FranklinWI
The town, established in 1854, counts 652 residents.
Is Franklin a good place to live?
Franklin’s average commute is 37 minutes, above both Wisconsin’s towns (22 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). White Mound Park, at 677 acres with 11.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Franklin has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
652 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
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.
Franklin has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The top destinations are Madison (15%), Plain (10%) and Reedsburg (8%). Commuting out is the norm in Franklin: 1% of working residents work locally. The share of residents in Franklin who live below the poverty line: 2.3%. The median commute is under 23 miles.
| Franklin | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.3% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $107,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.3% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The climate in Franklin brings snowy winters and pleasant summers
For Franklin, the peak summer temperature is 82°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Franklin faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Since 2007, Franklin has seen 5 flood insurance claims paid out. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in nearly two thirds of U.S. communities. 66% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 13%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
How healthy Franklin is
Nearly a third of adults get no exercise outside work in Franklin. Two figures for adults here: 17% smoke cigarettes, 41% have obesity.
| Franklin | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Franklin | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.4% | 6.5% |
| More smokers | 17.2% | 13.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.3% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No age group stands out in Franklin against Wisconsin
Here, just over a quarter of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 33% in Wisconsin as a whole. By age, Franklin looks like Wisconsin: each broad group is within 4 points. This Wisconsin town is shrinking: down 2.5% since 2020, to 652 residents (2025 estimate).
| Franklin | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 40.3 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 37% and 63% women
The Census survey reached too few of Franklin’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±12.7 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Franklin | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.1% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.8% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.2% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.8% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.6% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.7% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.3% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.3% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 39.4% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.3% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.3% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.4% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 4.3% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 700, single groups can be off by several points
Open space protected for good: 2.5% of Franklin
Trails run 13 miles in 2 parks and preserves. In Franklin, the concentration of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Franklin | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.5% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. White Mound Park | 11.2 mi | 677 |
| 2. Honey Creek State Natural Area | — | 29 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Camp Randall Stadium and 21 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Franklin. Close and well known come first.
36 mi Stadium & arenaCamp Randall Stadium
18 mi Park & preserveIce Age Trail
26 mi Canyon & gorgeDells of the Wisconsin River
18 mi State parkDevil's Lake State Park24 mi Theme parkNoah's Ark Water Park
36 mi Stadium & arenaKohl CenterPhoto credits
Camp Randall Stadium: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Ice Age Trail: MDuchek, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dells of the Wisconsin River: atramos, CC BY 2.0 · Devil's Lake State Park: CrispAir at en.wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 · Kohl Center: Pbrown111 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
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Everything we know about Franklin
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Franklin; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Franklin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
99% 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 Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 668 at the 2020 census. The town of Franklin was established in November 1854 from part of the town of Honey Creek. In September 1858, the town of Bear Creek was formed from the western part of the town of Franklin. Towns to the north are Westfield and Washington, on the south is Spring Green, on the east are Honey Creek and Troy, and on the west is Bear Creek. In 1899, a town hall building was built by Rob and Albert Nachreiner and was located at 915 Wachter Avenue in Plain, Wisconsin. The building replaced a wagon maker shop owned by Moses Tunstall. The upper floor of the new town hall building was used for to…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 49 sq mi
- Elevation
- 810 ft
- Area code
- 608
Questions about Franklin
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Franklin, WI a good place to live?
Franklin has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.