A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Franklin$1,730/mo

Typical home $300K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.63% · or rent about $725/mo · Housing →

Mount Olive$750/mo

Typical home $127K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.86% · or rent about $950/mo · Housing →

The difference: $980 a month, about $11,700 a year, between Franklin and Mount Olive.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Franklin places higher on 12 of 19 NC lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every North Carolina ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

C−FranklinSafer than 22% of U.S. towns –Mount OliveNot graded

Schools

B+FranklinBetter than 69% of districts in the state CMount OliveBetter than 28% of districts in the state

Health

CFranklinHealthier than 35% of U.S. towns DMount OliveHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns

12Franklin

7Mount Olive

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 284 towns #2#276 Best schoolsSchools · 252 towns #40#225 Lowest depressionHealth · 296 towns #258#63 Fastest growingGrowth · 291 towns #142#271 Most conserved landOutdoors · 276 towns #151#262 Lowest obesityHealth · 296 towns #145#264 Shortest commuteGetting around · 297 towns #120#31 Cheapest rentCost of living · 284 towns #17#94

Left end = #1 in North Carolina. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Franklin’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

FranklinMount Olive

Snow a year3″2″

January low26°F 32°F

July high84°F 90°F

Growing season (days)187d 226d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)22nd 56th

Outdoors & history

FranklinMount Olive

Trails1 mi 0 mi

Conserved land3%0.3%

Settled1820 —

National Register places7 5

Archive photos6 —

Famous people born here8 —

Community

FranklinMount Olive

Library hours a week—52 hrs

Colleges in town—1

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

300 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

FranklinNC Mount OliveNC

Franklin ↔ Mount Olive300 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs North Carolina average

FranklinMount Olive

People

Population 4,268Lowest 4,453Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8.6%Highest NC: +9.5% -8.5%Lowest NC: +9.5%

Median age 48.1±4.4Highest 23% above NC 42.9±5.6Lowest 10% above NC

Franklin and Mount Olive are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 14.2%±4.6Lowest NC: 21.8% 15.6%±4.5Highest NC: 21.8%

Mount Olive and Franklin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 28.8%±6.3Highest NC: 17.2% 20.7%±4.2Lowest NC: 17.2%

Franklin and Mount Olive are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 25.6%Highest NC: 35.7% 22.8%Lowest NC: 35.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.2%±3.3Lowest NC: 6.4% 13.1%±2.8Highest NC: 6.4%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $47,888±$4kLowest 34% below NC $48,700±$5kHighest 33% below NC

Mount Olive and Franklin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $195,000±$24kHighest 33% below NC $153,500±$21kLowest 47% below NC

Franklin and Mount Olive are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $725±$85Lowest 41% below NC $950±$34Highest 23% below NC

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,227Lowest 35% below NC $1,313Highest 31% below NC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 35.6%±15.1Lowest NC: 48.9% 51.5%±18.3Highest NC: 48.9%

Mount Olive and Franklin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 12.7%Lowest NC: 13% 17.7%Highest NC: 13%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 58.2%Highest NC: 66.6% 56.9%Lowest NC: 66.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1981Highest 10 yrs older than NC 1963Lowest 28 yrs older than NC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 23 minHighest 8% below NC 19 minLowest 24% below NC

Work from home 5%±3.1Lowest NC: 16.3% 5.5%±3.3Highest NC: 16.3%

Mount Olive and Franklin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 30.7%Highest 14%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 14.3 miLowest 17.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 3.31Highest 1.96Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Asheville (6%)Goldsboro (12%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Mount OliveFew work in Franklin

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3%Highest 0.3%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.9 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3 3

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 80.3Lowest 97.3Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #40 of 252 in NC #225 of 252 in NC

School district Macon County SchoolsWayne County Public Schools

High school in town Franklin HighNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 21.2 —

North Carolina average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Franklin neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Franklin’s Town Square.

Mount Olive neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mount Olive’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Franklin

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Newport4,441 people · $234K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Franklin vs Mount Olive

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $980 more a month in Franklin

Franklin places higher on 12 of 19 NC lists

What daily life feels like in each

300 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Franklin and Mount Olive

Towns like Franklin

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