Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Franklin Township’s best grade is for incomes: the median household earns $100K. With a B overall, Franklin Township is better than 63% of U.S. towns. That places it 545th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Schools are another plus: its schools rank ahead of 68% of Pennsylvania towns. The trade-off is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than nearly two thirds of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $253K, 3 years of the Gettysburg metro’s $84K median household income. 44% of the land in the town is conserved, against 8.2% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · USGS PAD-US.
44% of the town is conserved land, across 3 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Franklin Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,590 in 2000, 4,671 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 2 maps from 1909 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Franklin Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi LandmarkRaven Rock Mountain Complex
24 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
10 mi Ancient siteGettysburg Battlefield
9 mi LandmarkGettysburg National Cemetery
7 mi National Military ParkGettysburg National Military Park730K visitors a year
10 mi State parkPine Grove Furnace State ParkRaven Rock Mountain Complex: US Government, Public domain · Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Gettysburg Battlefield: Veggies, Public domain · Gettysburg National Cemetery: Photo: Henryhartley at en.wikipedia Statue: Randolph Rogers (1825-1892), Public domain · Gettysburg National Military Park: David Dugan, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park: Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0
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 keeps more of its land conserved than most of Pennsylvania, but it trails even towns with similar incomes on health and has commutes longer than most of Pennsylvania.
Its 19,185 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 98% of Pennsylvania towns.
Franklin Township’s concentration of trails comes in at 0.9 miles per square mile. Trails total 62 miles in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Michaux State Forest, 12,998 acres with 55.8 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Michaux State Forest | 55.8 mi | 12,998 |
| 2. Caledonia State Park | 1.4 mi | 126 |
| 3. Carbaugh Run Natural Area | — | 818 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Gettysburg Area SD runs its public schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. 340 students attend Franklin Township’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Twp El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 340 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 2,096 working residents takes 33.6 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
Commuting out is the norm in Franklin Township: 6% of working residents work locally. Employers in Franklin Township added 85 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 699. In Franklin Township, the mean commuting time is 34 minutes. The top destinations are Gettysburg (9%), Straban Township (5%) and Cumberland Township (4%).
| Franklin Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $100,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.6% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
College graduates make up 29% of adults 25 and older, against 35% across Pennsylvania. Adults 18 to 34 are 12% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 25% of residents (20% statewide). In Franklin Township, the median age is 50.3 years. Since 2020, Franklin Township has grown 2.3%, to 4,781 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Franklin Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.3 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 29% | 29% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.2 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Franklin Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.8% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.2% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.8% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.5% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.6% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.9% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.4% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.4% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 38.3% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.1% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.9% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.1% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.2% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,800, single groups can be off by several points
Winters in Franklin Township are chilly and summers warm. Summer afternoons peak near 85° in July, and January nights bottom out around 21°; snowfall runs to about 27 inches a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 8,518 U.S. towns with household incomes like Franklin Township’s, it is less healthy than 86%, so it trails even them.
13% of adults have diabetes in Franklin Township. Two figures for adults in the town: 15% report frequent physical distress, 38% have obesity.
| Franklin Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Franklin Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.6% | 5.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.5% | 7.7% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Just over two thirds of Franklin Township’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by hurricanes at 12%. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 64% of U.S. communities.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
5 within 15 miles of the center of Franklin Township
About 1 of every 100 Franklin Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Franklin Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Franklin Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Franklin Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | #545 | B | B | — | B+ | C+ |
| Hamiltonban Township | — | — | B− | — | B+ | B |
| Menallen Township | #781 | C+ | B | — | B | C |
| Orrtanna | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cumberland Township | #134 | A | B | A | B+ | B+ |
| Highland Township | — | — | B− | — | B+ | B |
| Butler Township | #631 | B | B+ | — | B | C+ |
| Arendtsville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Hamiltonban Township and Highland Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Franklin Township, Hamiltonban Township, Menallen Township, Highland Township and Butler Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Orrtanna and Arendtsville 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.
By most measures, yes. Franklin Township grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #545 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C+ for health and B+ 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 B.
