Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,182.
Franklin Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $260K for a typical one, or 3.1 years of the York metro’s $85K median household income. It grades A overall, 264th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. On the plus side, the median household earns $85K. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is State Game Lands Number 243, at 950 acres. 2.9% of residents live below the poverty line in Franklin Township, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 7.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%.
Where Franklin Township beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Franklin Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9% | 14.5% |
Where Franklin Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
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: 815 in 1850, 5,035 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1905 and 5 maps from 1904 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Franklin Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi LandmarkRaven Rock Mountain Complex
11 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
27 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
20 mi Ancient siteGettysburg Battlefield
19 mi LandmarkGettysburg National Cemetery
17 mi National Military ParkGettysburg National Military Park730K visitors a yearRaven Rock Mountain Complex: US Government, Public domain · Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Hersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · 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
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 has less tooth loss than most of Pennsylvania and sends most of its workers to Harrisburg and beyond.
Of the losses FEMA expects in Franklin Township, 61% come from inland flooding and 17% from hurricanes. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1996: 3.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its one school is below. Northern York County SD runs its public schools. Franklin Township’s only public school teaches 389 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Mountain El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 389 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Pennsylvania is tooth loss: 9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide.
The share of adults in Franklin Township who report frequent physical distress: 12%. Among adults here, 15% report frequent mental distress and 21% get no exercise outside work.
| Franklin Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 24% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Franklin Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults in fair or poor health | 15.9% | 18.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Franklin Township has 515 jobs for its 2,260 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here grew from 384 in 2013 to 515.
2.5% of working residents work locally in Franklin Township. Jobs in Franklin Township grew by 131 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 515. For half of commuters, work is under 16 miles away. The top destinations are Harrisburg (6%), Carroll Township (5%) and Upper Allen Township (5%).
| Franklin Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.5% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $85,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expect July afternoons of 86° and January nights of 22°, with about 27 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Across 19 parks and preserves: 4.0 miles of trail. The density of trails in Franklin Township is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Franklin Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.5% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands Number 243 | — | 950 |
| 2. Athletic Field | — | 5 |
| 3. Archie Hess Memorial Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Franklin Township
About 3 of every 100 Franklin Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Franklin Township is a township in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,035 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Franklin Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | #264 | A | B | — | B+ | A− |
| Latimore Township | #493 | B+ | C | A+ | B+ | B− |
| Carroll Township | #160 | A | C | A+ | B+ | A− |
| Washington Township | #669 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | B |
Franklin Township and Washington Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Franklin Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Franklin Township grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #264 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades A− for health and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
