FranklinWI
A town of 1,249.
Is Franklin a good place to live?
The best of Franklin’s subject grades are a B+ for civic life and cost of living; the weakest is a D for schools. Franklin’s median age is 52.6 years, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 42.1 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years. Only 10 of the 363 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Franklin. On the outdoors, just 12 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do worse. Franklin has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Franklin stand out
Where Franklin beats most towns.
1,249 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Franklin grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Franklin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Franklin: who provides what
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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Franklin.
Low risk in Franklin, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Franklin has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Franklin for work: only 2% work in town. 5.2% of workers work from home in Franklin, below both the Wisconsin town median (12%) and the median of U.S. towns (11%). The top destinations are Manitowoc (13%), Brillion (11%) and Reedsville (7%).
| Franklin | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 5.2% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.7% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Franklin, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Franklin has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Franklin is 80°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Franklin is healthier than 51% of U.S. towns
Franklin tracks Wisconsin closely on all 32 CDC measures. 21% of Franklin adults binge drink.
| Franklin | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 33% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Franklin
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Franklin; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Franklin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
98% of working residents leave Franklin for work
Where Franklin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Franklin
Town in Wisconsin, United States
Franklin is a town in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,250 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 830 ft
- Area code
- 920
Questions about Franklin
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Franklin, WI expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.