Best PlacesMartinez, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Martinez, 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.
Martinez ranks 1,072nd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Martinez
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.
Martinez's strengths and weaknesses
Where Martinez ranks high
- Cheap childcare$649 a month, better than 93% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 83% of cities
- Short commute20.9 minutes each way, better than 83% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 77% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 76% of cities
Where Martinez ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 9% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 13% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Martinez
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Martinez home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,967, 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 Martinez's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Martinez
Martinez'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 Martinez.
Who works in Martinez, and how
Work in Martinez centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Martinez
Martinez has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of cities and more parkland per resident than 78% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Martinez and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Martinez, month by month
Martinez sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 49° | 39° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 55° |
| July | 95° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Martinez
The nearest airport, Augusta Regional at Bush Field, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 126 miles away.
The best schools in and around Martinez
Schools across Martinez average a B−, better than 52% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Stevens Creek Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Blue Ridge Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- South Columbia Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stallings Island Middle SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
- Lakeside Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Evans Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Lakeside High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Evans High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Westside High SchoolF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Martinez school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Martinez 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 Martinez against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Martinez suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 72% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Martinez
Is Martinez a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Martinez ranks 1,072nd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state finances, and short commutes, and lowest on empty homes and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Martinez expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $270,039. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $86,967 median income, cost of living beats 72% of cities.
Is Martinez safe?
Martinez is safer than 50% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $292 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Martinez?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 39. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 52% of cities.
Is Martinez good for families?
Schools beat 52% of cities, crime safety beats 50%, and childcare runs $649 a month.
Compare Martinez with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Martinez. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Martinez 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.
Martinez detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Martinez: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Martinez: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Martinez: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Martinez: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Martinez 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.