Best PlacesLamar County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lamar 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.
Lamar County ranks 1,897th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lamar 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.
Lamar County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lamar County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 80% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 77% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 70% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 69% of counties
Where Lamar County ranks low
- Short commute31.8 minutes each way, better than only 10% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 10% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 23% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 23% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 24% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lamar County
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lamar County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,055, 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 Lamar County's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 Lamar County
Lamar 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 Lamar County.
Who works in Lamar County, and how
Work in Lamar County centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Lamar County
Lamar County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Lamar County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lamar County growing, and who is moving in?
Lamar County has grown about 14% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Atlanta, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lamar County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lamar County, month by month
Lamar County sees roughly 94 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 46° | 38° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 78° | 66° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Lamar County
The nearest airport, Middle Georgia Regional, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 41 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lamar County
Schools across Lamar County average a D+, better than 10% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lamar County Elementary SchoolD+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lamar County Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Lamar County High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lamar County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lamar 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 Lamar County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Lamar County
Is Lamar County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lamar County ranks 1,897th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, low disaster risk, and big-city access, and lowest on long commutes and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lamar County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $224,160. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $73,055 median income, cost of living beats 60% of counties.
Is Lamar County safe?
Lamar County is safer than 36% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $357 per resident a year.
Compare Lamar County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lamar County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lamar 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.
Lamar County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lamar County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lamar County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lamar County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lamar County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lamar 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.