Photo: Lithium6ion · Public domainFew U.S. towns have household incomes as high as Franklin Lakes’
Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. 3.4% of residents are in poverty, where New Jersey as a whole has 9.7%. Franklin Lakes grades A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Franklin Lakes apart on work
Franklin Lakes trades workers with the towns around it
Franklin Lakes has about as many jobs (5,151) as working residents (5,008), but they are mostly different people: 4,743 residents leave for work each day while 4,886 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Franklin Lakes are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Franklin Lakes works from home
32% of Franklin Lakes workers work from home, against 17% across New Jersey. Time on the road ↓
Franklin Lakes draws workers from far and wide
The 5,151 jobs in Franklin Lakes are filled from a wide area. Franklin Lakes’ own residents hold 5% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 71% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
77% of Franklin Lakes’ working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 73% of the jobs based in Franklin Lakes. The jobs ↓
Franklin Lakes’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Franklin Lakes is New York City, NY, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (864) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Franklin Lakes
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Franklin Lakes is among the top U.S. towns, #8 of 468 in New Jersey. Household income is its strongest input ($235,795, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Franklin Lakes stays A+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Franklin Lakes
On a workday 4,743 residents head out to work, 265 work right here, and 4,886 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.03 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Each way, about 37 minutes from Franklin Lakes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Franklin Lakes workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,340 commuters (the 32% who work from home are left out). Across New Jersey: 75% drive alone, 10% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
17% of working residents work in New York City
Where Franklin Lakes clocks in
17% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
73% of the jobs in Franklin Lakes pay over $3,333 a month
5,151 jobs are based in Franklin Lakes.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Franklin Lakes, 2014 → 2024: 6,299 → 5,151. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Franklin Lakes’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Franklin Lakes, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Franklin Lakes is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Franklin Lakes is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #214 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Franklin Lakes 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 4,931 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 28% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 13% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 1.3% of Franklin Lakes households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of Franklin Lakes’ commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000, Franklin Lakes ranks 22nd of 2,507 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Fanwood NJ | 8,035 | $196K | 1.0% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 21 | Oradell NJ | 8,293 | $221K | 3.6% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| 22 | Franklin Lakes NJ | 11,180 | $236K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 5% | A+ |
| 23 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 7% | A+ |
| 24 | Lower Moreland Township PA | 14,116 | $154K | 2.6% | 2.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Park Ridge NJ | 9,571 | $171K | 1.5% | 3.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | East Greenwich Township NJ | 12,610 | $149K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 19% | 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 Lakes, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Next door to Franklin Lakes
The biggest share goes to Wyckoff Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Franklin Lakes workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Lakes | – | A+ | A | 37 min | $235,795 |
| Mahwah Township | under 2% | A | A | 28 min | $131,327 |
| Oakland | 2% | A | A− | 30 min | $162,019 |
| Wyckoff Township | 3% | A | A | 33 min | $203,988 |
| Wayne Township | 3% | A | A | 29 min | $153,056 |
| North Haledon | under 2% | A | A− | 31 min | $125,313 |
| Pines Lake | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Pines Lake: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Franklin Lakes’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 2024, 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 Lakes: questions
What is the median household income in Franklin Lakes?
$235,795 (±$26,395) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Franklin Lakes?
3.4%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Franklin Lakes?
37 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Franklin Lakes work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (17%, 28 mi), Hackensack (3%, 12 mi), Paramus (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Franklin Lakes walkable?
Franklin Lakes is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Franklin Lakes without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 13% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Franklin Lakes, from the people who make the trip.
More of Franklin Lakes
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.