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Franklin, New Jersey

Franklin is a small town of about 5,100 people in Sussex County, New Jersey. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New York, is about 46 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
5,083
up 3.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$272,600
Sussex County prices up 29% since 2022
Household income
$92,744
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Newton, NJ
To New York
46 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% above the U.S. average in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 3.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Wallkill Valley Regional High School, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byNewton Medical Center in Newton, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 46 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Franklin meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$272,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 29%Sussex County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,381 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$92,744U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
56%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$7,921 a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940
40%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
112.6U.S. average = 100 (the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 29% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Franklin alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
5,0832020: 4,896
Median age
48.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (23%); retail (15%); professional and business services (9%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
37 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Newton Medical Center, Newton, NJ, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Franklin, run by Hardyston Township School District and Franklin Borough School District. The nearest public high school is Wallkill Valley Regional High School, about 3 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New Jersey's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
81%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
18°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
12 a year
Nights at or below freezing
135 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.2 inches a year
Snow
28 inches a year
Elevation
543 feet

Weather stations: Sussex Ap (7 miles away) and Oak Ridge Rsvr (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Newton Medical Center, Paterson, New York.

Sussex County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Middlebush Village Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail9 miles
  • Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area14 miles
  • Middle Delaware National Scenic River16 miles
  • Morristown National Historical Park22 miles
  • Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River22 miles

Read about Franklin's history on Wikipedia.

Know Franklin?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Vernon Center, NJ (unincorporated)1,503 people, 7 miles
  • Branchville, NJ809 people, 9 miles
  • Newfoundland, NJ (unincorporated)1,361 people, 9 miles
  • Vernon Valley, NJ (unincorporated)1,532 people, 11 miles
  • Lake Telemark, NJ (unincorporated)1,506 people, 11 miles
  • Andover, NJ614 people, 12 miles
  • Hibernia, NJ (unincorporated)115 people, 12 miles
  • Macopin, NJ (unincorporated)2,170 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.