Best PlacesSunset Heights, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Sunset Heights, 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.
Sunset Heights ranks 30,550th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Sunset Heights
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.
Sunset Heights' strengths and weaknesses
Where Sunset Heights ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 93% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 78% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 77% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of towns
Where Sunset Heights ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
- School gradeC−, better than only 18% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of towns
- Household income$57,472 median, better than only 23% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Sunset Heights
A household needs to earn about $194,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sunset Heights home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $57,472, 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 Sunset Heights' effective rate of 0.66%, 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 Sunset Heights
Sunset Heights runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Sunset Heights.
Who works in Sunset Heights, and how
Work in Sunset Heights centers on other services and admin & support services. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Sunset Heights
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Sunset Heights.
What the weather is like in Sunset Heights, month by month
Sunset Heights sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, 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 | 54° | 43° | 33° |
| April | 75° | 62° | 50° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Sunset Heights
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 62 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 Sunset Heights
Schools across Sunset Heights average a C−, better than 18% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mount Vernon Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Riverbend Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Hall Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Lanier College And Career AcademyD− · 12% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sunset Heights school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sunset Heights 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 Sunset Heights against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Sunset Heights
Is Sunset Heights a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sunset Heights ranks 30,550th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, fast internet, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sunset Heights expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $755,600. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $57,472 median income, cost of living beats 23% of towns.
Is Sunset Heights safe?
Sunset Heights is safer than 50% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $265 per resident a year.
Compare Sunset Heights with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sunset Heights. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sunset Heights 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.
Sunset Heights detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sunset Heights: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sunset Heights: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sunset Heights: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sunset Heights: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sunset Heights 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.