Photo: Doug Kerr on Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0Unemployment in Franklin (7.2%) is higher than in 84% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 6% of workers, against 17% across New Jersey. For jobs and income Franklin is better than 57% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (B). Only 8% work in Franklin; the top destination outside it is Sparta Township (5%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Franklin apart
No single place dominates Franklin’s commute
The biggest draw, Sparta Township, gets only 5% of working residents, and 67% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Franklin residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Franklin workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 31 across New Jersey. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Franklin
63% of Franklin residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 44% of the jobs based in Franklin pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Franklin’s Jobs & income grade
Household income holds Franklin’s grade up ($92,744, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Franklin could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The towns that employ Franklin’s residents
Where Franklin clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
Commuting from Franklin: about 37 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Franklin workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,257 commuters (the 6% 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.
What work there is in Franklin: 1,615 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Franklin, 2013 → 2023: 1,519 → 1,615. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Franklin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Franklin on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,370 residents head out to work, 197 work right here, and 1,418 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,100 people are in Franklin on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.63 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How far Franklin’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Franklin, most people drive to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 13.2% across New Jersey.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,408 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.4% of Franklin households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Franklin’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,698th of 3,627: where Franklin ranks among U.S. towns of 3,600 to 6,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 5 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,696 | Morrison IL | 3,945 | $69K | 8.1% | 2.3% | 24% | B |
| 1,697 | Zeeland MI | 5,637 | $53K | 10.4% | 2.9% | 20% | B |
| 1,698 | Franklin NJ | 5,083 | $93K | 8.0% | 7.2% | 8% | B |
| 1,699 | Manor Township PA | 4,068 | $75K | 3.8% | 5.0% | 9% | B |
| 1,700 | Pacheco CA | 4,325 | $101K | 13.2% | 7.3% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,627 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
How Franklin compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Hardyston Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Franklin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | – | B | B | 37 min | $92,744 |
| Hardyston Township | 3% | B+ | C+ | 40 min | $120,392 |
| Hamburg | under 2% | A− | C+ | 35 min | $86,975 |
| Ogdensburg | under 2% | B | B− | 34 min | $105,551 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Franklin’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 2023, 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: questions
What is the median household income in Franklin?
$92,744 (±$17,651) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Franklin?
8.0%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Franklin?
37 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Franklin work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sparta Township (5%, 4 mi), New York City (4%, 46 mi), Newton (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Franklin walkable?
Franklin is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Franklin without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Franklin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Franklin
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, 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.