Best PlacesUpson County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Upson 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.
Upson County ranks 2,427th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. An overheated housing market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on affordable childcare.
The best neighborhoods in Upson 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.
Upson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Upson County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 90% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of counties
- QuietBetter than 76% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 71% of counties
Where Upson County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 17% of counties
- Household income$55,641 median, better than only 17% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 18% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Upson County
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Upson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,641, 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 Upson County's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 Upson County
Upson County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Upson County.
Who works in Upson County, and how
Work in Upson County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Upson County
Upson County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Upson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Upson County growing, and who is moving in?
Upson 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 Upson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Upson County, month by month
Upson County sees roughly 95 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 46° | 38° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 78° | 66° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Upson County
The nearest airport, Middle Georgia Regional, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around Upson County
Schools across Upson County average a D+, better than 18% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Upson-lee Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Upson-lee Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Upson-lee High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Upson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Upson 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 Upson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Upson County suits
Common questions about living in Upson County
Is Upson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Upson County ranks 2,427th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low disaster risk, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Upson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $178,213. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $55,641 median income, cost of living beats 19% of counties.
Is Upson County safe?
Upson County is safer than 31% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $391 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Upson County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 57 with lows near 38. That works out to about 95 pleasant days a year, more than 57% of counties.
Is Upson County good for families?
Schools beat 18% of counties, crime safety beats 31%, and childcare runs $502 a month.
Compare Upson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Upson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Upson 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.
Upson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Upson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Upson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Upson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Upson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Upson 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.