Cost of living in Franklin, TN: monthly budgets for 2026

Franklin cost of living at a glance (2026)

Franklin property tax estimator

Tax year 2026 rates (Williamson County and city 2026 rate tables). Tennessee assesses homes at 25% of appraised value. An estimate, not a tax bill: confirm the jurisdiction on the parcel record and check with the Williamson County Trustee or a CPA.

Franklin's cost of living comes down to housing

MIT's living wage calculator puts a single adult's full Williamson County budget at $60,016 a year before tax, with housing at about $1,968 a month. Principal and interest alone on the typical Franklin home is about $5,059, so the mortgage eats MIT's whole yearly housing allowance in under five months.

Pick your starting point in this table, then read the budget for that row.

If your start date is fixed, rent for the first lease term. You'll pay about $3,300 a month less than owning the typical home, or about $39,800 over a year, while you learn the I-65 commute and the school boundaries. At the 3.02% gain in the Franklin housing market data, a year's wait adds about $27,600 to the typical price, and about $6,900 of those mortgage payments would have been principal, which leaves renting about $5,400 ahead before moving costs. Housing figures use 20% down, a 30-year loan at Freddie Mac's 7.4% average (October 15, 2026) and the 2026 City of Franklin tax rate; they leave out homeowners insurance and HOA dues.

Cost of living budgets at three Franklin home prices

A household of two working adults and two children needs about $8,333 a month to rent in Franklin and $11,652 to own the typical home, before insurance, HOA dues and MIT's $13,016 a year in taxes. The table adds MIT's non-housing costs (food, child care, medical, transportation, civic and other: $75,534 a year, or about $6,295 a month) to four housing options. MIT prices a basic standard for Williamson County, so treat those costs as a floor.

Everyday costs in Franklin from MIT's Williamson County budget

Child care is the biggest non-housing line in MIT's two-earner, two-child budget at $1,457 a month, ahead of transportation and food.

If your current food or transportation spending runs above these lines, swap your own number into the table above, and replace the housing column with a real quote.

Renting in Franklin at $2,038 a month

Zillow's typical Franklin rent rose 0.77% in a year, slower than home values. That's close to MIT's two-earner housing line of about $2,259, so renting is the one Franklin option that fits inside a living-wage budget. The catch is that you'll pay moving costs twice.

Franklin's Southall area at $570,803

Southall is Zillow's lowest-valued Franklin area (a broad city area, not one subdivision), at a typical $570,803. Owning there costs about $3,348 a month with tax, roughly $1,300 more than renting. You need $114,161 down. The downside is that an area's typical value doesn't promise a home at that price the week you search, so price the same budget in Spring Hill, where the typical value is $518,832, about $257 a month less with tax.

Typical Franklin home at $913,277

This is the number to plan around if you want Franklin itself. The monthly cost is about $5,357 at the City of Franklin rate and about $5,486 if the parcel is also inside the Franklin Special School District, which adds its own tax line. Your cash need is about $183,000 down plus closing costs. If either is a stretch, your realistic options are the Southall column or the town comparison further down.

Franklin's McLemore area at $1,415,604

McLemore is Zillow's highest-valued Franklin area, at $1,415,604. Principal and interest alone is about $7,841 a month, and the tax adds about $462. At this level the property tax is a small share of the total; the down payment of $283,121 and the jumbo loan terms matter far more.

What salary covers the cost of living in Franklin

With housing at 30% of gross pay, it takes about $81,500 to rent in Franklin and about $214,300 to buy the typical home. Lenders set their own debt limits, so 30% is a planning line. The table works backward from the monthly housing costs above.

MIT living wage for Williamson County

MIT's 2026 calculator (updated February 15, 2026) sets the pre-tax income a household needs to cover basic costs without assistance. For one adult it's $60,016, or $28.85 an hour. For two working adults with two children it's $118,443, or $28.47 an hour each. Use those as the floor for renting in Franklin. They aren't a buying budget: MIT's housing line is built from fair market rent, and no Franklin purchase comes close to it.

Salary to buy a home in Franklin

To buy the typical Franklin home and keep housing near 30% of pay, plan on about $214,000 of household income, plus $182,655 in cash for the down payment. A household at MIT's $118,443 clears the $81,500 rental line and falls about $15,500 short of the Southall line, so buying there takes a larger down payment. If your offer letter sits between those lines, start with Spring Hill at about $123,600.

Average salary in Franklin, TN

No source opened for this guide publishes an average salary for the City of Franklin, so test your offer letter against the table above. MIT's living wage sets the floor, and the City's audited 2023 report put Franklin's unemployment at 2.8% in June 2023 against 3.8% for Tennessee. The list of Franklin's largest employers shows who employs the most people here.

Property tax in the Franklin cost of living

Tennessee taxes homes at 25% of appraised value, times a combined rate per $100 that depends on the parcel. A Franklin mailing address doesn't settle it: the City limits and the FSSD boundary do, so check the parcel record before you budget. The estimator above runs any price through the 2026 rates, and the Williamson County property tax guide explains the bill, due dates and relief programs.

City of Franklin property tax on the typical home

Inside city limits and outside FSSD, the 2026 combined rate is $1.566 per $100. On $913,277 that's an assessed value of $228,319 and a bill of about $3,575 a year. It adds about $298 to your monthly cost.

Franklin Special School District (FSSD) tax line

FSSD levies its own tax, so a city parcel inside its boundary pays $2.2433. The same typical home then costs about $5,122 a year, or $427 a month: $1,546 a year more than a city home outside the district. The guide to Franklin schools explains what that line pays for.

Unincorporated Williamson County property tax

Many homes with a Franklin address sit outside city limits. At the county-only rate of $1.30, the typical value costs about $2,968 a year, or $247 a month. The trade is city services: confirm water, sewer and trash providers before you count the savings.

Income, sales and car taxes in Tennessee

Tennessee takes nothing from wages and 9.75% from most purchases in Williamson County, so the tax line moves from your paycheck to your spending and your home.

Tennessee income tax on wages

Tennessee doesn't tax wages, and the Hall tax on interest and dividends ended after tax year 2020. If you're arriving from a state with an income tax, that money stays in your check from the first payday. The Tennessee income tax explainer covers final-year filing in your old state.

Williamson County sales tax and groceries

General purchases pay 9.75%: 7% state and 2.75% local. Groceries pay 6.75%. On $1,000 a month of groceries that's $67.50; on $1,000 of other taxable spending, $97.50. The Tennessee sales tax page has the full rules, including the cap on big single items.

Williamson County car registration and car sales tax

Registering a car as a new resident costs $68.75 per vehicle and renewing costs $54.75, both including the county's $25.75 wheel tax. Electric vehicles add $200 at renewal and hybrids $100. There's no emissions test. If you buy a $40,000 car here, the sales tax is about $2,888, because the local tax stops at the first $1,600 of the price. The car registration steps list the documents.

Utilities in the Franklin, TN cost of living

Utility costs depend on the address more than the town, because several providers split Franklin. The Franklin utilities guide lists who serves which area and how to start service.

Middle Tennessee Electric bills in Franklin

Middle Tennessee Electric serves most of Franklin. Its average residential cost in 2026 is 12.45 cents per kWh, which the co-op puts about 28% below the U.S. average. Each 1,000 kWh you use costs about $125 at that average. A bill combines a fixed monthly charge, an energy charge and TVA's fuel adjustment, so summer cooling months run higher.

Franklin water, sewer and trash

Water and sewer come from the City of Franklin or one of the utility districts, depending on the parcel, and rates differ between them. Ask the seller or landlord which provider serves the address and for a recent bill, then check that provider's current rate sheet before you set the line in your budget.

Is Franklin more expensive than Nashville?

Yes, and the whole gap is housing. Zillow's typical Franklin home is $913,277 against $425,889 in Nashville, 2.1 times the price. Taxes don't widen it much: Metro Nashville's 2026 Urban Services rate is $2.814, higher than Franklin's, so Nashville's typical tax bill is about $2,996 a year against $3,575 in the City of Franklin.

Franklin vs Nashville housing cost

On the typical home, Franklin costs about $2,750 a month more than Nashville, or about $33,000 a year. Both are in Tennessee, so there's no income tax difference to offset it. Nashville values fell 2.53% in a year while Franklin's rose 3.02%, so the gap has been widening. The comparison of Nashville suburbs sets the towns side by side.

Franklin vs Spring Hill and Fairview

Spring Hill and Fairview are the cheapest ways to own inside Williamson County, at about $3,100 to $3,200 a month on their typical homes. That's roughly $2,200 a month less than Franklin. The catch is distance from the Cool Springs and Maryland Farms offices, and in Spring Hill the Maury County side has a different tax rate and school system, so check which county the parcel is in.

One-time moving bills on top of the cost of living

On top of the down payment, plan cash for closing taxes, car registration and a second move if you rent first. The closing taxes alone come to about $4,200 on the typical home.

Franklin closing costs and the Tennessee transfer tax

Tennessee charges a transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 of the price, which the buyer pays by statute, and a mortgage tax of $0.115 per $100 of the loan above $2,000, which the borrower pays. On the typical $913,277 home with a $730,622 loan, those two taxes come to about $3,379 and $838. Lender fees, title insurance and prepaid items come on top; the Tennessee closing costs guide walks through each line. Confirm the figures for your contract with a Tennessee real estate attorney or your closing agent.

Williamson County costs in your first month

Expect the car registration ($68.75 per vehicle), a Tennessee driver's license, utility deposits or connection fees, and a short gap between your old rent and your first mortgage payment. If you move with a relocation package, ask HR which of these it reimburses before you pay them, because some packages only cover receipts filed inside a set window.

Renting first in Franklin: the cost of moving twice

Get a quote for the local move before you sign the lease and add it to the rent column. Against that, you avoid buying in the wrong school system or commute corridor, a mistake that costs a second set of closing costs (about $4,200 in transfer and mortgage tax alone on the typical home) to undo.

Franklin cost of living checklist before you move

Work through these in order before you sign a lease or write an offer:

1. Pick your row in the first table: rent, under $600,000, typical or $1.4 million.
2. Price the specific home: run its price through the estimator above with the right jurisdiction from the parcel record.
3. Get a homeowners insurance quote and the HOA's current dues and any planned special assessment.
4. Ask for twelve months of electric and water bills.
5. Add the move-in costs: $68.75 per car to register, plus closing costs from the Tennessee closing-cost estimator.
6. Check the total against 30% of your gross pay, and if it's over, compare the same budget in Spring Hill, Fairview or Thompson's Station.

The rest of the move, from the license to the first utility bills, is laid out in the Franklin and Williamson County relocation guide. Bill can walk a shortlist of homes with you by video and pull recent sales for each, so the budget starts from real prices.