Best PlacesSmithonia, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Smithonia, 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.
Smithonia ranks 24,958th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Smithonia
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.
Smithonia's strengths and weaknesses
Where Smithonia ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of towns
- Cheap childcare$511 a month, better than 91% of towns
- QuietBetter than 81% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 75% of towns
Where Smithonia ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 18% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 20% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 21% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 25% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Smithonia
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Smithonia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $63,610; 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 Smithonia's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Smithonia
Smithonia'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 Smithonia.
Who works in Smithonia, and how
Work in Smithonia centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Smithonia
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Smithonia.
What the weather is like in Smithonia, month by month
Smithonia sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 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° | 45° | 33° |
| April | 78° | 63° | 49° |
| July | 94° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 80° | 64° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Smithonia
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 76 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 Smithonia
Schools across Smithonia average a C+, better than 41% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Colbert Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oglethorpe County Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Madison County Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Madison County High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Oglethorpe County High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Smithonia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Smithonia 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 Smithonia against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Smithonia
Is Smithonia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Smithonia ranks 24,958th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, affordable childcare, and quiet, and lowest on cell coverage and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Smithonia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $270,348. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $63,610 median income, cost of living beats 32% of towns.
Is Smithonia safe?
Yes, Smithonia is safer than 62% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $241 per resident a year.
Compare Smithonia with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Smithonia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Smithonia 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.
Smithonia detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Smithonia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Smithonia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Smithonia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Smithonia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Smithonia 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.