[3] Franklin is mainly a residential area with higher density, mixed-use development along Flemington Road including a local shopping centre and other retail and commercial tenancies.

The suburb of Franklin includes a number of large open spaces, linked by pedestrian and cyclist networks.

These provide an ecological corridor for the movement of native wildlife[3] and preserve the area's history.

[5] 11.1% were born in China, 7.2% in India, 2.9% in South Korea, 2.2% in Sri Lanka, and 2.2% in Vietnam.

[8][9] Franklin is underlaid mostly by the Canberra Formation mudstone or volcanics from the late middle Silurian age.