Borough · Bergen County, New Jersey

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey

Franklin Lakes is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area. It has 11,084 residents. Franklin Lakes, New Jersey has a quality-of-life score of 96 out of 100 (very high), ranking #702 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Jersey it ranks #77 of 552 cities and towns. It ranks best on lack of reliable transportation (low), dentists (high) and reading scores (high). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), average commute time (high) and comfortable days (low).

96Very high

Quality-of-life score: #702 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Jersey: #77 of 552 in NJ
Population: 11,084 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 1,177.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3424990

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety98#258/15,637
Economy97#539/15,631
Housing5#14,281/14,977
Health100#20/15,609
Healthcare99#88/15,650
Environment31#10,563/15,453
Education98#285/15,649
Infrastructure94#866/15,650
Community96#561/15,651
Leisure & amenities90#1,608/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Franklin Lakes, New Jersey ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Bergen County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Lack of reliable transportation · low3.9%
100/100New Jersey 7.8%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Dentists · high134 /100k
99/100New Jersey 88 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBergen County value
Reading scores · high3.57
99/100New Jersey 3.22United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBergen County value
Poor or fair health · low9.3%
99/100New Jersey 15.8%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Median household income · high$235,795
99/100New Jersey $104,202United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Food insecurity · low5.7%
99/100New Jersey 15.0%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high63.4%
2/100New Jersey 51.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Average commute time · high36.5 min
4/100New Jersey 30.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Comfortable days · low23.6%
15/100New Jersey 24.9%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBergen County value
Home price to income ratio · high5.4×
16/100New Jersey 4.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent as share of income · high34.4%
18/100New Jersey 30.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.468
21/100New Jersey 0.478United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
15.6 /1k (2021) → 1.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−88%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
69.1% (2015-2019) → 77.4% (2020-2024)
+8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$172,766 (2015-2019) → $235,795 (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 4.2% (2020-2024)
+4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
66.4% (2015-2019) → 63.4% (2020-2024)
−3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateImproving
5.2% (2015-2019) → 2.3% (2020-2024)
−2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Unemployment−2.9 points5.2% → 2.3%
Household income+36%$172,766 → $235,795

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	34.1 min2015-2019	36.5 min2020-2024	+2.5 min	Within the margin of error	23%
Bachelor's degree or higher	69.1%2015-2019	77.4%2020-2024	+8.3 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Broadband subscriptions	95.9%2015-2019	97.8%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Effective property tax rate	1.39%2015-2019	1.39%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	15%
High school diploma or higher	98.6%2015-2019	97.7%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Home price to income ratio	5.5×2015-2019	5.4×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	84%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4572015-2019	0.4682020-2024	+0.011	Within the margin of error	41%
Median household income	$172,7662015-2019	$235,7952020-2024	+36%	Improved	68%
Public transit commuters	8.3%2015-2019	6.6%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Rent as share of income	33.6%2015-2019	34.4%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Rent-burdened households	66.4%2015-2019	63.4%2020-2024	−3 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Unemployment rate	5.2%2015-2019	2.3%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Improved	89%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Franklin Lakes, New Jersey five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey itself moved −1.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

11,084 residents (±24)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

3,801 households (±217)

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k2.8%†108
$25k–50k9.3%†352
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

3,801 households (±217)

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own89%3,379
Rent11%422

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

4,931 workers (±354)

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone52%2,577
Carpool4.4%†218
Public transit6.6%†327

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Bergen County, the county holding most of Franklin Lakes's residents.

Bergen County has 31,818 employer establishments, 330 for every 10,000 residents (1.33× the US rate of 248; 1.30× New Jersey's), with 441,870 paid employees at an average annual pay of $74,257. The Census Bureau also counts 120,489 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 31,818; 120,489 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 330; US 248 · New Jersey 253
Paid employees: 441,870
Average annual pay: $74,257; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Bergen County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	3,434	35.6	1.71×More than typical	39,332	$75,459	7,066
Restaurants and other eating places	2,408	25	1.36×More than typical	28,521	$28,410	769
Specialty trade contractors	1,645	17.1	1.10×About typical	12,758	$78,966	4,471
Lessors of real estate	1,389	14.4	1.17×About typical	8,265	$70,444	18,127
Offices of physicians	1,202	12.5	1.93×More than typical	11,165	$125,686	1,583
Personal care services	1,104	11.5	2.40×More than typical	5,653	$28,119	2,466
Full-service restaurants	1,040	10.8	1.40×More than typical	15,013	$32,341	328
Construction of buildings	997	10.3	1.37×More than typical	4,420	$82,982	3,078
Services to buildings and dwellings	966	10	1.49×More than typical	8,260	$42,523	3,811
Limited-service restaurants	943	9.8	1.22×About typical	9,594	$24,438	291
Offices of other health practitioners	907	9.4	1.55×More than typical	4,566	$50,201	3,718
Management, scientific and technical consulting	897	9.3	1.39×More than typical	4,707	$90,044	5,786

Rank places for an industry Open Bergen County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 964,156 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $337.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey: $30.48 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $337.8K; −88% vs FY2025
Per resident: $30.48; US $1,995
Sole-source: 61%; US 30%
Single offer: 5.5%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$211.3K63%
Defense Logistics Agency$165.2K49%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$28.6K8.5%

Top recipients

BECTON, DICKINSON AND CO$218.9K65%
C. R. BARD, INC.$118.6K35%
BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY$38.6K11%
BARD PERIPHERAL VASCULAR, INC.$29.980.0%
CELLEBRITE INC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

6.2MFY2017
6MFY2018
8.1MFY2019
11.7MFY2020
3.2MFY2021
1.9MFY2022
3.6MFY2023
1.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers · 4234$165.2K49%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$159.9K47%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$112.7K33%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey

PURCHASE ORDER TO PROVIDE READERS AND EXTRACTORS OF FORENSIC INFORMATION FOR MOBILE DEVICES IN SUPPORT OF HONDURAS NATIONAL POLICE. US EMBASSY, TEGUCIGALPA.$540.8K
CELLEBRITE INC· Bergen County, NJ· Other equipment & supplies· Mar 14, 2018 – Dec 1, 2025· 191NLE18P0037
BD SITERITE 9 ULTRASOUND SYSTEMS AND TRADE IN$131.8K
BECTON, DICKINSON AND CO· Bergen County, NJ· Health & medical· Sep 4, 2026 – Sep 4, 2026· 36C26126P1116
SOFTWARE UPDATE$129.1K
BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY· Bergen County, NJ· Other equipment & supplies· Mar 26, 2020 – Apr 8, 2026· 75N90020F00047
BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY:1106636 [20-001788]

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, so they do not add up across cities.

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey's figures are part of those of Bergen County, NJ ($182.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Franklin Lakes is mostly in Bergen County.

See federal money in Bergen County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Bergen County91100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ69

Other cities and towns in Bergen County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3424990

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends