown CT | 1,980 | $165K | 2.0% | 3.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 172 | Woodmont CT | 2,391 | $91K | 1.9% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 189 | Bridgewater CT | 1,677 | $159K | 3.0% | 3.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,968 | Morris Township OH | 2,107 | $99K | 13.1% | 3.3% | 1% | B |
| 1,969 | Liberty Township PA | 1,764 | $76K | 3.4% | 3.2% | 2% | B |
| 1,970 | Franklin CT | 1,915 | $105K | 8.7% | 6.8% | 7% | B |
| 1,971 | Raccoon Township IL | 1,481 | $78K | 4.3% | 1.8% | <1% | B |
| 1,972 | Cass Township IN | 1,757 | $63K | 5.0% | 0.8% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,921 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Franklin, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Next door is work for 21% of Franklin
The biggest share goes to Norwich (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Franklin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | – | B | B− | 27 min | $105,000 |
| Norwich | 14% | C | A | 24 min | $65,024 |
| Sprague | under 3% | B | B− | 30 min | $92,850 |
| Lebanon | 3% | A | D | 31 min | $109,135 |
| Bozrah | under 3% | A− | C− | 29 min | $108,516 |
| Windham | 4% | C− | A | 24 min | $55,736 |
| Scotland | under 3% | A− | C− | 33 min | $99,881 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Franklin’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Franklin: questions
What is the median household income in Franklin?
$105,000 (±$9,871) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Franklin?
8.7%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Franklin?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Franklin work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Norwich (14%, 6 mi), Groton (9%, 20 mi), Montville (5%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Franklin walkable?
Franklin is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Franklin without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Franklin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Franklin
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.