Best PlacesEmanuel County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Emanuel 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.
Emanuel County ranks 2,851st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Emanuel 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.
Emanuel County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Emanuel County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of counties
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- QuietBetter than 85% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 81% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 69% of counties
Where Emanuel County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 5% of counties
- Household income$52,798 median, better than only 12% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Emanuel County
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Emanuel County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,798, 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 Emanuel County's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Emanuel County
Emanuel County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Emanuel County.
Who works in Emanuel County, and how
Work in Emanuel County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Emanuel County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Emanuel County.
Is Emanuel County growing, and who is moving in?
Emanuel County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Atlanta, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Emanuel County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Emanuel County, month by month
Emanuel County sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 40° |
| April | 78° | 66° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 80° | 68° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Emanuel County
The nearest airport, Augusta Regional at Bush Field, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around Emanuel County
Schools across Emanuel County average a D+, better than 17% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Twin City Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Lyons Upper ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
- Swainsboro Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- William James Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Johnson County Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Jenkins County Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Emanuel County InstituteC+ · 40% proficient
- Portal Middle/high SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Jenkins County High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Emanuel County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Emanuel 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 Emanuel County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Emanuel County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Emanuel County
Is Emanuel County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Emanuel County ranks 2,851st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, affordable childcare, and quiet, and lowest on air quality and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Emanuel County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $98,803. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $52,798 median income, cost of living beats 12% of counties.
Is Emanuel County safe?
Emanuel County is safer than 15% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $457 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Emanuel County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 40. That works out to about 96 pleasant days a year, more than 57% of counties.
Is Emanuel County good for families?
Schools beat 17% of counties, crime safety beats 15%, and childcare runs $502 a month.
Compare Emanuel County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Emanuel County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Emanuel 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.
Emanuel County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Emanuel County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Emanuel County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Emanuel County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Emanuel County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Emanuel 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.