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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Atlanta breaks the usual trade-off between income and cost of living. Most affordable cities pay less — but Atlanta delivers a median household income of $81,938 (2% above the national median) while keeping costs 1 points below national average. That's a rare combination shared by only 40 of the 288…
#1 Ranked: Atlanta — cost index 110, rent $1,888/mo, income $81,938
Atlanta: high income, low cost — a rare combo
5 of 5 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Atlanta breaks the usual trade-off between income and cost of living. Most affordable cities pay less — but Atlanta delivers a median household income of $81,938 (2% above the national median) while keeping costs 1 points below national average. That's a rare combination shared by only 40 of the 288 cities we track.
Atlanta: high income, low cost — a rare combo. Atlanta earns above the national median ($81,938 — a detail that tends to get overlooked — vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 110 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it.
Dive into Atlanta's numbers: cost index 110 (1 points below national average), rent $1,888/month, income $81,938, and a home price of $381,549. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 102, while Housing runs 110. As a major city with 510,823 residents, amenities and job markets are robust.
Tax burden isn't just income tax. We combine three layers: state income tax (5.49% in Atlanta), combined state+local sales tax (7.38%), and effective property tax (0.83%). At 5.49% state income tax, the real differentiator becomes sales and property tax rates. On a $75,000 salary, the estimated take-home in #1 Atlanta is $53,592/year.
No sugarcoating: Stepping back, State context matters: Georgia's 6 cities average a 93 cost index with $1,312/month median rent and $62,676 household income. Atlanta's metro pull alongside rural affordability. Look at what happens when you add healthcare costs.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. And most of the time, 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.
510,823 residents · Georgia
Here's Atlanta by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). And in most cases, cost index: 110. Rent: $1,888/month. 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. That's a spread that makes moving costs look trivial (that's pre-tax, of course).
200,884 residents · Georgia
The #2 spot goes to Augusta, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,321/month — saving renters $6,888 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 77, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 95. The 30% rent-to-income ratio is a pressure point — for median earners, housing takes more than recommended.
156,512 residents · Georgia
Why Macon ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 70 on the cost index, residents save roughly 41% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,207/month while the median household pulls in $50,747/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 70, though Healthcare (94) lags behind. Home prices average $167,317 — $300,053 below the national median.
147,748 residents · Georgia
What does daily life actually cost in Savannah? Start with the 37% rent-to-income ratio — stretched, especially for single earners. And broadly, on the category level, Healthcare (index 100) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 101) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $56,782 and homes at $322,470 round out a profile that ranks #4 for clear reasons (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
128,628 residents · Georgia
Athens comes in at #5. Rent is $1,720 a month. Household income is $51,655. The cost of living index is 100. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is.
| City | State Tax | Sales Tax | Property Tax | Est. Take-Home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1Atlanta | 5.49% | 7.38% | 0.83% | $58,092 |
2Augusta | 5.49% | 7.38% | 0.83% | $58,092 |
3Macon | 5.49% | 7.38% | 0.83% | $58,092 |
4Savannah | 5.49% | 7.38% | 0.83% | $58,092 |
5Athens | 5.49% | 7.38% | 0.83% | $58,092 |
Atlanta ranks #1 in Georgia for this analysis with a cost index of 110 and median income of $81,938.
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.
Atlanta (ranked #1) has a cost index of 110 and rent of $1,888/mo, while Athens (ranked #5) has a cost index of 100 and rent of $1,720/mo — a 10-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 Atlanta is $1,888/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $7 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Atlanta is $381,549, which is 4.7× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. 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.