You’ve seen these lists before. Best places to live in Georgia. Best suburbs in Georgia. Best counties in Georgia.
Etc., etc., etc.
But they all focus on major cities and towns in the Peach State, and no one pays attention to the little guy.
Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the superb small towns in Georgia based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.
We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section, but first, we thought you might want to know which places in Georgia ranked the best based on Saturday Night Science.
$105,478 median income · 1.3% unemployment
$165,909 median income · 1.6% unemployment
$123,795 median income · 0.9% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$158,000 median income · 1.6% unemployment
$120,479 median income · 1.2% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$131,293 median income · 1.3% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$104,385 median income · 1.9% unemployment
$92,532 median income · 1.7% unemployment
$110,804 median income · 0.9% unemployment
$73,798 median income · 0.7% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Georgia’s statewide median.
Georgia statewide median: $77,353
Georgia statewide median: $332,063
Georgia statewide median: 5.1%
On the map
Where Georgia’s best small towns are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In Georgia
We threw a lot of criteria at this report to get the best, most complete results of the best small towns in Georgia possible.
Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Saturday Night Science, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (Higher is better)
- Lowest Unemployment Rates
- Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
- Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
- Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
- Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
- Commute Times (Lower is better)
We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which there were many – 203 to be exact.
We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 203, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in Georgia. Top of that list — Isle of Hope.
This is our eleventh time ranking the best small places to live in Georgia.
The full plate
Best Small Towns In Georgia
Click any column to sort. Search by town name.
| Rank | Town | Population | Median Income | Median Home Value | Unemployment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isle of Hope | 2,053 | $105,478 | $588,453 | 1.3% |
| 2 | Berkeley Lake | 2,597 | $165,909 | $779,411 | 1.6% |
| 3 | Avondale Estates | 3,530 | $123,795 | $527,410 | 0.9% |
| 4 | Lookout Mountain | 1,721 | $158,000 | $454,864 | 1.6% |
| 5 | Tybee Island | 3,123 | $120,479 | $626,547 | 1.2% |
| 6 | Grayson | 4,858 | $131,293 | $430,346 | 1.3% |
| 7 | Henderson | 1,952 | $104,385 | $373,996 | 1.9% |
| 8 | Chickamauga | 3,014 | $92,532 | $269,412 | 1.7% |
| 9 | Winterville | 2,223 | $110,804 | $332,352 | 0.9% |
| 10 | Clarkesville | 1,959 | $73,798 | $385,020 | 0.7% |
| 11 | Dutch Island | 1,225 | $160,536 | $621,976 | 0.0% |
| 12 | Hahira | 3,451 | $70,966 | $299,582 | 4.8% |
| 13 | Bogart | 1,403 | $90,292 | $474,418 | 1.3% |
| 14 | Watkinsville | 3,350 | $92,147 | $513,849 | 4.5% |
| 15 | Montgomery | 4,976 | $90,843 | $390,130 | 2.6% |
| 16 | Madison | 4,864 | $61,510 | $445,488 | 1.9% |
| 17 | Ball Ground | 2,856 | $117,829 | $479,214 | 1.8% |
| 18 | Thunderbolt | 2,533 | $75,234 | $366,332 | 3.5% |
| 19 | Oxford | 1,770 | $56,563 | $344,784 | 2.8% |
| 20 | West Point | 3,403 | $57,214 | $211,721 | 0.5% |
| 21 | Varnell | 2,920 | $86,100 | $267,999 | 2.1% |
| 22 | Springfield | 2,974 | $62,957 | $306,239 | 2.4% |
| 23 | Demorest | 2,512 | $77,941 | $313,136 | 7.4% |
| 24 | Heron Bay | 4,595 | $106,338 | $430,270 | 8.2% |
| 25 | Hartwell | 4,562 | $49,280 | $312,967 | 0.8% |
| 26 | Clermont | 1,243 | $135,500 | $395,398 | 3.1% |
| 27 | Pine Mountain | 1,314 | $91,250 | $297,916 | 1.2% |
| 28 | Indian Springs | 2,070 | $81,346 | $257,396 | 5.5% |
| 29 | Dawsonville | 4,403 | $90,929 | $440,701 | 2.5% |
| 30 | Hoschton | 4,534 | $97,083 | $480,855 | 3.9% |
| 31 | Nelson | 1,166 | $89,375 | $373,792 | 6.9% |
| 32 | Cleveland | 3,534 | $64,450 | $319,169 | 1.1% |
| 33 | Chattahoochee Hills | 3,782 | $111,792 | $535,145 | 3.8% |
| 34 | Gray | 3,512 | $73,114 | $272,432 | 7.0% |
| 35 | Forsyth | 4,642 | $73,250 | $320,026 | 3.7% |
| 36 | Adairsville | 4,999 | $103,449 | $301,309 | 2.0% |
| 37 | Reed Creek | 3,151 | $76,973 | $375,419 | 0.9% |
| 38 | Statham | 3,018 | $73,903 | $383,710 | 2.7% |
| 39 | Robins AFB | 1,193 | $106,667 | $0 | 9.9% |
| 40 | Hogansville | 3,246 | $62,620 | $210,981 | 0.0% |
| 41 | Shannon | 2,012 | $80,722 | $241,959 | 0.0% |
| 42 | Leesburg | 3,542 | $79,460 | $263,428 | 2.1% |
| 43 | Greensboro | 3,609 | $39,541 | $718,571 | 0.0% |
| 44 | Clayton | 2,018 | $57,083 | $360,121 | 1.2% |
| 45 | Pendergrass | 3,435 | $90,341 | $361,621 | 3.3% |
| 46 | Chatsworth | 4,893 | $69,058 | $245,341 | 1.0% |
| 47 | Rutledge | 1,271 | $56,944 | $447,097 | 1.0% |
| 48 | Blue Ridge | 1,323 | $44,773 | $506,554 | 0.0% |
| 49 | Walthourville | 3,823 | $73,647 | $173,750 | 1.7% |
| 50 | Euharlee | 4,230 | $99,597 | $316,758 | 1.9% |
| 51 | Franklin Springs | 1,108 | $75,729 | $274,634 | 7.2% |
| 52 | Hoboken | 1,016 | $63,813 | $220,936 | 0.6% |
| 53 | Brooklet | 2,288 | $77,125 | $321,611 | 1.4% |
| 54 | Maysville | 2,086 | $61,495 | $329,897 | 0.5% |
| 55 | Bloomingdale | 3,007 | $60,250 | $327,960 | 0.7% |
| 56 | Palmetto | 4,797 | $80,982 | $242,098 | 1.2% |
| 57 | Harlem | 3,885 | $46,197 | $292,920 | 2.3% |
| 58 | Hannahs Mill | 3,230 | $69,850 | $169,262 | 3.1% |
| 59 | Mount Airy | 1,622 | $87,868 | $314,387 | 1.5% |
| 60 | Hamilton | 2,043 | $92,083 | $373,039 | 6.9% |
| 61 | Lula | 2,964 | $69,397 | $325,275 | 2.3% |
| 62 | Lakeview | 4,723 | $61,405 | $187,983 | 4.3% |
| 63 | Baldwin | 4,000 | $59,242 | $301,206 | 0.7% |
| 64 | McCaysville | 1,392 | $52,593 | $331,297 | 0.3% |
| 65 | Ringgold | 3,435 | $42,583 | $316,952 | 4.8% |
| 66 | Homer | 1,892 | $89,083 | $380,958 | 3.5% |
| 67 | Young Harris | 1,252 | $31,316 | $393,203 | 4.6% |
| 68 | Kings Bay Base | 2,210 | $78,000 | $0 | 28.7% |
| 69 | Luthersville | 1,000 | $74,167 | $281,052 | 0.7% |
| 70 | Union Point | 1,704 | $62,011 | $151,058 | 0.6% |
| 71 | Emerson | 1,573 | $75,250 | $306,320 | 8.4% |
| 72 | Lumpkin | 1,000 | $47,500 | $67,262 | 0.0% |
| 73 | Hawkinsville | 4,731 | $39,603 | $188,960 | 3.1% |
| 74 | Hiawassee | 1,293 | $45,000 | $395,020 | 7.1% |
| 75 | Walnut Grove | 1,685 | $83,208 | $353,615 | 3.2% |
| 76 | Comer | 2,029 | $52,891 | $307,024 | 3.9% |
| 77 | Cave Spring | 1,080 | $50,882 | $249,039 | 1.3% |
| 78 | Midway | 2,185 | $80,580 | $287,077 | 4.2% |
| 79 | Alto | 1,055 | $81,250 | $297,460 | 2.7% |
| 80 | Trenton | 2,123 | $39,441 | $236,914 | 6.2% |
| 81 | Guyton | 2,740 | $86,250 | $360,934 | 13.6% |
| 82 | Lindale | 4,289 | $43,561 | $192,432 | 1.8% |
| 83 | Washington | 3,680 | $54,219 | $169,006 | 1.1% |
| 84 | Lake City | 2,909 | $54,464 | $199,142 | 1.9% |
| 85 | Pembroke | 2,693 | $72,705 | $280,572 | 2.0% |
| 86 | Epworth | 1,994 | $67,176 | $428,381 | 0.0% |
| 87 | Bonanza | 3,279 | $60,260 | $223,087 | 11.2% |
| 88 | Deenwood | 2,360 | $57,045 | $150,540 | 13.9% |
| 89 | Reidsville | 2,553 | $41,667 | $176,713 | 2.5% |
| 90 | Ocilla | 3,100 | $41,277 | $136,798 | 0.0% |
| 91 | Sunnyside | 1,031 | $44,283 | $169,590 | 0.0% |
| 92 | Lincolnton | 1,768 | $43,935 | $266,753 | 1.7% |
| 93 | Vienna | 2,881 | $57,736 | $96,004 | 4.1% |
| 94 | Grantville | 3,251 | $69,283 | $281,397 | 5.6% |
| 95 | Jasper | 4,630 | $52,442 | $405,422 | 0.1% |
| 96 | Tallapoosa | 3,227 | $62,599 | $216,272 | 1.0% |
| 97 | Flemington | 1,571 | $78,088 | $311,149 | 4.6% |
| 98 | Darien | 1,452 | $57,000 | $276,567 | 3.7% |
| 99 | Bowdon | 2,006 | $65,337 | $260,321 | 2.7% |
| 100 | Elberton | 4,720 | $50,059 | $177,294 | 3.9% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 203 Georgia towns between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones
We said it once, and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, crunched the numbers, and it turns out these small towns in Georgia are the best in which to live.
And who can argue with that?
The best small towns in Georgia are Isle of Hope, Berkeley Lake, Avondale Estates, Lookout Mountain, Tybee Island, Grayson, Henderson, Chickamauga, Winterville, and Clarkesville.
