Best PlacesPowledge, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Powledge, 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.
Powledge ranks 30,001st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on a strong job market, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Powledge
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.
Powledge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Powledge ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 90% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 79% of towns
- Cheap childcare$635 a month, better than 75% of towns
Where Powledge ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Short commute33.0 minutes each way, better than only 20% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Powledge
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Powledge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,610, 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 Powledge's effective rate of 0.39%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Powledge
Powledge runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Powledge.
Who works in Powledge, and how
Work in Powledge centers on health care & social and wholesale trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Powledge
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Powledge.
What the weather is like in Powledge, month by month
Powledge sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 48° | 37° |
| April | 80° | 66° | 52° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Powledge
The nearest airport, Columbus, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around Powledge
Schools across Powledge average a C, better than 32% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- West Smiths Station Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Wacoochee Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Smiths Station Junior High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Smiths Station High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Powledge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Powledge 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 Powledge against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Powledge
Is Powledge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Powledge ranks 30,001st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, low property taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on taxes and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Powledge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $257,065. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $67,610 median income, cost of living beats 44% of towns.
Is Powledge safe?
Powledge is safer than 48% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $299 per resident a year.
Compare Powledge with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Powledge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Powledge 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.
Powledge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Powledge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Powledge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Powledge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Powledge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Powledge 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.