Cost of Living & Housing in Franklin
Franklin's cost of living centers on a real, genuine affordability advantage in housing and property tax, offset honestly against Louisiana's now-nation-highest combined sales tax rate and the elevated insurance costs typical of coastal St. Mary Parish.
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Learn moreSubstantially affordable housing relative to Louisiana's statewide median
Franklin's median home value ran approximately $126,900 this pass, substantially below Louisiana's own statewide median (approximately $219,800). Median gross rent (approximately $720/month) likewise runs well below both state and national medians (base record).
Louisiana's $75,000 homestead exemption keeps property tax burdens low
St. Mary Parish's effective property tax rate follows Louisiana's genuinely low statewide range (approximately 0.52%-0.55%), driven by the real, constitutionally enshrined $75,000 homestead exemption on a primary residence's fair market value -- because Louisiana assesses residential property at only 10% of market value, that exemption effectively shields roughly the first $750,000 of market value from parish-level millages (base record).
Elevated coastal homeowners-insurance costs, a real trade-off
Louisiana's real, severe, statewide homeowners-insurance crisis bears most heavily on coastal parishes with elevated hurricane exposure -- St. Mary Parish, including Franklin, sits genuinely within that higher-exposure coastal tier, meaning premiums and availability constraints here likely run above Louisiana's own already-elevated statewide average (base record).
A flat 3% state income tax, offset by the nation's highest combined sales tax
Louisiana's real 2024 tax reform set a flat 3% individual income tax rate effective Jan. 1, 2025, funded partly by raising the statewide sales tax to 5% -- combined with local levies, Louisiana's average combined state-and-local sales tax rate (approximately 10.11%) is now the highest of any state nationally, applying in Franklin as it does statewide (base record).
Key takeaways
- Franklin's median home value (~$126,900) runs substantially below Louisiana's statewide median (~$219,800).
- Louisiana's $75,000 homestead exemption keeps St. Mary Parish's effective property tax rate near the statewide low of 0.52%-0.55%.
- Coastal St. Mary Parish likely carries above-average homeowners-insurance costs within Louisiana's already-severe statewide insurance crisis.
- Louisiana's flat 3% income tax is offset by the nation's highest combined sales tax rate (~10.11%), which applies in Franklin.
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