AreaProfile

Franklin, Indiana

Area Profile

26,168 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Franklin, in Johnson County.

76
Area Score
Top 7% of 1,482 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 18% of 1,567 published cities73
GrowthTop 8% of 1,503 published cities76
Housing affordabilityTop 5% of 1,876 published cities100
Climate1068th of 1,876 published cities68
Physical resilienceTop 43% of 1,849 published cities65
Access1120th of 1,876 published cities92
Economic stability989th of 1,876 published cities60
The quick read

Franklin ranks in the top 18% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $82,380.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 266 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 24% on the prior year.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 17% of median household income.

At a glance

Population
26,168
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$82,380
Top 31% nationally
Density
1,671/sq mi
15.7 sq mi of land
Median age
34.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Johnson County
Indiana
Metro area
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
Nearest major airport
IND
20 mi · Indianapolis Intl
Median home value
$231,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4% is lower than 87% of the 1,567 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.7% over the past year, to 12,684 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$7,285$82,380Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,860$37,366Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate11.0%Top 50%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute26.3 minBottom 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher27.8%Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment12,684Bottom 6%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.4%Top 20%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.7%Top 43%June 2026
Labor force13,126Bottom 6%June 2026
Labor force participation65.5%Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$65,180Bottom 33%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$49,340Bottom 36%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.6%Bottom 13%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.4%Bottom 13%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/064.12.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in June 2026.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202482k64k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $82,380 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand48,100$44,180
Retail Salespersons28,840$31,530
Fast Food and Counter Workers28,400$29,040
Registered Nurses25,800$84,230
Stockers and Order Fillers25,630$37,120
Home Health and Personal Care Aides20,590$35,060

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,186 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.8 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
17.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,186
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$231,500
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.81Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate65.7%Bottom 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±42210,275Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$105$1,186Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,439$231,500Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.3%Bottom 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate6.7%Bottom 36%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
76/ 100
Top 8% of 1,503 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 26,158 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 10.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
266
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
10.2
Top 12% nationally
Year over year
+24%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202426k25k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
202020212022202320242025197101
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was close to 2020 (+4%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.1 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SHELBYVILLE MUNI AP, 14.3 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation43.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing46°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

65 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake.

TornadoHigh
HailModerate
EarthquakeHigh
Inland floodingModerate
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, winter weather, landslide, ice storm, drought, wildfire, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 20 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Indianapolis IntlIND20 mi11,200 ft
Terre Haute RgnlHUF67 mi9,021 ft
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky IntlCVG80 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
76
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Other cities in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
FishersHamilton County102,33779vs Franklin
CarmelHamilton County101,65181vs Franklin
NoblesvilleHamilton County73,36282vs Franklin
GreenwoodJohnson County66,02976vs Franklin
WestfieldHamilton County54,67783vs Franklin
LawrenceMarion County49,51772vs Franklin
PlainfieldHendricks County36,36976vs Franklin
ZionsvilleBoone County32,09584vs Franklin
BrownsburgHendricks County31,21583vs Franklin

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Franklin side by side with a similar place.

Franklin vs MartinezFranklin vs GreenwoodFranklin vs ColumbusFranklin vs Midland

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Franklin

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
4613134,647$85,07676