More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Atlanta to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Atlanta are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Atlanta ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Atlanta area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Atlanta proper, although Berkeley Lake certainly tries.
We examined the 52 biggest suburbs of Atlanta to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Georgia lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Atlanta in terms of quality of life.
$41,211 median income · $165,626 median home price
Located in
Clayton County, Georgia
We’ll get the ball rolling with Forest Park, the absolute worst place to live around Atlanta according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Forest Park beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Atlanta area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Forest Park.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$73,693 median income · $216,943 median home price
Located in
Clayton County, Georgia
Welcome to Morrow. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 13.7 miles to Atlanta. Income levels here are the 17th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $73,693 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$51,635 median income · $277,094 median home price
Located in
Fulton County, Georgia
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Atlanta suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see College Park on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Atlanta suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$50,843 median income · $241,617 median home price
If you live in Jonesboro, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 4th lowest Atlanta suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 3rd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Atlanta. Remember, we looked at 52 cities for this study.
Jonesboro is about 17.2 miles to downtown.
Data | Movers
$61,713 median income · $249,164 median home price
Lithonia has the distinction of being a Atlanta suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Lithonia has the 7th lowest home values in the metro Atlanta area, where the median price is $249,164. The median income is $171,295.
Lithonia has an unemployment rate of 11.7% which ranks 2nd worst.
$48,564 median income · $267,836 median home price
Located in
DeKalb County, Georgia
Clarkston has 14,557 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 34.4%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$63,581 median income · $397,448 median home price
Located in
Gwinnett County, Georgia
Ah, Lilburn. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Atlanta.
It’s the place with the 22nd most out of work residents in the Atlanta metro area (5.1%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$68,598 median income · $231,600 median home price
Located in
Fulton County, Georgia
East Point is a city about 6.9 miles from Atlanta, but Atlanta probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. East Point has the 13th most uninsured people, 12th worst incomes, and has the 10th highest unemployment rate (6.9%) in the entire Atlanta metro area.
Homes only cost $231,600 for a reason. That’s cheap for Atlanta standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$46,973 median income · $268,439 median home price
Located in
DeKalb County, Georgia
If you absolutely have to live near Atlanta, then Stone Mountain might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Atlanta suburb.
About 7.0% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$63,140 median income · $297,597 median home price
Located in
Rockdale County, Georgia
Rounding out the ten worst Atlanta suburbs to call home is Conyers.
Located 26.3 miles outside the city, Conyers is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 4th highest unemployment rate (9.4%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
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%
Georgia statewide median: 13.4%
On the map
Where the worst Atlanta suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Atlanta for 2026
To figure out how bad a Atlanta suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Atlanta.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 52 suburbs to evaluate around Atlanta.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 52 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Atlanta.” We’re looking at you, Forest Park.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Atlanta.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Atlanta Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forest Park | 8.14 | 19,504 | $41,211 | $165,626 |
| 2 | Morrow | 8.86 | 6,364 | $73,693 | $216,943 |
| 3 | College Park | 8.93 | 14,712 | $51,635 | $277,094 |
| 4 | Jonesboro | 9.00 | 6,143 | $50,843 | $241,617 |
| 5 | Lithonia | 10.79 | 2,622 | $61,713 | $249,164 |
| 6 | Clarkston | 13.57 | 14,557 | $48,564 | $267,836 |
| 7 | Lilburn | 13.71 | 15,390 | $63,581 | $397,448 |
| 8 | East Point | 13.86 | 38,335 | $68,598 | $231,600 |
| 9 | Stone Mountain | 14.43 | 6,623 | $46,973 | $268,439 |
| 10 | Conyers | 15.21 | 18,512 | $63,140 | $297,597 |
| 11 | Austell | 15.86 | 8,447 | $72,938 | $292,181 |
| 12 | Lawrenceville | 16.71 | 30,954 | $61,561 | $382,152 |
| 13 | Dallas | 17.86 | 14,714 | $75,545 | $354,268 |
| 14 | Stockbridge | 19.00 | 35,737 | $70,136 | $289,839 |
| 15 | Doraville | 19.00 | 11,134 | $67,235 | $366,889 |
| 16 | Riverdale | 19.21 | 14,792 | $63,455 | $214,168 |
| 17 | Norcross | 19.71 | 18,007 | $75,266 | $327,599 |
| 18 | Palmetto | 21.14 | 4,797 | $80,982 | $242,098 |
| 19 | Hiram | 22.14 | 5,231 | $85,119 | $312,225 |
| 20 | Douglasville | 22.29 | 37,536 | $79,107 | $301,700 |
| 21 | Hapeville | 22.29 | 6,630 | $95,714 | $265,299 |
| 22 | Hampton | 24.36 | 8,687 | $75,052 | $307,291 |
| 23 | Lovejoy | 24.57 | 11,508 | $71,612 | $279,096 |
| 24 | Fairburn | 24.71 | 16,831 | $91,897 | $321,971 |
| 25 | Chamblee | 24.86 | 30,895 | $84,452 | $479,015 |
| 26 | Marietta | 24.86 | 62,263 | $72,725 | $471,588 |
| 27 | Snellville | 25.00 | 21,620 | $89,896 | $355,608 |
| 28 | McDonough | 25.29 | 30,947 | $75,343 | $334,349 |
| 29 | Villa Rica | 26.07 | 18,551 | $87,803 | $311,754 |
| 30 | Fayetteville | 26.79 | 19,719 | $82,188 | $455,206 |
| 31 | Powder Springs | 26.86 | 18,009 | $105,070 | $363,229 |
| 32 | Acworth | 27.21 | 22,473 | $83,539 | $409,265 |
| 33 | Kennesaw | 28.71 | 34,605 | $83,356 | $403,299 |
| 34 | Duluth | 32.64 | 32,426 | $95,331 | $448,806 |
| 35 | Suwanee | 32.86 | 22,349 | $103,260 | $607,322 |
| 36 | Peachtree Corners | 33.17 | 42,373 | $82,139 | $556,225 |
| 37 | Chattahoochee Hills | 33.43 | 3,782 | $111,792 | $535,145 |
| 38 | Brookhaven | 34.67 | 57,855 | $117,663 | $741,429 |
| 39 | Grayson | 35.21 | 4,858 | $131,293 | $430,346 |
| 40 | Smyrna | 36.29 | 56,633 | $100,061 | $447,948 |
| 41 | Holly Springs | 38.07 | 18,627 | $113,992 | $433,920 |
| 42 | Woodstock | 38.36 | 37,381 | $103,496 | $460,207 |
| 43 | Roswell | 39.00 | 92,621 | $128,654 | $658,156 |
| 44 | Decatur | 39.14 | 24,518 | $139,397 | $279,470 |
| 45 | Sandy Springs | 40.00 | 107,087 | $104,340 | $691,063 |
| 46 | Tyrone | 40.21 | 7,896 | $135,691 | $526,789 |
| 47 | Milton | 41.14 | 41,546 | $171,295 | $941,274 |
| 48 | Alpharetta | 41.50 | 66,855 | $147,612 | $726,349 |
| 49 | Johns Creek | 43.07 | 81,988 | $160,093 | $703,497 |
| 50 | Dunwoody | 43.21 | 51,758 | $121,903 | $675,944 |
| 51 | Avondale Estates | 44.64 | 3,530 | $123,795 | $527,410 |
| 52 | Berkeley Lake | 45.36 | 2,597 | $165,909 | $779,411 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 52 suburbs within 30 miles of Atlanta.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Atlanta where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Atlanta with Forest Park casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Atlanta are Forest Park, Morrow, College Park, Jonesboro, Lithonia, Clarkston, Lilburn, East Point, Stone Mountain, and Conyers.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Atlanta aren’t all bad. Berkeley Lake takes the cake as the best place to live around Atlanta. Not sold on Georgia? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Atlanta FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Atlanta?
Forest Park ranks as the worst suburb around Atlanta for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Morrow and College Park are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Atlanta?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Atlanta are Forest Park, Morrow, College Park, Jonesboro, Lithonia, Clarkston, Lilburn, East Point, Stone Mountain, and Conyers. We scored all 52 places within 30 miles.
Why does Forest Park rank as the worst suburb?
Forest Park posts the roughest combined numbers of the 52 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $41,211, a median home value of $165,626, and a poverty rate of 20.3%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Atlanta?
Berkeley Lake lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Atlanta by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Atlanta list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
