Farmhousecoffee, 2013
Franklin’s story
201 years in pictures
Census counts: 151 in 1880, 3,139 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2013 and 8 maps from 1907 on.
- 1825Franklin is settled
Photo: Lrgjr72 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
3,134
2025 Census estimate · −0.9% since 2020
Typical home
$921K
+8.1% in a year
Household income
$194K
median
Median age
49.5
years
Jobs based here
574
A commuter town
TownGrade
A
#37 of 697 in MI
Why does Franklin grade so well?
Few places in the country grade higher. Franklin earns an A, ranked 37th of 697 in Michigan. The median household earns $194K, its schools outperform 96% of the state's, and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 95% of the country. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $921K for a typical one and 12 times the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. 80% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Franklin, above both the Michigan town median (26%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). No town among the 322 in Michigan we compare has a higher typical home value than Franklin. Franklin's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 91% of U.S. towns.
What makes Franklin stand out
Where Franklin beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Franklin4.9
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical MI town3.1
Civic lifeA
59% more nonprofits per person
than the typical Michigan town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
Natural hazardsA
Very low risk of storm and flood damage
FEMA National Risk Index.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave Franklin for work
Where Franklin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
574jobs based in Franklin
1%of working residents work in town
10 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2021
How Franklin grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Franklin is from typical.
Jobs & incomeA+Open →SchoolsA+Open →HealthBeaumont Hospital - Farmington Hills 5.3 miles awayAOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 13% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listAOpen →Cost of livingC−Open →SafetyB+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.9 of 20; 0% of households have no car; 1.8% of workers walk, bike or ride transitB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors2 miles of trails; 1% conserved landC+Open →History3 notable people born hereAOpen →Civic life4.9 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsAOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 61 attractions →Michigan Stadium and 55 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Franklin. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaMichigan Stadium
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
18 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
15 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
18 mi TheatreFox Theatre3 mi MuseumMarvin's Marvelous Mechanical MuseumSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Michigan Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ford Field: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Comerica Park: City of Detroit, Public domain · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fox Theatre: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Franklin: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Franklin, and how to reach them.
PowerDTE20.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterSouthfield water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpMondayTown’s haulerTown site
Register to voteOnlineIn Michigan you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereSouthfield Township ClerkSouthfield Township; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP code4802548025 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Franklin.
Franklin has less food insecurity than most of Michigan and has household incomes well above the Michigan norm, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Michigan.
HousingCost of living grade C−
Compared with most of Michigan and the rest of the country, more of Franklin’s households own their home
At 12 years of the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income, the typical home (about $921K) costs more against local pay than in any other Michigan town; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $9,379, against $2,904 across Michigan, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
98% of households own their home in Franklin. Typical home values rose 8.1% in the year to September 2026. The typical Franklin home is worth about $921,000, up 8.1% in a year, 3 times the Michigan typical home.
$921KZillow home value
Typical home value
Franklin$921K
Michigan$264K
Market temperature
12
days on market
102.5%
sale-to-list price
+8.1%
value change, 1 year
7
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
HealthA
A smaller share of adults in Franklin report frequent mental distress than in the typical Michigan or U.S. town
Its widest gap with Michigan is food insecurity: 7.3% of its 2,440 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide. Against the 1,049 U.S. towns with household incomes like Franklin’s, it is less healthy than 56%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
13% of Franklin adults report frequent mental distress. Franklin beats the Michigan average on 24 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 28% of Franklin adults feel lonely.
95%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
| Franklin | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 15% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Michigan
24 better7 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Franklin | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.3% | 15.4% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.4% | 6.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 8.9% |
Beaumont Hospital - Farmington Hills
5.3 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
95th
percentile among MI towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
OutdoorsC+
Franklin has set aside 0.8% of its land for conservation
1.6 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
#238for trails in MI
| Franklin | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
0.8%
conserved · 14 of 1,695 acres
1.6 mi
of trails · 0.6 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Franklin Community Association | 0.5 mi | 6 |
| 2. Franklin Historical Museum Nature Preserve | 0.2 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A
Very low risk in Franklin, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 87% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Franklin since 2020.
13risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves
1
paid flood claims since 2020
5
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A+
With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Franklin’s workers commute out
Jobs based here grew from 359 in 2011 to 574. 22.8% of workers work from home, against 13.5% across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Franklin for work: only 1% work in town. Since 2011, Franklin has added 215 jobs, to 574 in 2021. The top destinations are Detroit (12%), Southfield (8%) and Southfield Township (8%).
1%work in town
| Franklin | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $194,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.8% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.9% | 5.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Franklin1%
Detroit12%
Southfield8%
Southfield Township8%
Farmington Hills7%
10 mi
median commute distance
574
jobs based in Franklin
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
SafetyB+
Franklin is safer than 71% of U.S. towns, by crime per resident
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 1.3 per 1,000 residents.
71%of U.S. towns report more crimeB+Safety Grade
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Franklin1.3
Michigan4.3
U.S.3.3
Property crime per 1,000 residents
Franklin7
Michigan13
U.S.15.5
71st
percentile among U.S. towns we grade
71st
percentile among MI towns
4
violent crimes reported in 2025
22
property crimes reported in 2025
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Climate
Franklin has four seasons and pleasant summers
Franklin has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
36″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–34°
Spring37–58°
Summer60–81°
Fall42–61°
Oct 17
typical first frost
May 1
typical last frost
+1.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Franklin
20pages on Franklin
The big questions
SchoolsA+Beat 96% of MI districtsSafetyB+1.3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents (2025)HealthABetter than MI on 24 of 32 CDC measuresCost of livingC−$921K typical home · up 8.1% in a yearWork & commuteA+$194K median household income · 574 jobs hereNatural hazardsAFEMA risk higher than 13% of U.S. communities · inland flooding
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
16 within 15 miles of the center of Franklin
Arizona College of Nursing-SouthfieldUniversity or college · Private for-profit · Southfield3.4 mi$24,944 tuitionOakland Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Auburn Hills9.7 mi$3,020 in-state tuitionOakland UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Rochester Hills11.6 mi$15,262 in-state tuition
About 5 of every 100 Franklin residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Michigan.
Famous people from Franklin
3 notable people were born in Franklin.
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About Franklin
Village in Michigan, United States
Franklin is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Franklin is located within Southfield Township, roughly 20 miles (32.2 km) northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 3,139. The community is known for large, estate-style homes. The downtown was designated as a historic district, the first in Michigan, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. The Franklin Cider Mill is a visitor attraction.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1825
- Area
- 2.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 833 ft
- ZIP code
- 48025
Franklin’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Franklin.
At #37 in MI, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Bloomfield Township (A) comes closest.
Southfield TownshipSouthfieldBloomfield TownshipBingham FarmsFranklin
How the neighbors grade
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | #37 | A | C− | B+ | A+ | A |
| Southfield Township | #46 | A | D | — | A+ | A+ |
| Southfield | #615 | C− | C− | D | C+ | B− |
| Bloomfield Township | #42 | A | D | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Bingham Farms | — | — | D | — | A+ | A |
Bingham Farms has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Southfield Township and Bingham Farms report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Franklin with a neighbor →
Questions about Franklin
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Franklin, MI a good place to live?
Yes, by almost any measure. Franklin grades A overall, better than 94% of U.S. towns and #37 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Franklin, MI expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
What is Franklin, MI known for?
3 notable people were born here, including Kenny Ryan and Jeff Katz.