Best PlacesDeKalb County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in DeKalb County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
DeKalb County ranks 1,165th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $96,456, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are noise, crime, and car insurance costs.
The best neighborhoods in DeKalb 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 DeKalb County
The parts of DeKalb 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.
Druid Hills
More adults hold degrees, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
North Atlanta, Dunwoody & North Druid Hills
Biking is better, though homes cost more.
Atlanta
More households have young kids, though it is noisier.
Conley
Tree cover is thicker, though more homes sit empty.
Clarkston, North Decatur & Avondale Estates
Streets are more walkable, though prices have run up more.
Tucker
Fewer residents vote.
Stone Mountain
Health outcomes score lower and commutes are longer.
Lithonia, Decatur & Redan
Candler-McAfee, Panthersville & Ellenwood
Heat risk is higher and crime runs higher.
DeKalb County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
DeKalb County's strengths and weaknesses
DeKalb County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Transit is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Fast internet and an educated workforce follow.
The one real hole is noise, near the bottom of the country. Crime and car insurance costs also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where DeKalb County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of counties
Where DeKalb County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in DeKalb County
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median DeKalb County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $96,456; 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 DeKalb County's effective rate of 0.90%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in DeKalb County
DeKalb County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for DeKalb County.
Who works in DeKalb County, and how
Work in DeKalb County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in DeKalb County
DeKalb County has more parkland per resident than 78% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of DeKalb County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is DeKalb County growing, and who is moving in?
DeKalb County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Atlanta, GA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving DeKalb County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in DeKalb County, month by month
DeKalb County sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 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 | 76° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of DeKalb County
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 15 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 DeKalb County
Schools across DeKalb County average a C−, better than 24% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Vanderlyn Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Oak Grove Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Austin Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kittredge Magnet SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Wadsworth Magnet School For High AchieversA+ · 72% proficient
- Chamblee Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Decatur High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Dekalb Early College AcademyA− · 62% proficient
- Dekalb School Of The ArtsB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every DeKalb County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
DeKalb 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 DeKalb County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who DeKalb County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in DeKalb County
Is DeKalb County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, DeKalb County ranks 1,165th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, fast internet, and an educated workforce, and lowest on noise and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is DeKalb County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $404,479. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $96,456 median income, cost of living beats 94% of counties.
Is DeKalb County safe?
DeKalb County is safer than 7% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $559 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in DeKalb County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 32. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in DeKalb County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Druid Hills, North Atlanta, Dunwoody & North Druid Hills, and Atlanta. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is DeKalb County good for families?
Schools beat 24% of counties, crime safety beats 7%, and childcare runs $919 a month.
Is DeKalb County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 97% of counties. About 22% of workers already work from home.
Compare DeKalb County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to DeKalb County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in DeKalb 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.
DeKalb County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for DeKalb County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in DeKalb County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of DeKalb County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in DeKalb County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
DeKalb 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.