Best PlacesChattooga County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Chattooga 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.
Chattooga County ranks 2,745th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Chattooga 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.
Chattooga County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chattooga County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of counties
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- QuietBetter than 79% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 76% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 69% of counties
Where Chattooga County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of counties
- Household income$50,115 median, better than only 8% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 10% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 13% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Chattooga County
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chattooga County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,115, 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 Chattooga County's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 Chattooga County
Chattooga 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 Chattooga County.
Who works in Chattooga County, and how
Work in Chattooga County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Chattooga County
Chattooga County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Chattooga County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Chattooga County growing, and who is moving in?
Chattooga County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Chattanooga, TN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Chattooga County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Chattooga County, month by month
Chattooga County sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 32° |
| April | 78° | 62° | 47° |
| July | 93° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 80° | 64° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Chattooga County
The nearest airport, Lovell Field, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 79 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chattooga County
Schools across Chattooga County average a D+, better than 17% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Trion Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- West End Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Lyerly Elementary SchoolC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Trion Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Summerville Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Trion High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Chattooga High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chattooga County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chattooga 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 Chattooga County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Chattooga County suits
Common questions about living in Chattooga County
Is Chattooga County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chattooga County ranks 2,745th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, affordable childcare, and quiet, 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 Chattooga County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,531. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $50,115 median income, cost of living beats 10% of counties.
Is Chattooga County safe?
Chattooga County is safer than 40% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Chattooga County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 32. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 26% of counties.
Is Chattooga County good for families?
Schools beat 17% of counties, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $502 a month.
Compare Chattooga County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chattooga County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chattooga 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.
Chattooga County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chattooga County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chattooga County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chattooga County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chattooga County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chattooga 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.