Best PlacesMcIntosh County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McIntosh 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.
McIntosh County ranks 3,053rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in McIntosh 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.
McIntosh County's strengths and weaknesses
Where McIntosh County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of counties
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of counties
- QuietBetter than 73% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 69% of counties
Where McIntosh County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Short commute37.5 minutes each way, better than only 2% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McIntosh County
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McIntosh County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,168, 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 McIntosh County's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 McIntosh County
McIntosh County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for McIntosh County.
Who works in McIntosh County, and how
Work in McIntosh County centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in McIntosh County
McIntosh County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of counties. The coast is about 41 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of McIntosh County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is McIntosh County growing, and who is moving in?
McIntosh County has lost about 16% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Brunswick, GA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McIntosh County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McIntosh County, month by month
McIntosh County sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 79° | 67° | 56° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 81° | 70° | 61° |
Flying in and out of McIntosh County
The nearest airport, Brunswick Golden Isles, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 70 miles away.
The best schools in and around McIntosh County
Schools across McIntosh County average a C−, better than 18% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Todd Grant Elementary SchoolD+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mcintosh County Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Mcintosh AcademyC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McIntosh County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McIntosh 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 McIntosh County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in McIntosh County
Is McIntosh County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McIntosh County ranks 3,053rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, affordable childcare, and tree cover, and lowest on disaster risk and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McIntosh County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $208,796. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $62,168 median income, cost of living beats 25% of counties.
Is McIntosh County safe?
McIntosh County is safer than 36% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $338 per resident a year.
Compare McIntosh County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McIntosh County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McIntosh 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.
McIntosh County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McIntosh County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McIntosh County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McIntosh County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McIntosh County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McIntosh 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.