Cost of living in Franklin Lakes, NJ — Housing, Rent & Index

Housing, rent, and a comparison to the US average.

$1,588,877
Median home value
$3,235/mo
Median rent
448
Cost index (US=100)
+11.8%
Home YoY change

The median home value in Franklin Lakes, NJ is $1,588,877 as of 2026-04. That places Franklin Lakes above the US average for housing cost, with a cost index of approximately 448 versus a national baseline of 100.

Over the past 12 months, the median home value in Franklin Lakes has climbed 11.8%, and over the past five years it has averaged +8.7% annual growth. The current price sits +0.0% from its 5-year peak in 2026-04.

Renters pay a median of $3,235 per month in Franklin Lakes. Rents have changed — over the last year and averaged — per year over five years.

Beyond housing, day-to-day costs in Franklin Lakes are shaped by state and local taxes, utility rates, transportation, and groceries. This page focuses on the housing component, which is the largest single line in most household budgets and the easiest to compare across cities using consistent national data.

Housing

Median home value$1,588,877
1-year change+11.8%
5-year price growth+8.7%
10-year price growth+4.8%
vs 5-year peak+0.0%

Source: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI).

How Franklin Lakes compares

Cost index448 (above US)
Median home vs US (~$355k)+347.6%
Population11,251
Momentum score78 (Hot)

Cost index is currently a housing-only proxy; full BLS basket coming with ACS pull.

Affordability reality

Prices only mean something against local pay. Here’s how Franklin Lakes’s housing lines up with what people here actually earn.

Median rent vs income16% of local median income
Home price-to-income6.7× local median income

At $3,235/mo, rent eats about 16% of the local median household income of $235,795 — within the 30% rule of thumb for affordable housing.

The median home runs about 6.7× the local median income (severely stretched — a stretch even for local earners).

Daily life in Franklin Lakes

Climate

85°/65° summer38°/23° winter207 sunny days25″ snow/yr47″ rain/yr

Summers run mild (highs near 85°F) and winters are chilly (highs near 38°F), with about 25″ of snow a year.

Natural-hazard & insurance risk

Flood: highTornado: very lowHurricane: highWildfire: very lowEarthquake: very low

Insurance heads-up: in Franklin Lakes, flood damage isn’t covered by standard home insurance — budget for a separate NFIP/private flood policy and check the FEMA flood zone for the exact address.

Getting around

The average commute is 40 min — longer than the US average of ~27 min; 32% of workers are remote; 89% own their home.

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.