Best PlacesDodge County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Dodge 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.
Dodge County ranks 2,727th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on affordable childcare, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Dodge 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.
Dodge County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dodge County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 82% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 79% of counties
- QuietBetter than 72% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 69% of counties
Where Dodge County ranks low
- School gradeD+, better than only 10% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 13% of counties
- Household income$53,355 median, better than only 13% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 16% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Dodge County
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dodge County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,355, 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 Dodge County's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Dodge County
Dodge County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Dodge County.
Who works in Dodge County, and how
Work in Dodge County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Dodge County
Dodge County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Dodge County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Dodge County growing, and who is moving in?
Dodge County has lost about 7% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Atlanta, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Dodge County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Dodge County, month by month
Dodge County sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 48° | 39° |
| April | 79° | 65° | 52° |
| July | 93° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 81° | 66° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Dodge County
The nearest airport, Middle Georgia Regional, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dodge County
Schools across Dodge County average a D+, better than 10% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bleckley County Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Northwest Laurens ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Wilcox County Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wilcox County Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Telfair County Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Dodge County Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Eastman Youth Development CampusD+ · 25% proficient
- Dac (dodge County Achievement Center)D− · 18% proficient
- Dodge County High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dodge County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dodge 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 Dodge County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Dodge County
Is Dodge County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dodge County ranks 2,727th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and tree cover, and lowest on the schools and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dodge County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,081. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $53,355 median income, cost of living beats 16% of counties.
Is Dodge County safe?
Dodge County is safer than 30% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $367 per resident a year.
Compare Dodge County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dodge County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dodge 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.
Dodge County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dodge County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dodge County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dodge County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dodge County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dodge 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.