Best PlacesDougherty County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Dougherty 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.
Dougherty County ranks 3,056th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The schools pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on transit.
The best neighborhoods in Dougherty 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.
Dougherty County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dougherty County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 89% of counties
- BikingBetter than 83% of counties
- Short commute20.0 minutes each way, better than 78% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 78% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 69% of counties
Where Dougherty County ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Dougherty County
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dougherty County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,114, 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 Dougherty County's effective rate of 1.18%, 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 Dougherty County
Dougherty County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Dougherty County.
Who works in Dougherty County, and how
Work in Dougherty County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Dougherty County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Dougherty County.
Is Dougherty County growing, and who is moving in?
Dougherty County has lost about 11% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Atlanta, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Dougherty County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Dougherty County, month by month
Dougherty County sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 82° | 68° | 53° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 85° | 70° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Dougherty County
The nearest airport, Southwest Georgia Regional, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 143 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dougherty County
Schools across Dougherty County average an F, better than 1% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Park Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Lincoln Elementary Magnet SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- International Studies Elementary Charter SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Robert A. Cross Middle MagnetB · 45% proficient
- Albany Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
- Merry Acres Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Westover High SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Monroe High SchoolF · 5% proficient
- Dougherty Comprehensive High SchoolF · 3% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dougherty County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dougherty 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 Dougherty County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Dougherty County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Dougherty County
Is Dougherty County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dougherty County ranks 3,056th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, biking, and short commutes, and lowest on the schools and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dougherty County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $136,426. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $51,114 median income, cost of living beats 14% of counties.
Is Dougherty County safe?
Dougherty County is safer than 2% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $802 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Dougherty County?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 38. That works out to about 84 pleasant days a year, more than 44% of counties.
Is Dougherty County good for families?
Schools beat 1% of counties, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $649 a month.
Compare Dougherty County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dougherty County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dougherty 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.
Dougherty County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dougherty County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dougherty County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dougherty County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dougherty County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dougherty 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.