Best PlacesAtkinson County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Atkinson County, 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.
Atkinson County ranks 2,718th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Atkinson County
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.
Atkinson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Atkinson County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 85% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 126 pleasant days a year, better than 79% of counties
- QuietBetter than 78% of counties
Where Atkinson County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of counties
- Household income$43,260 median, better than only 1% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Atkinson County
A household needs to earn about $21,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Atkinson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $43,260, 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 Atkinson County's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Atkinson County
Atkinson County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Atkinson County.
Who works in Atkinson County, and how
Work in Atkinson County centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Atkinson County
Atkinson County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Atkinson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Atkinson County growing, and who is moving in?
Atkinson County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Coffee County, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Atkinson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Atkinson County, month by month
Atkinson County sees roughly 126 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 79° | 67° | 57° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 70° | 60° |
Flying in and out of Atkinson County
The nearest airport, Valdosta Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around Atkinson County
Schools across Atkinson County average a C−, better than 24% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Willacoochee Elementary SchoolC · 30% proficient
- Pearson Elementary SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Atkinson County Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Atkinson County High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Atkinson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Atkinson County 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 Atkinson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Atkinson County
Is Atkinson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Atkinson County ranks 2,718th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, affordable childcare, and fast internet, and lowest on education levels and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Atkinson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $79,969. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $43,260 median income, cost of living beats 4% of counties.
Is Atkinson County safe?
Atkinson County is safer than 47% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $311 per resident a year.
Compare Atkinson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Atkinson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Atkinson County 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.
Atkinson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Atkinson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Atkinson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Atkinson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Atkinson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Atkinson County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.