Best Places31544, GA Best Neighborhoods

2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026

Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 31544, 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.

See the map of best neighborhoods

31544 ranks 27,685th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.

#27,685
of 33,110 zip codes
BestNeighborhood rank
Defaults weight crime safety, affordability, schools, and weather highest: the things hardest to change after a move
N/A
of 33,110 zip codes
Your rank
Set your priorities to see your rank

The best neighborhoods in 31544

Map of the best neighborhoods in the 31544 area, with better matches in green and worse matches in red
Click the map to explore
National median
Worse match Better match
Colorblind friendly off
Popular priorities:

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.

31544's strengths and weaknesses

Top 3%Quiet
Top 10%Affordable childcare
Each measure against the national median. Bars to the right beat the median; bars to the left fall short. Percentiles compare 31544 with other zip codes.

Where 31544 ranks high

  • QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
  • Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 94% of zip codes
  • Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of zip codes
  • Tree shadeBetter than 83% of zip codes
  • State fiscal healthBetter than 77% of zip codes

Where 31544 ranks low

  • Health outlookBetter than only 1% of zip codes
  • Internet speedBetter than only 5% of zip codes
  • Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
  • Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
  • Educational attainmentBetter than only 9% of zip codes

What it costs to buy a home in 31544

A household needs to earn about $22,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 31544 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,036, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.

Income to buy the median home
$22,000
a year, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate
Estimated monthly payment
$508
principal, interest, tax, and insurance on a $83,500 home
Median rent
$955
a month, across all home sizes

Where the monthly payment goes

Principal & interest$426
Property tax$55
Homeowners insurance$28

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 31544's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.

Cumulative cost of renting versus owning the median home, first 10 years. Illustrative estimate.

Who lives in 31544

31544's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.

Median age
42
older than the U.S. median of 41
Residents 65 and older
24%
versus 18% nationally
Average household
2.9
above the U.S. average of 2.6

Residents by age

Under 1814%
18 to 3420%
35 to 4921%
50 to 6421%
65 and older24%

Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 31544.


Who works in 31544, and how

Work in 31544 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.

Work from home
5%
below the national average
Unemployment
0.0%
below the national average
Job growth
−0.8%
/y 2019-2023, slower than the national pace

Largest industries

Manufacturing14%
Education14%
Public administration14%
Health care & social10%
Hospitality & food8%

How people get to work

  • Drive or carpool 92%
  • Work from home 5%
  • Transit, walk, or bike 2%

Life in 31544

The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 31544.


What the weather is like in 31544, month by month

31544 sees roughly 121 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.

Average daily high, mean, and low in degrees Fahrenheit, NOAA station data 2016 to 2025.
Show the monthly temperatures
MonthAvg highAvgAvg low
January65°51°40°
April81°68°55°
July94°82°74°
October83°70°58°

Flying in and out of 31544

The nearest airport, Middle Georgia Regional, is about 70 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 121 miles away.

Nearest airport
MCN
Middle Georgia Regional, about 70 miles
Airport size
Nonhub
373rd-busiest in the US, 3 nonstop destinations
Average drive
101 min
from the area, with no traffic

The best schools in and around 31544

Schools across 31544 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.

Top elementary schools

Top middle schools

Top high schools

Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 31544 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.


31544 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 31544 against the other 33,109 zip codes.


Common questions about living in 31544

Is 31544 a good place to live?

Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 31544 ranks 27,685th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, affordable childcare, and civic engagement, and lowest on health outcomes and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.

Is 31544 expensive to live in?

The median home is worth $83,500. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $58,036 median income, cost of living beats 26% of zip codes.

Is 31544 safe?

31544 is safer than 53% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $270 per resident a year.


Compare 31544 with other zip codes


Sources and methodology

Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 31544. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 31544 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.

31544 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:

  1. Walk Grade for 31544: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
  2. Noise in 31544: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
  3. Conservative vs liberal map of 31544: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
  4. Mobile and cell coverage in 31544: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.

31544 detail on related sites:

  1. CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
  2. ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
  3. CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.

Federal and public data:

  1. 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.
  2. NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
  3. FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
  4. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
  5. FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
  6. U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
  7. FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
  8. CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
  9. National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
  10. FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
  11. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
  12. Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.