Best PlacesGilmer County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Gilmer County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Gilmer County ranks 1,806th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Gilmer 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.
Gilmer County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gilmer County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 99% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 90% of counties
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- QuietBetter than 89% of counties
Where Gilmer County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 4% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 8% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Gilmer County
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gilmer County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $73,654; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Gilmer County's effective rate of 0.41%, 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 Gilmer County
Gilmer County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Gilmer County.
Who works in Gilmer County, and how
Work in Gilmer County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Gilmer County
Gilmer County has more late-night spots per resident than 67% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Gilmer County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Gilmer County growing, and who is moving in?
Gilmer County has grown about 15% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Atlanta, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Gilmer County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Gilmer County, month by month
Gilmer County sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 42° | 34° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Gilmer County
The nearest airport, Lovell Field, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 72 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gilmer County
Schools across Gilmer County average a C+, better than 54% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Clear Creek Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Mountain View ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
- Ellijay Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clear Creek Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Gilmer High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gilmer County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gilmer 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 Gilmer County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Gilmer County suits
Common questions about living in Gilmer County
Is Gilmer County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gilmer County ranks 1,806th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, low property taxes, and a strong job market, and lowest on walkability and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gilmer County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $331,126. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $73,654 median income, cost of living beats 44% of counties.
Is Gilmer County safe?
Gilmer County is safer than 48% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $319 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Gilmer County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 34. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 32% of counties.
Is Gilmer County good for families?
Schools beat 54% of counties, crime safety beats 48%, and childcare runs $502 a month.
Compare Gilmer County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gilmer County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gilmer 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.
Gilmer County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gilmer County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gilmer County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gilmer County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gilmer County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gilmer 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.