An article in the April/May 2007 issue of the Foreign Direct Investment (fDi) magazine designates Franklin, Wisconsin, as a "City of the Future"! fDi is an international magazine published by the Financial Times of London. Franklin was invited, along with a total of 108 other cities across North America, to answer 60 or more questions in 7 categories. The cities, categorized by size, were scored by a panel of judges on a variety of criteria including Economic Potential, Cost Effectiveness, Human Resources, Quality of Life, Infrastructure, and Business Friendliness. Franklin was included in the "Micro cities with a population of less than 100,000" group and ranked in the following categories:
2nd for Micro Cities: Best Human Resources
4th for Micro Cities: Best Infrastructure
5th for Average Earnings Growth 2004-2005
3rd for Percentage of Population with a Degree
10th for Fall in Unemployment 2004-2005
Zapata, Texas, was named the No. 1 overall Micro City of the Future for 2007/2008.