Best PlacesWalton County, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Walton County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Walton County ranks 1,018th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Walton 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.
The best areas in Walton County
The parts of Walton County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Loganville
Schools score higher, local pay stretches further, and advertised internet is faster.
Social Circle
It is quieter, though fewer households have young kids.
Walnut Grove & Oxford
Prices have run up less.
Monroe
Crime runs higher and incomes run lower.
Scores across Walton County run from about the 3rd to the 84th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Walton County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Walton County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 97% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 85% of counties
- Household income$86,600 median, better than 84% of counties
Where Walton County ranks low
- Short commute34.4 minutes each way, better than only 4% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 19% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Walton County
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Walton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,600, 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 Walton County's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 Walton County
Walton County'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 Walton County.
Who works in Walton County, and how
Work in Walton County centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Walton County
Walton 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 Walton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Walton County growing, and who is moving in?
Walton County has grown about 25% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Atlanta, GA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Walton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Walton County, month by month
Walton County sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 43° | 34° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 75° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Walton County
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 38 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 Walton County
Schools across Walton County average a C+, better than 52% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Youth Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Loganville Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Sharon Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Loganville Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Youth Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Social Circle Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Loganville High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Walnut Grove High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Monroe Area High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Walton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Walton 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 Walton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Walton County suits
Families
Schools land around the 52nd percentile and crime safety beats 63%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Walton County
Is Walton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Walton County ranks 1,018th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, few empty homes, and big-city access, and lowest on long commutes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Walton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $327,582. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $86,600 median income, cost of living beats 85% of counties.
Is Walton County safe?
Yes, Walton County is safer than 63% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $286 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Walton County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 34. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 38% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Walton County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Loganville, Social Circle, and Walnut Grove & Oxford. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Walton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Walton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Walton 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.
Walton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Walton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Walton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Walton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Walton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Walton 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.