Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Franklin gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $298K for a typical one, or 5 years of the county’s $59K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 142nd among North Carolina's 286 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its police reported 9 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. 31% of working residents work locally in Franklin, against 6.8% in North Carolina’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Franklin has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Jesse R. Siler House and Franklin Terrace Hotel. Only 5 of the 290 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower January low than Franklin.
Where Franklin beats most towns.
Jesse R. Siler House
Census counts: 207 in 1880, 4,175 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1888 and 4 maps from 1935 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Franklin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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 draws workers from Waynesville and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of North Carolina.
5,461 jobs are based in Franklin, 3.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Franklin’s working residents works in town. Franklin’s median household income is $48,000. Since 2013, Franklin has added 386 jobs, to 5,461 in 2023.
| Franklin | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $48,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 13% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Macon County Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Franklin High, with 996 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Franklin ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 315 | B− |
| Franklin HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 996 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
The property crime rate in Franklin is 24.3 per 1,000 residents. Franklin reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 79% report less. Within North Carolina, it does better than 52% of towns.
| Franklin | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 24.3 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 2020, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Franklin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 26.3°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 95% of North Carolina places with climate records; July afternoons average 85.8°.
Franklin has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. About 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 4,971 U.S. towns with household incomes like Franklin’s, it is healthier than 76%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Franklin beats the North Carolina average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 14% of Franklin adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Franklin | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 25% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Franklin | NC |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.6% | 7.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 13.6% | 10.4% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.3% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
58% of households own their home in Franklin. The typical Franklin home is worth about $298,000, up 1.4% in a year, 10% below the North Carolina typical home.
| Franklin | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $725 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 58% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Franklin | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greenway Park | — | 5 |
| 2. Franklin Memorial Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
| 3. Nantahala National Forest | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Franklin. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
21 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
Big draw27 mi MountainKuwohi
11 mi National forestNantahala National Forest
32 mi MountainBrasstown Bald29 mi Theme parkGhost Town in the SkyGreat Smoky Mountains National Park: Scott Basford, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Kuwohi: C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr., Public domain · Nantahala National Forest: Sdrtm at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Brasstown Bald: Unknown, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Franklin
About 5 of every 100 Franklin residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
Where Franklin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Franklin on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Franklin.
Town in North Carolina, United States
Franklin is a town in and the county seat of Macon County, North Carolina, United States. It is situated within the Nantahala National Forest. The population was reported to be 4,175 in the 2020 census, an increase from the total of 3,845 tabulated in 2010. The town developed around a 1,000-year-old platform mound, the center of the historic Cherokee town of Nikwasi. Franklin is a popular destination for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, specifically in relation to the Nantahala National Forest, the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Appalachian Trail. The town and the surrounding area is rich in gems and minerals, and is known locally as the "Gem Capital of The World."
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Franklin grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #142 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades C for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 52% of towns.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
5 notable people were born here, including James L. Robinson and Jim Roland.
