Best PlacesHarris County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Harris 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.
Harris County ranks 348th 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 Harris 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 Harris County
The parts of Harris 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.
Cataula
Fewer homes sit empty, it is quieter, and crime runs lower.
Ellerslie
Local pay stretches further and more adults hold degrees.
Fortson
Incomes run higher and more households have young kids.
Hamilton
Scores across Harris County run from about the 18th to the 94th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Harris County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Harris County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 97% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 95% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of counties
- Household income$99,188 median, better than 92% of counties
Where Harris County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 2% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 19% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Harris County
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Harris County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $99,188, 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 Harris 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Harris County
Harris County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Harris County.
Who works in Harris County, and how
Work in Harris County centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Harris County
Harris County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Harris County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Harris County growing, and who is moving in?
Harris County has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Columbus, GA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Harris County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Harris County, month by month
Harris County sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 61, 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 | 61° | 48° | 37° |
| April | 80° | 66° | 52° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Harris County
The nearest airport, Columbus, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 70 miles away.
The best schools in and around Harris County
Schools across Harris County average a B−, better than 58% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- New Mountain Hill Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Pine Ridge Elementary SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Mulberry Creek Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Harris County Carver Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Creekside SchoolB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Harris County High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Harris County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Harris 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 Harris County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Harris County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Harris County
Is Harris County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Harris County ranks 348th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, low crime, 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 Harris County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $306,203. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $99,188 median income, cost of living beats 93% of counties.
Is Harris County safe?
Yes, Harris County is safer than 96% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $200 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Harris County?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 37. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Harris County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Cataula, Ellerslie, and Fortson. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Harris County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Harris County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Harris 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.
Harris County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Harris County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Harris County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Harris County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Harris County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Harris 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.