Franklin, Tennessee

Area Profile

87,133 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Franklin, in Williamson County.

80out of 100
Area Score
Top 2% of 2,944 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 2% of 3,904 published cities86
SchoolsTop 1% of 2,668 published cities97
GrowthTop 7% of 2,973 published cities77
Housing affordability2827th of 4,223 published cities69
ClimateTop 49% of 4,223 published cities71
Physical resilienceTop 31% of 4,182 published cities75
AccessTop 49% of 4,226 published cities92
Economic stabilityTop 16% of 4,226 published cities75
The quick read

Franklin ranks in the top 2% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.0% and median household income of $119,528.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 614 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 62% on the prior year.

A major airport is 17 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
87,133
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$119,528
Top 11% nationally
Density
1,956/sq mi
44.5 sq mi of land
Median age
38.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Williamson County
Tennessee
Metro area
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN
Nearest major airport
BNA
17 mi · Nashville Intl
Median home value
$705,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.0% is lower than 96% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.2% over the past year, to 48,576 employed residents.

64% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 95% of measured US cities.

Household income is higher than at least 89% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$6,576$119,528Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,501$61,761Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate4.6%Bottom 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.5 minBottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher64.5%Top 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment48,576Top 50%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.9%Top 23%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.2%Top 33%June 2026
Labor force50,059Top 50%June 2026
Labor force participation68.9%Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$66,390Bottom 38%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$50,390Bottom 45%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.1%Bottom 41%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.0%Bottom 4%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/063.42.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.0% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024120k103k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $119,528 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 — Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand33,120$39,790
Fast Food and Counter Workers28,680$29,150
Retail Salespersons28,580$34,420
Registered Nurses25,100$84,040
General and Operations Managers23,820$119,990
Customer Service Representatives20,770$45,510

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.

64% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

Public schools
24
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
Math proficiency
64.3%
Top 3% in Tennessee
Reading proficiency
59.2%
Top 2% in Tennessee
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Franklin High SchoolWilliamson County1,729
Fred J Page High SchoolWilliamson County1,478
Fred J Page Middle SchoolWilliamson County1,38860%58%
Centennial High SchoolWilliamson County1,354
Grassland Middle SchoolWilliamson County79857%54%
Creekside Elementary SchoolWilliamson County78075%62%
Trinity ElementaryWilliamson County73577%64%
Clovercroft Elementary SchoolWilliamson County70392%82%
Pearre Creek Elementary SchoolWilliamson County65881%66%
Winstead Elementary SchoolWilliamson County56768%74%
Walnut Grove ElementaryWilliamson County56077%67%
Legacy Middle SchoolWilliamson County55847%52%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Tennessee’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,923 takes 19% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.9 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
19.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.9×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,923
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$705,400
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.90Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate63.8%Bottom 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±71836,239Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$50$1,923Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,866$705,400Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income19.3%Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate6.2%Bottom 34%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
77/ 100
Top 7% of 2,973 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 6% since 2020, reaching 89,142 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.

At 7.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
614
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.0
Top 21% nationally
Year over year
+62%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
55.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202489k84k
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
20202022202320242025945306
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−37%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 50.5 inches, including 4.7 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station NASHVILLE INTL AP, 16.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index54.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation50.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall4.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10002024 calendar year
Median air quality index43.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing41°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
54
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

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. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

75 / 100
Physical resilience

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

EarthquakeElevated
TornadoElevated
Inland floodingModerate
Ice stormModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, strong wind, winter weather, heat wave, landslide, hail, hurricane, wildfire, drought.

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.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Williamson County records 2.2 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 7.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 7.9 per 100,000 residents in Williamson County.

Homicide
2.2
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
7.2
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
7.9
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
11.7
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Williamson County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Franklin rather than Franklin itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 17 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Nashville IntlBNA17 mi11,030 ft
SmyrnaMQY20 mi8,038 ft
Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones FldHSV88 mi10,001 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
80
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Other cities in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Nashville-DavidsonDavidson County690,130vs Franklin
MurfreesboroRutherford County161,44573vs Franklin
HendersonvilleSumner County63,09172vs Franklin
SmyrnaRutherford County56,69272vs Franklin
Spring HillMaury County55,76578vs Franklin
GallatinSumner County48,53269vs Franklin
BrentwoodWilliamson County45,55677vs Franklin
ColumbiaMaury County45,44157vs Franklin
LebanonWilson County44,78864vs Franklin
Mount JulietWilson County42,07375vs Franklin
La VergneRutherford County40,24365vs Franklin
SpringfieldRobertson County19,25571vs 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.

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)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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

3 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
3706467,513$127,77181
3706731,556$111,75979
3706920,209$157,93981