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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Look, Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is. We ranked 5 cities in Georgia for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Macon leads: rent $1,207/mo — we had to double-check this one — , index 70, population 156,512.
Look, Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is. We ranked 5 cities in Georgia for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Macon leads: rent $1,207/mo — we had to double-check this one — , index 70, population 156,512.
Macon earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. About what you'd guess. The 70 cost index sits 41 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 70, while Healthcare trails at 94 (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Single-income living means absorbing 100% of housing costs. And broadly, our model weights rent under $1,300 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — (20pts), cost of living (15pts), and city population (10pts) — because a social scene matters when you're on your own. Macon at $1,207/mo in a city of 156,512 hits the right balance. Augusta offers a larger city as a runner-up.
Macon is a clear outlier at index 70 — we had to double-check this one — . #1-ranked Macon has a cost index 22 points lower than the top-5 average of 92. That's not a marginal lead — it's a category of its own (that's pre-tax, of course). Not flashy. Just effective.
What you won't find on most comparison sites: The 6 cities we track in Georgia paint a clearly affordable picture. Average cost index: 93. Median rent: $1,312/month. Household income: $62,676. Georgia is known for Atlanta's metro pull alongside rural affordability — and the data backs that reputation convincingly (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
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.
#1 Ranked: Macon — cost index 70, rent $1,207/mo, income $50,747
Macon is a clear outlier at index 70
Singles scoring: rent $1,207/mo (solo housing), cost index 70, population 156,512 — livability on one income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
156,512 residents · Georgia
Here's Macon by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 70. Rent: $1,207/month — for better or worse — . Income: $50,747/year. Home price: $167,317. Population: 156,512. The strongest category is Housing at 70; the most expensive is Healthcare at 94. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $8,256 per year vs. the national median. That's the kind of stat homebuyers should print out for their mortgage meetings (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
200,884 residents · Georgia
Augusta earns its position at #2 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 77 cost index sits 34 points below the national baseline, and the $53,134 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $173,222 — $294,148 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 77, while Healthcare trails at 95.
510,823 residents · Georgia
Here's Atlanta by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 110. Rent: $1,888/month — for better or worse — . Income: $81,938/year. Home price: $381,549. Population: 510,823. The strongest category is Healthcare at 102; the most expensive is Housing at 110. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $84 per year vs. the national median. In the context of rising national rents, this stability is worth noting.
147,748 residents · Georgia
Savannah is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,736/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 101. Income sits at $56,782. About what you'd guess.
128,628 residents · Georgia
The #5 spot goes to Athens, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,720/month — we had to double-check this one — — saving renters $2,100 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Healthcare is the standout at index 100, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Healthcare at 100. The 40% rent-to-income ratio is a pressure point — for median earners, housing takes more than recommended.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to singles. 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.
Macon ranks #1 in Georgia for this analysis with a cost index of 70 and median income of $50,747.
Macon scores highest for singles due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,207/mo, and competitive median income of $50,747.
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 70 and rent of $1,207/mo, while Athens (ranked #5) has a cost index of 100 and rent of $1,720/mo — a 30-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.