Best PlacesMorgan County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Morgan County, 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.
Morgan County ranks 986th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Morgan 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.
Morgan County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Morgan County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 79% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 77% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 76% of counties
Where Morgan County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 10% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 12% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of counties
- Short commute28.5 minutes each way, better than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Morgan County
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Morgan County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $79,545; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Morgan County's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Morgan County
Morgan County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Morgan County.
Who works in Morgan County, and how
Work in Morgan County centers on education and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Morgan County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Morgan County.
Is Morgan County growing, and who is moving in?
Morgan County has grown about 23% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Atlanta, GA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Morgan County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Morgan County, month by month
Morgan County sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 44° | 36° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Morgan County
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 54 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 Morgan County
Schools across Morgan County average a B−, better than 65% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- High Shoals Elementary SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Morgan County Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oconee County Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Morgan County Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- North Oconee High SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Oconee County High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Morgan County High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Morgan County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Morgan 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 Morgan County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Morgan County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 71% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 67% of counties and health care access beats 76%.
Common questions about living in Morgan County
Is Morgan County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Morgan County ranks 986th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, tree cover, and big-city access, and lowest on walkability and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Morgan County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $338,434. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $79,545 median income, cost of living beats 71% of counties.
Is Morgan County safe?
Yes, Morgan County is safer than 71% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $277 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Morgan County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 36. That works out to about 109 pleasant days a year, more than 67% of counties.
Is Morgan County good for families?
Schools beat 65% of counties, crime safety beats 71%, and childcare runs $649 a month.
Compare Morgan County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Morgan County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Morgan 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.
Morgan County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Morgan County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Morgan County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Morgan County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Morgan County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Morgan 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.