Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 26,743, platted in 1823.
Franklin is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, ranked 271st of 585 in Indiana, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $82K. It also does better than most on safety: it reports less crime per resident than 63% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $282K, 3.5 years of the Indianapolis metro’s $80K median household income. Its National Register listings include Franklin College Library (Shirk Hall) and Franklin College-Old Main. 21% of working residents work locally in Franklin, above both Indiana’s towns (11%) and U.S. towns (8%). Franklin is home to Franklin College.
Where Franklin beats most towns.
Franklin College Library (Shirk Hall)| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Franklin College | 966 |
Census counts: 882 in 1850, 25,313 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 1867 and 4 maps from 1948 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Franklin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Franklin. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaLucas Oil Stadium
19 mi Stadium & arenaGainbridge Fieldhouse
33 mi Stadium & arenaMemorial Stadium
20 mi LandmarkSoldiers' and Sailors' Monument
25 mi Stadium & arenaHinkle Fieldhouse
20 mi MuseumMiller House and GardenLucas Oil Stadium: Josh Hallett from Winter Haven, FL, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gainbridge Fieldhouse: Durin at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Memorial Stadium: Durin at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument: alexeatswhales, CC BY 2.0 · Hinkle Fieldhouse: Peetlesnumber1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Miller House and Garden: Nyttend, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Franklin, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Franklin.
Franklin trades workers with Indianapolis and other neighbors, looks healthier within Indiana than nationally and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
13 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The trail density in Franklin is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Blue Heron Park, at 111 acres.
| Franklin | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dame Mall | 0.9 mi | 4 |
| 2. Blue Heron Park | 0.1 mi | 111 |
| 3. Province Park | — | 33 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Franklin has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 20° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 329 to 230 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 29 reported in 2025, 1.1 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Franklin has about as many jobs (13,528) as working residents, but only 2,514 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Franklin’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Franklin grew to 13,528 in 2023, 1,458 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Indianapolis (32%), Greenwood (8%) and Columbus (3%).
| Franklin | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 12% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Franklin home is worth about $282,000, up 2.1% in a year, 10% above the Indiana typical home. 66% of Franklin households own their home.
| Franklin | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 66% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,186 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Indiana average. Franklin’s median age is 34.5 years. Franklin has grown 5.6% since 2020, to 26,743 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Franklin | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.5 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 22% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.6 points). Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Franklin | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.6% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.1% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.6% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.6% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.6% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.7% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.8% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.6% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.3% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.5% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.9% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.1% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.7% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 148 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Franklin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Indiana it is healthier than 72% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures.
Franklin beats the Indiana average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Franklin.
| Franklin | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 39% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Franklin | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.8% | 8.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.1% | 14.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Franklin
About 8 of every 100 Franklin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
1.4% of the town is conserved land, across 3 parks and preserves.
12 places in Franklin on the National Register of Historic Places.
19 notable people were born in Franklin.
City in Indiana, United States
Franklin is a city in Johnson County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Franklin had a population of 25,313. Located about 20 miles (32 km) south of Indianapolis, the city is the county seat of Johnson County. The site of Franklin College, the city attracts numerous regional sports fans for the college teams, as well as audiences for its art events.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Franklin.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Franklin grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #271 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B− for health, B for safety and B for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
19 notable people were born here, including Jon Schaffer and Steve Alford.
