Best PlacesChatham County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Chatham County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Chatham County ranks 2,084th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 24 minutes away. Its strengths are biking and fast internet. The cost shows up in disaster risk, an overheated housing market, and noise.
The best neighborhoods in Chatham 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.
The best areas in Chatham County
The parts of Chatham County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Wilmington Island & Skidaway Island
It is quieter, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Pooler, Port Wentworth & Garden City
Crime runs lower and fewer homes sit empty.
Savannah
More households have young kids and homes cost less.
Whitemarsh Island
Biking is better and transit reaches more jobs.
Chatham County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 8%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Chatham County's strengths and weaknesses
Chatham County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Biking is the standout, in the top 3% of counties. Fast internet and transit follow.
The one real hole is disaster risk, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and noise also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Chatham County ranks high
- BikingBetter than 97% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- TransitBetter than 94% of counties
- Cheap childcare$478 a month, better than 93% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 87% of counties
Where Chatham County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 8% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 10% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Chatham County
A household needs to earn about $86,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chatham County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $79,218; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Chatham County's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Chatham County
Chatham 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 Chatham County.
Who works in Chatham County, and how
Work in Chatham County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Chatham County
Chatham County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 90% of counties. The coast is about 24 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Chatham County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Chatham County growing, and who is moving in?
Chatham County has grown about 9% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Atlanta, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Chatham County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Chatham County, month by month
Chatham County sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 51° | 40° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 55° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 70° | 60° |
Flying in and out of Chatham County
The nearest airport, Savannah/Hilton Head International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 87 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chatham County
Schools across Chatham County average a D+, better than 10% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mcallister Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- South Effingham Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Dr. George Washington Carver Elementary SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Richmond Hill Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- The Stem Academy At BartlettA− · 54% proficient
- South Effingham Middle SchoolA− · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Savannah Arts AcademyA− · 62% proficient
- Richmond Hill High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Savannah Early College High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chatham County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chatham 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 Chatham County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Chatham County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 75% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Chatham County
Is Chatham County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chatham County ranks 2,084th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on biking, fast internet, and transit, and lowest on disaster risk and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chatham County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $329,934. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $79,218 median income, cost of living beats 75% of counties.
Is Chatham County safe?
Chatham County is safer than 30% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $443 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Chatham County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 40. That works out to about 82 pleasant days a year, more than 41% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Chatham County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Wilmington Island & Skidaway Island, Pooler, Port Wentworth & Garden City, and Savannah. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Chatham County good for families?
Schools beat 10% of counties, crime safety beats 30%, and childcare runs $478 a month.
Is Chatham County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 75% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 96% of counties. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Chatham County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chatham County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chatham 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.
Chatham County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chatham County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chatham County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chatham County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chatham County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chatham 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.