Best Places30253, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 30253, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
30253 ranks 15,974th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on fast internet, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 30253
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
30253's strengths and weaknesses
Where 30253 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 30253 ranks low
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Short commute32.0 minutes each way, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 30253
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 30253 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $87,341, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 30253's effective rate of 0.93%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 30253
30253 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 30253.
Who works in 30253, and how
Work in 30253 centers on transportation & warehousing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 30253
30253 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 75% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 30253 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 30253, month by month
30253 sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 45° | 37° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 52° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 75° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 30253
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 19 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 51.5 million passengers in 2025, with 278 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 30253
Schools across 30253 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- East Lake ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Mount Carmel Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Hickory Flat Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Union Grove MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Hampton Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Woodland Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Dutchtown HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Union Grove HighC · 32% proficient
- Hampton High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 30253 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
30253 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 30253 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 30253 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 30253
Is 30253 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 30253 ranks 15,974th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, few empty homes, and state finances, and lowest on the schools and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 30253 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $317,448. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $87,341 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 30253 safe?
30253 is safer than 53% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $291 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 30253?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 37. That works out to about 85 pleasant days a year, more than 51% of zip codes.
Is 30253 good for families?
Schools beat 12% of zip codes, crime safety beats 53%, and childcare runs $919 a month.
Compare 30253 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 30253. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 30253 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
30253 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 30253: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 30253: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 30253: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 30253: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
30253 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.