Best PlacesAlapaha, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Alapaha, 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.
Alapaha ranks 39,850th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Alapaha
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.
Alapaha's strengths and weaknesses
Where Alapaha ranks high
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 92% of towns
- QuietBetter than 81% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 81% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 75% of towns
Where Alapaha ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Household income$48,890 median, better than only 11% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 14% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Alapaha
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Alapaha home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,890, 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 Alapaha's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 Alapaha
Alapaha runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Alapaha.
Who works in Alapaha, and how
Work in Alapaha centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Alapaha
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Alapaha.
What the weather is like in Alapaha, month by month
Alapaha sees roughly 98 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 50° | 41° |
| April | 78° | 67° | 56° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 80° | 69° | 60° |
Flying in and out of Alapaha
The nearest airport, Valdosta Regional, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 110 miles away.
The best schools in and around Alapaha
Schools across Alapaha average a B, better than 63% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Berrien Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Irwin County Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Willacoochee Elementary SchoolC · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Berrien Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Irwin County Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Atkinson County Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Berrien High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Irwin County High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Atkinson County High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Alapaha school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Alapaha 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 Alapaha against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Alapaha
Is Alapaha a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Alapaha ranks 39,850th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, quiet, and a stable housing market, and lowest on a weak job market and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Alapaha expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $112,331. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $48,890 median income, cost of living beats 14% of towns.
Is Alapaha safe?
Alapaha is safer than 46% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $288 per resident a year.
Compare Alapaha with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Alapaha. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Alapaha 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.
Alapaha detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Alapaha: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Alapaha: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Alapaha: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Alapaha: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Alapaha 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.