Best PlacesJackson, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Jackson, 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.
Jackson ranks 20,989th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Jackson
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.
Jackson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jackson ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 90% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 82% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 76% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 74% of towns
Where Jackson ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 22% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 24% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 27% of towns
- School gradeC−, better than only 27% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 28% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Jackson
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jackson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,773, 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 Jackson's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Jackson
Jackson'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 Jackson.
Who works in Jackson, and how
Work in Jackson centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Jackson
Jackson has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of towns and more parkland per resident than 88% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Jackson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Jackson, month by month
Jackson sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 45° | 37° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 52° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 75° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Jackson
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 35 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 Jackson
Schools across Jackson average a C−, better than 27% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Samuel E. Hubbard Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Katherine B. Sutton Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Hampton L. Daughtry Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Monroe County Middle School- Banks Stephens CampusB+ · 49% proficient
- Ola Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Locust Grove MiddleC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Mary Persons High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Ola High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Jackson High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jackson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jackson 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 Jackson against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Jackson suits
Families
Schools land around the 27th percentile and crime safety beats 55%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Jackson
Is Jackson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jackson ranks 20,989th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, fast internet, and state finances, and lowest on thin health care access and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jackson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $262,090. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $81,773 median income, cost of living beats 69% of towns.
Is Jackson safe?
Yes, Jackson is safer than 55% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $272 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jackson?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 37. That works out to about 93 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of towns.
Is Jackson good for families?
Schools beat 27% of towns, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $656 a month.
Compare Jackson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jackson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jackson 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.
Jackson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jackson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jackson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jackson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jackson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jackson 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.
- 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.