Franklin has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
The average commute takes 32 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. Franklin has 13 jobs, and 255 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any stay in Franklin for work; outside it, Black River Falls is the main destination (16%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Franklin: the figures worth knowing
Franklin is a place people come home to
There are 13 jobs based in Franklin, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Franklin has about 290 people in it, 45% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Franklin workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 255 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Franklin quiets down on a workday
On a workday 254 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 12 people come in from elsewhere.
About 290 people are in Franklin on a workday afternoon, 45% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
From Franklin, about 32 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Franklin workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 214 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where Franklin goes to work
Where Franklin clocks in
8% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 54% of the jobs in Franklin
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Franklin, 2013 → 2023: 22 → 13. 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Franklin
About 24% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Work in the towns next to Franklin
The biggest share goes to Melrose (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Franklin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | – | — | — | 32 min | $71,406 |
| Ettrick | under 2% | B | C− | 31 min | $85,714 |
| Springfield | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Irving | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| North Bend | under 2% | — | — | 38 min | — |
| Melrose | 4% | — | — | 30 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Springfield: the same community as the town of that name, graded once. Irving, North Bend and Melrose: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. 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?
$71,406 (±$8,356) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Franklin?
26.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Franklin?
32 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Franklin work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Black River Falls (16%, 14 mi), La Crosse (8%, 27 mi), Brockway (6%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Franklin without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% 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.