Best PlacesStephens County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Stephens County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Stephens County ranks 2,196th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Stephens 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.
Stephens County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Stephens County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of counties
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 76% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 74% of counties
- TransitBetter than 72% of counties
Where Stephens County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 18% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 22% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 22% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 23% of counties
- Household income$58,597 median, better than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Stephens County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Stephens County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,597, 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 Stephens County's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 Stephens County
Stephens County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Stephens County.
Who works in Stephens County, and how
Work in Stephens County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Stephens County
Stephens County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Stephens County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Stephens County growing, and who is moving in?
Stephens County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Atlanta, GA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Stephens County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Stephens County, month by month
Stephens County sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 51° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Stephens County
The nearest airport, Greenville Spartanburg International, is about 65 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around Stephens County
Schools across Stephens County average a C, better than 38% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Toccoa Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stephens County Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Stephens County Fifth Grade AcademyC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Stephens County High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Stephens County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Stephens 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 Stephens County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Stephens County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Stephens County
Is Stephens County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Stephens County ranks 2,196th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, affordable childcare, and a strong job market, and lowest on education levels and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Stephens County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $198,153. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $58,597 median income, cost of living beats 22% of counties.
Is Stephens County safe?
Stephens County is safer than 48% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $319 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Stephens County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 35. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 49% of counties.
Is Stephens County good for families?
Schools beat 38% of counties, crime safety beats 48%, and childcare runs $502 a month.
Compare Stephens County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Stephens County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Stephens 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.
Stephens County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Stephens County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Stephens County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Stephens County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Stephens County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Stephens 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.