Best Places30605, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 30605, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
30605 ranks 22,277th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. An overheated housing market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on population health.
The best neighborhoods in 30605
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.
30605's strengths and weaknesses
Where 30605 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Short commute20.4 minutes each way, better than 83% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$649 a month, better than 81% of zip codes
Where 30605 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Household income$57,371 median, better than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 30605
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 30605 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $57,371, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 30605's effective rate of 0.84%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 30605
30605 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 30605.
Who works in 30605, and how
Work in 30605 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 30605
30605 has more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 80% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 30605 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 30605, month by month
30605 sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 45° | 33° |
| April | 78° | 63° | 49° |
| July | 94° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 80° | 64° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 30605
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 65 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 30605
Schools across 30605 average a D, better than 7% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Colham Ferry Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Barrow Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Barnett Shoals Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oconee County Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Clarke Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Hilsman Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Oconee County High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Clarke Central High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Cedar Shoals High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 30605 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
30605 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 30605 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 30605 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 30605
Is 30605 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 30605 ranks 22,277th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, an educated workforce, and short commutes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 30605 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $348,745. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $57,371 median income, cost of living beats 18% of zip codes.
Is 30605 safe?
30605 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $332 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 30605?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 33. That works out to about 79 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of zip codes.
Is 30605 good for families?
Schools beat 7% of zip codes, crime safety beats 39%, and childcare runs $649 a month.
Compare 30605 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 30605. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 30605 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.
30605 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 30605: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 30605: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 30605: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 30605: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
30605 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.