Best PlacesBerrien County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Berrien 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.
Berrien County ranks 2,263rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on affordable childcare, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Berrien 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.
Berrien County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Berrien County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- QuietBetter than 83% of counties
- School gradeB, better than 69% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 69% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 68% of counties
Where Berrien County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 11% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of counties
- Household income$54,969 median, better than only 16% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 18% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Berrien County
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Berrien County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,969, 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 Berrien County's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Berrien County
Berrien County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Berrien County.
Who works in Berrien County, and how
Work in Berrien County centers on manufacturing 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 84%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Berrien County
Berrien County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Berrien County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Berrien County growing, and who is moving in?
Berrien County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Valdosta, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Berrien County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Berrien County, month by month
Berrien County sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 52° | 41° |
| April | 82° | 68° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 83° | 70° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Berrien County
The nearest airport, Valdosta Regional, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around Berrien County
Schools across Berrien County average a B, better than 69% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Berrien Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Berrien Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Berrien Academy Performance Learning CenterA− · 63% proficient
- Berrien High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Berrien County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Berrien 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 Berrien County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Berrien County
Is Berrien County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Berrien County ranks 2,263rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, quiet, and good schools, and lowest on education levels and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Berrien County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,429. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $54,969 median income, cost of living beats 21% of counties.
Is Berrien County safe?
Yes, Berrien County is safer than 63% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $291 per resident a year.
Compare Berrien County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Berrien County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Berrien 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.
Berrien County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Berrien County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Berrien County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Berrien County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Berrien County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Berrien 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.