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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Families relocating within Georgia face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. That's about what we'd expect given the state context. We ran the numbers on 5 cities. Augusta — index 89, rent $1,321/mo, healthcare index 92 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model.
#1 Ranked: Augusta — cost index 89, rent $1,321/mo, income $53,134
Family-weighted scoring: income $53,134, healthcare index 92, population 200,884 — balancing career, care, and schools
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Families relocating within Georgia face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. That's about what we'd expect given the state context. We ran the numbers on 5 cities. Augusta — index 89, rent $1,321/mo, healthcare index 92 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model.
At $1,321/month for rent and a cost index of 89, Augusta is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $53,134. That's a reasonable number.
Our family scoring model prioritizes four dimensions: household income above $60K (supporting a family-sized budget), cost index under 100 (keeping daily expenses manageable), healthcare index under 110 (critical for pediatric care and family premiums), and population above 200K (ensuring access to quality schools and youth programs). Augusta leads because it scores across all four. Atlanta and Macon follow with different strengths in income and population.
One more layer before the full breakdown: 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. This combination is rare — and valuable.
Bottom line: Augusta leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
200,884 residents · Georgia
Augusta is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,321/month — we had to double-check this one — , which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 89. Income sits at $53,134. That tracks.
510,823 residents · Georgia
Straight up: 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.
156,512 residents · Georgia
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. 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. This alone could tip the scales (we double-checked this one).
147,748 residents · Georgia
Dive into Savannah's numbers: cost index 102 (10 points below national average), rent $1,736/month, income $56,782, and a home price of $322,470. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 94, while Healthcare runs 106. With 147,748 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
128,628 residents · Georgia
A closer look at Athens: the cost index of 103 — for better or worse — breaks down to a Utilities index of 94 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 107 (weakest). Median rent is $1,720/month — 9% below the national median — while household income sits at $51,655, meaning locals spend about 40% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to families. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Georgia by this personalized metric. 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.
Augusta ranks #1 in Georgia for this analysis with a cost index of 89 and median income of $53,134.
Augusta scores highest for families due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,321/mo, and competitive median income of $53,134.
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.
Augusta (ranked #1) has a cost index of 89 and rent of $1,321/mo, while Athens (ranked #5) has a cost index of 103 and rent of $1,720/mo — a 14-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 Augusta is $1,321/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $574 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Augusta is $173,222, 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 5.39% 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.