Best PlacesPalmetto, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Palmetto, 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.
Palmetto ranks 16,589th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Palmetto
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.
Palmetto's strengths and weaknesses
Where Palmetto ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of towns
- TransitBetter than 93% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 89% of towns
- Household income$106,537 median, better than 88% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of towns
Where Palmetto ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 18% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 20% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 23% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Palmetto
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Palmetto home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $106,537, 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 Palmetto'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 Palmetto
Palmetto's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Palmetto.
Who works in Palmetto, and how
Work in Palmetto centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Palmetto
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Palmetto.
What the weather is like in Palmetto, month by month
Palmetto sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 44° | 33° |
| April | 78° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 79° | 64° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Palmetto
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 Palmetto
Schools across Palmetto average a C−, better than 28% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Brooks ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Canongate Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Arbor Springs ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Madras Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Fairplay Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Rise Prep SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Northgate High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Alexander High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Upson-lee High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Palmetto school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Palmetto 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 Palmetto against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Palmetto
Is Palmetto a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Palmetto ranks 16,589th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, transit, and fast internet, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Palmetto expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $326,328. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $106,537 median income, cost of living beats 77% of towns.
Is Palmetto safe?
Palmetto is safer than 33% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $348 per resident a year.
Compare Palmetto with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Palmetto. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Palmetto 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.
Palmetto detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Palmetto: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Palmetto: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Palmetto: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Palmetto: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Palmetto 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.