Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
69,105 people call this city in New Jersey home.
Some subjects shine; others lag. Health is its strong suit — residents are healthier than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Add incomes to its strengths: the median household earns $125K. What holds it back is cost of living (D): the typical home is worth about $458K, 4.6 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Schools are weaker too (C): its public schools trail 71% of New Jersey towns on state tests and graduation. The overall grade lands at B, 246th of 466 in New Jersey. It comes out better than nearly three fifths of U.S. towns. Just over a quarter of the land in Franklin Township is conserved, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 4.3%.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · schools, state test and graduation results · USGS PAD-US.
Where Franklin Township beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Franklin Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.9% | 9.6% |
Census counts: 2,068 in 1790, a low of 2,068 in 1790, 68,364 in 2020. The archive holds 36 old photos and papers going back to 1722 and 7 maps from 1888 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Franklin Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Franklin Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw37 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw36 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw31 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw37 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 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Coney Island: OptimumPx, Public domain · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Franklin Township, 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 Township.
Franklin Township trades workers with New Brunswick and other neighbors, is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey.
58 miles of trail in 18 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Six Mile Run Reservoir Site, 3,220 acres with 20.8 miles of trail. Franklin Township’s trail network density is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Six Mile Run Reservoir Site | 20.8 mi | 3,220 |
| 2. Colonial Park | 7.5 mi | 375 |
| 3. John Clyde Memorial Native Grassland Preserve | 3.3 mi | 177 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Of its 19 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. The Franklin Township Public School District runs its public schools. 6 public schools serve Franklin Township, with 3,091 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Middle School at Sampson G. Smith CampusLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 787 | C+ |
| Franklin High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,134 | C |
| Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter SchoolTop results in townGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 613 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 66% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar.
10% of Franklin Township adults report frequent physical distress. Franklin Township: 13% of adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Franklin Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.9% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Franklin Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.9% | 9.6% |
| Fewer smokers | 7.9% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 11.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 53% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 907 to 304 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Franklin Township, the violent offense rate is 0.8 per 1,000 residents. Its property offense rate comes in at 11.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Franklin Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 11.3 per 1,000 residents | 8.9 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
In July, afternoons reach 87°; in January, nights fall to 23°, and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Franklin Township has about as many jobs (37,241) as working residents, but only 3,496 people both live and work here.
The share of workers in Franklin Township who work remotely from home: 22%. Jobs in Franklin Township grew by 6,175 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 37,241. The town’s typical journey to work stands at 34 minutes. Half of commuters travel less than 12 miles.
| Franklin Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 22% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $125,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
188 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 29 properties have flooded more than once.
Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in just over half of U.S. communities. Since 1978, Franklin Township has seen 188 flood insurance claims paid out. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 70% come from inland flooding and 7% from earthquakes. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Franklin Township after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2012.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
9 within 15 miles of the center of Franklin Township
About 7 of every 100 Franklin Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
25.9% of the town is conserved land, across 18 parks and preserves.
10 places in Franklin Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Franklin Township.
Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, US
Franklin Township is a township in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 68,364, an increase of 6,064 (+9.7%) from the 2010 census count of 62,300, which in turn reflected an increase of 11,397 (+22.4%) from the 50,903 counted in the 2000 census. The township was the state's 19th most-populous municipality in 2020, after being ranked 22nd in 2010. Traditionally a farming community, it has become a fast-growing suburb with massive development in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, fostering a diverse blend of races, rel…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Franklin Township.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | #246 | B | D | B+ | C | A |
| Montgomery Township | #117 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| East Rocky Hill | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hillsborough Township | #97 | A | D | A− | A− | A+ |
| New Brunswick | #458 | D− | D | D | D− | C |
| South Brunswick Township | #125 | A | D | B+ | A− | A |
| Griggstown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| East Franklin | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Montgomery Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. East Rocky Hill, Griggstown and East Franklin aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Franklin Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Franklin Township grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #246 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and C for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
3 notable people were born here, including Theodore Frelinghuysen and Maleah Joi Moon.
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