Best PlacesDahlonega, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Dahlonega, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Dahlonega ranks 1,419th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Dahlonega
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.
Dahlonega's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dahlonega ranks high
- QuietBetter than 99% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 99% of cities
- Cheap childcare$651 a month, better than 92% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 90% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of cities
Where Dahlonega ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 7% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 9% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Dahlonega
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dahlonega home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $73,964; 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 Dahlonega's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Dahlonega
Dahlonega runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Dahlonega.
Who works in Dahlonega, and how
Work in Dahlonega centers on retail trade and education. 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 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Dahlonega
Dahlonega has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of cities and more parkland per resident than 94% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Dahlonega and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Dahlonega, month by month
Dahlonega sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 43° | 33° |
| April | 75° | 62° | 50° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Dahlonega
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 66 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 51.5 million passengers in 2025, with 278 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Dahlonega
Schools across Dahlonega average a B−, better than 44% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Mount Vernon Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Chattahoochee Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Lumpkin County Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- White County Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- North Hall Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Fannin County Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Lumpkin County High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- North Forsyth High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- White County High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dahlonega school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dahlonega 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 Dahlonega against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Dahlonega suits
Families
Schools land around the 44th percentile and crime safety beats 63%.
Common questions about living in Dahlonega
Is Dahlonega a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dahlonega ranks 1,419th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on quiet, tree cover, and affordable childcare, and lowest on cell coverage 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 Dahlonega expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $308,702. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $73,964 median income, cost of living beats 31% of cities.
Is Dahlonega safe?
Yes, Dahlonega is safer than 63% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $263 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Dahlonega?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 33. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 39% of cities.
Is Dahlonega good for families?
Schools beat 44% of cities, crime safety beats 63%, and childcare runs $651 a month.
Compare Dahlonega with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dahlonega. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dahlonega 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.
Dahlonega detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dahlonega: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dahlonega: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dahlonega: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dahlonega: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dahlonega 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.