Best PlacesMeldrim, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Meldrim, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Meldrim ranks 31,258th of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 Meldrim
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.
Meldrim's strengths and weaknesses
Where Meldrim ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of towns
- Cheap childcare$626 a month, better than 76% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 75% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 74% of towns
Where Meldrim ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 13% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 13% of towns
- Short commute33.6 minutes each way, better than only 18% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 24% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Meldrim
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Meldrim home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,555, 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 Meldrim's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 Meldrim
Meldrim 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 Meldrim.
Who works in Meldrim, and how
Work in Meldrim centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Meldrim
The coast is about 42 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Meldrim, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Meldrim, month by month
Meldrim sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 66, 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 | 66° | 51° | 39° |
| April | 81° | 67° | 54° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 83° | 70° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Meldrim
The nearest airport, Savannah/Hilton Head International, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around Meldrim
Schools across Meldrim average a B−, better than 62% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Marlow Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Bryan County Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Sand Hill Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Effingham Middle SchoolA− · 52% proficient
- Bryan County Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- South Effingham High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Bryan County High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- New Hampstead High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Meldrim school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Meldrim 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 Meldrim against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Meldrim
Is Meldrim a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Meldrim ranks 31,258th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on fast internet, state finances, and affordable childcare, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Meldrim expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $249,564. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $72,555 median income, cost of living beats 56% of towns.
Is Meldrim safe?
Yes, Meldrim is safer than 62% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $243 per resident a year.
Compare Meldrim with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Meldrim. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Meldrim 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.
Meldrim detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Meldrim: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Meldrim: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Meldrim: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Meldrim: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Meldrim 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.