Drive south out of Milwaukee on I-94 and Franklin shows up fast — new apartments, a minor-league ballpark, and subdivisions still filling in former farmland. It's one of the faster-growing corners of Milwaukee County, and it's also one of the cheaper places in the metro to insure a car.

Car insurance in Franklin runs an estimated $1,670 a year for full coverage, about 12% below the Wisconsin statewide average of $1,902. That discount tracks closely with two numbers: a median household income near $107,000 and a property crime rate roughly 31% below the national figure.

A City Still Under Construction

The clearest example is Ballpark Commons, a roughly 200-acre mixed-use development built on the site of the old Crystal Ridge Landfill. It opened Franklin Field in 2019, home to the Milwaukee Milkmen, and has since added apartments, a hotel, and retail around the stadium.

New construction like that tends to bring newer vehicles and a broader tax base with it, and insurers notice. It's not the only factor behind Franklin's rates, but a city actively building rather than aging tends to generate a different claims profile than one that isn't.

The Numbers Behind the Discount

Franklin has about 36,800 residents, a median household income around $107,000, and a poverty rate under 7% — all of it well ahead of both the state and national norms. Property crime sits near 1,207 incidents per 100,000 residents, about 31% below the U.S. average, and Franklin's overall crime index runs roughly three times lower than the national figure.

Full coverage here averages an estimated $1,670 a year, or about $139 a month, versus $1,902 statewide. Minimum 25/50/10 liability comes in near $34 a month, also below the $451-a-year Wisconsin average.

South of Milwaukee, Not Part of It

Franklin sits about 10 miles south of downtown Milwaukee, bordered by Oak Creek to the east, Greendale and Hales Corners to the north, Waukesha County and Muskego to the west, and Racine County to the south. Milwaukee's city limits brush the northeast corner, but most of Franklin is its own suburban footprint, not an extension of the city grid.

I-94 runs along the northern edge, with I-894, US-45, and WIS-36 feeding the rest of the city, plus the S. 76th Street corridor the city has been rebuilding in sections. The average Franklin commute runs about 23.3 minutes — enough traffic to matter, not enough to drive claims costs up the way a denser Milwaukee neighborhood does.

What Wisconsin Actually Requires

  • Minimum liability: 25/50/10 — $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, $10,000 property damage
  • Uninsured motorist: 25/50 bodily injury, mandatory statewide
  • Fault system: At-fault, modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar
  • Franklin estimate: $1,670/yr full coverage, minimum liability from about $34/mo

That $10,000 property damage floor is thin everywhere in Wisconsin, Franklin included — a single crash involving a newer SUV can exceed it on its own. For a breakdown of when the state minimum is enough and when it isn't, see our minimum vs. full coverage guide.

Don't Assume Your Quote Matches the Average

A favorable citywide average is a starting point, not a guarantee — your driving record, vehicle, and coverage choices still move an individual quote more than your ZIP code does. The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance is a solid resource for verifying a policy or filing a complaint before you sign anything.

Franklin's numbers point the same direction — high income, low crime, and a growing tax base — but the only way to know what you'll actually pay is to compare quotes from multiple insurers. A below-average city can still hide an above-average rate for the wrong driver profile.