Best PlacesNorth Atlanta, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Atlanta, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Atlanta ranks 636th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Atlanta
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.
North Atlanta's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Atlanta ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of cities
- Household income$143,602 median, better than 89% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of cities
Where North Atlanta ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 11% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 11% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of cities
- School gradeC−, better than only 17% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in North Atlanta
A household needs to earn about $203,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Atlanta home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $143,602, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 North Atlanta'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 and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North Atlanta
North Atlanta runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Atlanta.
Who works in North Atlanta, and how
Work in North Atlanta centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in North Atlanta
North Atlanta has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of cities and more parkland per resident than 79% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North Atlanta and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Atlanta, month by month
North Atlanta sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 32° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of North Atlanta
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 16 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 North Atlanta
Schools across North Atlanta average a C−, better than 17% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Museum School Avondale EstatesB · 46% proficient
- Ashford Park Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Woodward Elementary SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top middle schools
- Willis A. Sutton Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- The Champion Middle Theme SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Dekalb Path Academy Charter SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- North Atlanta High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Cross Keys High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Elizabeth Andrews High SchoolF · 7% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Atlanta school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Atlanta 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 North Atlanta against the other 2,097 cities.
Who North Atlanta suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 29% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in North Atlanta
Is North Atlanta a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Atlanta ranks 636th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on population health, what local pay buys, and high incomes, and lowest on crime and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Atlanta expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $763,033. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $143,602 median income, cost of living beats 96% of cities.
Is North Atlanta safe?
North Atlanta is safer than 2% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $594 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in North Atlanta?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 32. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 17% of cities.
Is North Atlanta good for families?
Schools beat 17% of cities, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $919 a month.
Compare North Atlanta with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Atlanta. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Atlanta 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.
North Atlanta detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Atlanta: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Atlanta: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Atlanta: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Atlanta: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Atlanta 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.