Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Franklin grades A overall, 5th of 175 graded towns in Tennessee. Its schools score near the top of Tennessee on tests and graduation. The median household earns $120K and it is healthier than 91% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $913K for a typical one and 10.7 times the Nashville metro’s $85K median household income. 65% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Franklin, above both Tennessee’s towns (23%) and U.S. towns (29%). Its National Register listings include Franklin Battlefield and St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Additional Documentation). Only 19 of Tennessee’s 232 towns score higher on civic life.
Where Franklin beats most towns.
Franklin Battlefield| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Clovercroft Elementary School | K–5 | 703 |
| Pearre Creek Elementary School | PK–5 | 658 |
| Oak View Elem School | PK–5 | 517 |
Franklin Battlefield is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 57 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Tennessee towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,552 in 1870, 83,454 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1846 and 4 maps from 1909 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Franklin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Franklin. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaNissan Stadium
16 mi MuseumParthenon
22 mi TheatreRyman Auditorium
17 mi Stadium & arenaBridgestone Arena
8 mi ParkwayNatchez Trace Parkway8.0M visitors a year
16 mi Stadium & arenaFirstBank StadiumNissan Stadium: Kaldari, CC0 · Parthenon: Mayur Phadtare, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ryman Auditorium: Unknown, CC0 · Bridgestone Arena: EVula, CC BY 3.0 · Natchez Trace Parkway: Carol M. Highsmith (1946–), Public domain · FirstBank Stadium: Mhar564, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Franklin, 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.
Franklin has schools in the top 5% of Tennessee, draws workers from Nashville and beyond and fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally.
At 10.7 years of the Nashville metro’s $85K median household income, the typical home (about $913K) costs more against local pay than in 98% of Tennessee towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $3,011, against $1,442 across Tennessee, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Franklin is $1,923 a month. The typical Franklin home is worth about $913,000, up 3% in a year, 3 times the Tennessee typical home.
| Franklin | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,923 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 66% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #1 of the 176 Tennessee towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $913K.
Its public schools are run by the Williamson County school district. Three of its 30 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clovercroft Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 703 | A+ |
| Franklin High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,729 | A+ |
| Oak View Elem SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 517 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
34 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. Franklin’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile. The Park at Harlinsdale Farm, at 201 acres with 1.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Franklin | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.5% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Eastern Flank Battle Field Park | 2 mi | 112 |
| 2. The Park at Harlinsdale Farm | 1.4 mi | 201 |
| 3. Judge Fulton Greer Park | 1 mi | 33 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
85,972 jobs are based in Franklin, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 57,674 in 2013 to 85,972.
30% of Franklin workers work from home. Jobs based in Franklin grew to 85,972 in 2023, 28,298 more than in 2013. 31% of Franklin working residents work locally.
| Franklin | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 30% | 9.5% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 31% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $120,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.6% | 14% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Tennessee is food insecurity: 8.6% of its 63,025 adults worry about having enough food, against 16.2% statewide.
11% of adults report frequent physical distress in Franklin. Franklin beats the Tennessee average on 21 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 10% of adults smoke cigarettes in Franklin.
| Franklin | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 19% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 28% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | Franklin | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.6% | 16.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.8% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Franklin has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 29° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 14.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 78% of Tennessee’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,035 to 777 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
243 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 15 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 243 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Franklin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Franklin
About 5 of every 100 Franklin residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
62,487 counted in 2010 and 83,454 in 2020; an estimated 90,226 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8% since 2020, after 33.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
57 places in Franklin on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 notable people were born in Franklin.
City in Tennessee, United States
Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About 21 miles (34 km) south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454. It is the seventh-most populous city in Tennessee. The city developed on both sides of the Harpeth River, a tributary of the Cumberland River. In the 19th century, Franklin (as the county seat) was the trading and judicial center for primarily rural Williamson County and remained so well into the 20th century as the county remained rural and agricultural in nature. Since 1980, areas of northern Franklin have been developed for resid…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Franklin.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | #5 | A | D | B | A+ | A |
| Brentwood | #4 | A | D | B+ | A+ | A |
| Thompson's Station | #13 | A− | C− | — | A+ | A |
Thompson's Station reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Franklin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Franklin grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #5 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades A for health, B for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
35 notable people were born here, including Miley Cyrus and Luke Benward.
