Best PlacesEffingham County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Effingham 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.
Effingham County ranks 824th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Effingham 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 Effingham County
The parts of Effingham 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.
Guyton
More households have young kids, fewer homes sit empty, and it is quieter.
Eden
Tree cover is thicker, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Rincon
Scores close to Eden, except that crime runs higher here.
Springfield
Local pay stretches less far and incomes run lower.
Scores across Effingham County run from about the 10th to the 86th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Effingham County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Effingham County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of counties
- Household income$91,487 median, better than 88% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of counties
Where Effingham County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 8% of counties
- Short commute32.3 minutes each way, better than only 9% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Effingham County
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Effingham County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $91,487, 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 Effingham 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Effingham County
Effingham County runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Effingham County.
Who works in Effingham County, and how
Work in Effingham County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Effingham County
Effingham County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 48 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Effingham County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Effingham County growing, and who is moving in?
Effingham County has grown about 32% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Savannah, GA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Effingham County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Effingham County, month by month
Effingham County sees roughly 92 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 51° | 39° |
| April | 81° | 67° | 54° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 83° | 70° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Effingham County
The nearest airport, Savannah/Hilton Head International, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 85 miles away.
The best schools in and around Effingham County
Schools across Effingham County average a B, better than 72% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- South Effingham Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Rincon Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Marlow Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ebenezer Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- South Effingham Middle SchoolA− · 52% proficient
- Effingham County Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- South Effingham High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Effingham County High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Effingham County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Effingham 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 Effingham County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Effingham County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Effingham County
Is Effingham County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Effingham County ranks 824th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, fast internet, and what local pay buys, and lowest on walkability and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Effingham County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $278,777. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $91,487 median income, cost of living beats 93% of counties.
Is Effingham County safe?
Yes, Effingham County is safer than 78% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Effingham County?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 39. That works out to about 92 pleasant days a year, more than 54% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Effingham County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Guyton, Eden, and Rincon. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Effingham County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Effingham County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Effingham 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.
Effingham County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Effingham County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Effingham County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Effingham County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Effingham County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Effingham 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.