Best PlacesIrwin County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Irwin 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.
Irwin County ranks 2,576th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on affordable childcare, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Irwin 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.
Irwin County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Irwin County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 82% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 69% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 68% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 105 pleasant days a year, better than 64% of counties
Where Irwin County ranks low
- Household income$52,389 median, better than only 12% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 18% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 20% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 21% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Irwin County
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Irwin County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,389, 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 Irwin 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 Irwin County
Irwin County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Irwin County.
Who works in Irwin County, and how
Work in Irwin County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Irwin County
Irwin County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Irwin County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Irwin County growing, and who is moving in?
Irwin County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Ben Hill County, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Irwin County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Irwin County, month by month
Irwin County sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 56° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Irwin County
The nearest airport, Southwest Georgia Regional, is about 54 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around Irwin County
Schools across Irwin County average a C, better than 40% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Irwin County Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Irwin County Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Irwin County High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Irwin County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Irwin 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 Irwin County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Irwin County
Is Irwin County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Irwin County ranks 2,576th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and state finances, and lowest on low incomes and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Irwin County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $122,204. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $52,389 median income, cost of living beats 18% of counties.
Is Irwin County safe?
Irwin County is safer than 22% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $403 per resident a year.
Compare Irwin County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Irwin County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Irwin 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.
Irwin County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Irwin County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Irwin County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Irwin County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Irwin County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Irwin 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.