Best PlacesFulton County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Fulton 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.
Fulton County ranks 458th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $114,821, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are noise, crime, and car insurance costs.
The best neighborhoods in Fulton 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 Fulton County
The parts of Fulton 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.
Johns Creek, Sandy Springs & Roswell
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and schools score higher.
Atlanta
Streets are more walkable, though fewer households have young kids.
Fairburn, Union City & East Point
Fewer adults hold degrees and biking is worse.
Hapeville
Homes cost less, though crime runs higher.
Fulton County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Fulton County's strengths and weaknesses
Fulton County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. An educated workforce is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. What local pay buys and population health follow.
The one real hole is noise, near the bottom of the country. Crime and car insurance costs also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Fulton County ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of counties
- TransitBetter than 97% of counties
- Household income$114,821 median, better than 96% of counties
Where Fulton County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Fulton County
A household needs to earn about $138,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fulton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $114,821, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Fulton County's effective rate of 0.85%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Fulton County
Fulton 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 Fulton County.
Who works in Fulton County, and how
Work in Fulton County centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Fulton County
Fulton County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 85% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Fulton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Fulton County growing, and who is moving in?
Fulton County has grown about 10% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Atlanta, GA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Fulton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Fulton County, month by month
Fulton County sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 32° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Fulton County
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 14 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 51.5 million passengers in 2025, with 278 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Fulton County
Schools across Fulton County average a C−, better than 29% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Creek View Elementary SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Crabapple Crossing Elementary SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
- Lake Windward Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- River Trail Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Autrey Mill Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Webb Bridge Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Cambridge High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Northview High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Alpharetta High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fulton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fulton 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 Fulton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Fulton County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 28% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Fulton County
Is Fulton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fulton County ranks 458th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on an educated workforce, what local pay buys, and population health, and lowest on noise and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fulton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $526,464. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $114,821 median income, cost of living beats 98% of counties.
Is Fulton County safe?
Fulton County is safer than 6% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $589 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Fulton County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 32. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 20% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Fulton County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Johns Creek, Sandy Springs & Roswell, Atlanta, and Fairburn, Union City & East Point. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Fulton County good for families?
Schools beat 29% of counties, crime safety beats 6%, and childcare runs $919 a month.
Is Fulton County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 94% of counties. About 28% of workers already work from home.
Compare Fulton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fulton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fulton 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.
Fulton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fulton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fulton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fulton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fulton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fulton 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.