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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The numbers are clear: 5 of 5 cities in Georgia beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 112. Macon stands out at 87 on the index, with rent of $1,207/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — and household income of $50,747. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
#1 Ranked: Macon — cost index 87, rent $1,207/mo, income $50,747
5 of 5 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
The numbers are clear: 5 of 5 cities in Georgia beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 112. Macon stands out at 87 on the index, with rent of $1,207/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — and household income of $50,747. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
Here's Macon by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 87. Rent: $1,207/month — we had to double-check this one — . Income: $50,747/year. Home price: $167,317. Population: 156,512. The strongest category is Housing at 67; the most expensive is Healthcare at 90. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $8,256 per year vs. the national median. In the context of rising national rents, this stability is worth noting. That's not nothing.
The utilities sub-index is derived from overall cost of living with regional BLS price adjustments. A score of 90 (the top-10 average here) means utilities costs are about 10% below the national median. Macon leads at 80, followed by Augusta (82) and Savannah (94). Note: a low utilities index doesn't guarantee a low overall cost — check the full cost breakdown table below.
Now, stack that against what people actually earn here: Across Georgia, the average cost of living index is 98 — 14 points below the national median. Known for Atlanta's metro pull alongside rural affordability, the state offers 6 tracked cities with median rents averaging $1,312/month. That's $583 less than the national average of $1,895. In a market where everything is going up, this stands still — in a good way.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
156,512 residents · Georgia
Macon earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 87 cost index sits 25 points below the national baseline, and the $50,747 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $167,317 — $300,053 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 67, while Healthcare trails at 90.
200,884 residents · Georgia
A closer look at Augusta: the cost index of 89 breaks down to a Housing index of 73 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 92 (weakest). Median rent is $1,321/month — 30% below the national median — while household income sits at $53,134, meaning locals spend about 30% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
147,748 residents · Georgia
Why Savannah ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 102 on the cost index, residents save roughly 10% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,736/month while the median household pulls in $56,782/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 94, though Healthcare (106) lags behind. Home prices average $322,470 — $144,900 below the national median (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
128,628 residents · Georgia
Athens earns its position at #4 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 103 cost index sits 9 points below the national baseline, and the $51,655 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $332,919 — $134,451 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Utilities leads the way at 94, while Housing trails at 107.
510,823 residents · Georgia
Real talk: a closer look at Atlanta: the cost index of 108 breaks down to a Utilities index of 99 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 119 (weakest). Median rent is $1,888/month — 0% above the national median — while household income sits at $81,938, meaning locals spend about 28% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
Cities are ranked by their utilities cost sub-index within Georgia. Each sub-index is derived from the overall cost of living with regional adjustment factors. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Macon ranks #1 in Georgia for this analysis with a cost index of 87 and median income of $50,747.
Macon, GA has the lowest utilities index at 80, compared to the national average of 100.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Macon (ranked #1) has a cost index of 87 and rent of $1,207/mo, while Atlanta (ranked #5) has a cost index of 108 and rent of $1,888/mo — a 21-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Macon is $1,207/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $688 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Macon is $167,317, which is 3.3× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Georgia has a 5.49% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.38%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.83%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.