Best PlacesLaurens County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Laurens 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.
Laurens County ranks 2,406th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on affordable childcare, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Laurens 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.
Laurens County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Laurens County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 78% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 78% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 69% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 68% of counties
Where Laurens County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 22% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 23% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 23% of counties
- Household income$58,910 median, better than only 24% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Laurens County
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Laurens County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,910, 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 Laurens County's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Laurens County
Laurens 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 Laurens County.
Who works in Laurens County, and how
Work in Laurens County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Laurens County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Laurens County.
Is Laurens County growing, and who is moving in?
Laurens County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Fort Myers, FL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Laurens County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Laurens County, month by month
Laurens County sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 60, 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 | 60° | 48° | 38° |
| April | 78° | 64° | 52° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 80° | 66° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Laurens County
The nearest airport, Middle Georgia Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 116 miles away.
The best schools in and around Laurens County
Schools across Laurens County average a C−, better than 26% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Northwest Laurens ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Southwest Laurens ElementaryB · 46% proficient
- Wheeler County Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Laurens Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- East Laurens Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Wheeler County Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- West Laurens High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- East Laurens High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Dac (dodge County Achievement Center)D− · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Laurens County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Laurens 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 Laurens County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Laurens County suits
Common questions about living in Laurens County
Is Laurens County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Laurens County ranks 2,406th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and tree cover, and lowest on air quality and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Laurens County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $159,965. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $58,910 median income, cost of living beats 30% of counties.
Is Laurens County safe?
Laurens County is safer than 27% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $423 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Laurens County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 38. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of counties.
Is Laurens County good for families?
Schools beat 26% of counties, crime safety beats 27%, and childcare runs $502 a month.
Compare Laurens County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Laurens County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Laurens 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.
Laurens County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Laurens County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Laurens County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Laurens County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Laurens County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Laurens 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.