Best PlacesMcDonough, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around McDonough, 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.
McDonough ranks 210th of 445 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on civic engagement and a strong job market. The weaker spots are biking, cell coverage, and walkability.
The best neighborhoods in McDonough
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.
McDonough's strengths and weaknesses
McDonough lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Civic engagement, a strong job market, and quiet carry most of that.
The one real hole is biking, near the bottom of the country. Cell coverage and walkability also cost it ground. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where McDonough ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 93% of cities
- QuietBetter than 90% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 80% of cities
Where McDonough ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of cities
- Short commute34.1 minutes each way, better than only 5% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in McDonough
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McDonough home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $96,114, 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 McDonough's effective rate of 0.90%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McDonough
McDonough runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for McDonough.
Who works in McDonough, and how
Work in McDonough centers on transportation & warehousing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in McDonough
McDonough has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of cities and more parkland per resident than 85% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of McDonough and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in McDonough, month by month
McDonough sees roughly 87 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 McDonough
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 21 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 McDonough
Schools across McDonough average a C−, better than 18% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- East Lake ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Timber Ridge Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Ola Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Union Grove MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Ola Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- General Ray Davis Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Dutchtown HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Ola High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Union Grove HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McDonough school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McDonough 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 McDonough against the other 444 cities.
Who McDonough suits
Families
Schools land around the 18th percentile and crime safety beats 80%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of cities and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in McDonough
Is McDonough a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McDonough ranks 210th of 445 cities. It scores highest on civic engagement, a strong job market, and quiet, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McDonough expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $337,204. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $96,114 median income, cost of living beats 84% of cities.
Is McDonough safe?
Yes, McDonough is safer than 80% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $263 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in McDonough?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 37. That works out to about 87 pleasant days a year, more than 37% of cities.
Is McDonough good for families?
Schools beat 18% of cities, crime safety beats 80%, and childcare runs $919 a month.
Is McDonough good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of cities, though advertised internet speeds beat only 50% of cities. About 16% of workers already work from home.
Compare McDonough with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McDonough. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McDonough 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.
McDonough detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McDonough: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McDonough: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McDonough: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McDonough: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McDonough 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.