Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Franklin grades B overall, 260th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 85% of U.S. towns and 10% of its land is conserved. It also does better than most on health: it is healthier than 62% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $382K, 3.9 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Franklin’s average trip to work is 37 minutes, above both the New Jersey town median (30 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). The biggest park or preserve is Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area, at 42 acres.
Where Franklin beats most towns.
Where Franklin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Franklin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,075 in 1920, 4,912 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 6 maps from 1888 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Franklin. Close and well known come first.
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw40 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw38 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw40 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw40 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a yearMadison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Central Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · United States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
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 has seen reported crime fall by about half and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in New Jersey; it also trails Hardyston Township and its other neighbors on schools.
Reported crimes fell from 44 to 19 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Franklin is 0 per 1,000 residents.
| Franklin | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C+, Hardyston Township highest at B−.
Its public schools are run by the Franklin Borough School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Borough SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 527 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
56% of Franklin households own their home. The typical Franklin home is worth about $382,000, about the same as a year ago, 34% below the New Jersey typical home. Franklin’s median rent is $1,381 a month.
| Franklin | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,381 a month | $1,780 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Franklin for work: only 8% work in town. 6.3% of workers work from home in Franklin. Since 2013, Franklin has added 96 jobs, to 1,615 in 2023.
| Franklin | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 6.3% | 17% | 11% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Franklin has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 81% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its B, from Hardyston Township (A−) to Hamburg (A).
Franklin beats the New Jersey average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10.
| Franklin | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 28% | 35% |
| What stands out | Franklin | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.5% | 9.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.1% | 5.1% |
| More smokers | 14.5% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Franklin | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.5% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area | — | 42 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Franklin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Franklin
About 4 of every 100 Franklin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
7 notable people were born in Franklin.
Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, US
Franklin is a borough in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,912, a decrease of 133 (−2.6%) from the 2010 census count of 5,045, which in turn reflected a decline of 115 (−2.2%) from the 5,160 counted in the 2000 census. Franklin, known as the "Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World," is located over a rich ore body containing more than 150 minerals, many of them fluorescent and 25 of which are found nowhere else on earth. Settled in the 17th century, the village known as Franklin Furnace after Benjamin Franklin, developed near iron mines and iron smelting operations located along the Wallkill River. In the ea…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Franklin.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | #260 | B | C | A | C+ | B |
| Hardyston Township | #205 | B+ | D | A | B− | A− |
| Hamburg | #262 | B | C− | B+ | B− | A |
| Ogdensburg | — | — | C | — | B− | A− |
Ogdensburg has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Ogdensburg reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Franklin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Franklin grades B overall, better than 55% of U.S. towns and #260 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades B for health, A for safety and C+ 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 C.
7 notable people were born here, including Charles Francis Lynch and Charles Joseph Fletcher.
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