Best PlacesWinder, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Winder, 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.
Winder ranks 1,431st of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Winder
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.
Winder's strengths and weaknesses
Where Winder ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of cities
- Cheap childcare$649 a month, better than 93% of cities
- QuietBetter than 88% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 83% of cities
Where Winder ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 2% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 2% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 7% of cities
- Short commute32.8 minutes each way, better than only 12% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Winder
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Winder home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,943, 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 Winder's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Winder
Winder runs younger than the country, 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 Winder.
Who works in Winder, and how
Work in Winder centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Winder
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Winder.
What the weather is like in Winder, month by month
Winder sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 44° | 36° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 51° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Winder
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International sits about 48 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 Winder
Schools across Winder average a C, better than 27% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Rocky Branch Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Bramlett Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- West Jackson Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Malcom Bridge Middle SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- West Jackson Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- East Jackson Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- North Oconee High SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Barrow Arts And Sciences AcademyC+ · 35% proficient
- East Jackson Comprehensive High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Winder school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Winder 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 Winder against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Winder suits
Families
Schools land around the 27th percentile and crime safety beats 59%.
Common questions about living in Winder
Is Winder a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Winder ranks 1,431st of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a strong job market, affordable childcare, and quiet, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Winder expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $284,989. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $81,943 median income, cost of living beats 49% of cities.
Is Winder safe?
Yes, Winder is safer than 59% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Winder?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 36. That works out to about 91 pleasant days a year, more than 54% of cities.
Is Winder good for families?
Schools beat 27% of cities, crime safety beats 59%, and childcare runs $649 a month.
Compare Winder with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Winder. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Winder 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.
Winder detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Winder: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Winder: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Winder: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Winder: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Winder 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.