Best PlacesElko, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elko, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Elko ranks 4,642nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Elko
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.
Elko's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elko ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 94% of towns
- Household income$121,285 median, better than 93% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of towns
Where Elko ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 8% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Elko
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elko home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $121,285, 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 Elko's effective rate of 0.73%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Elko
Elko runs older 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 Elko.
Who works in Elko, and how
Work in Elko centers on transportation & warehousing and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Elko
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Elko.
What the weather is like in Elko, month by month
Elko sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 48° | 37° |
| April | 80° | 65° | 51° |
| July | 94° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 82° | 67° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Elko
The nearest airport, Middle Georgia Regional, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around Elko
Schools across Elko average a B, better than 66% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Kings Chapel Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Tucker Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Dooly County Elementary SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Perry Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Dooly County Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Perry High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Dooly County High SchoolF · 7% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elko school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elko 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 Elko against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Elko
Is Elko a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elko ranks 4,642nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on few empty homes, what local pay buys, and a strong job market, and lowest on noise and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elko expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $327,556. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $121,285 median income, cost of living beats 97% of towns.
Is Elko safe?
Yes, Elko is safer than 90% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $171 per resident a year.
Compare Elko with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elko. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elko 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.
Elko detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elko: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elko: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elko: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elko: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elko 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.