Most Americans have never been to Georgia. However, as the people who live there know, Georgia is an awesome state.
But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Georgia has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Peach State. Don’t shoot the messenger, this is all using data.
After analyzing more than 219 of Georgia’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Georgia where you’d never want to live:
Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since Georgia has its stuff figured out.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.
And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Georgia or the worst places to live in Georgia.
How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?
In order to rank the worst small towns to live in Georgia, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn’t a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.
So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.
How we crunched the numbers
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data, the Census’s 2010-2014 American Community Survey, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (The lower the worse)
- Highest Unemployment Rates
- Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
- Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
- Education (Number of high school dropouts)
- High Crime
We looked at cities with populations between 100 and 1,000 people, of which, there were a lot – 219 to be exact.
Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.
1. Girard
Population: 156 Median Income: $16,000
Median Home Value: $55,000
2. Hiltonia
Population: 511 Median Income: $24,000
Median Home Value: $52,400
3. Oak Park
Population: 797 Median Income: $29,375
Median Home Value: $54,200
4. Danville
Population: 173 Median Income: $25,938
Median Home Value: $68,300
5. Lincoln Park
Population: 453 Median Income: $15,278
Median Home Value: $40,300
6. Collins
Population: 464 Median Income: $22,768
Median Home Value: $39,800
7. Ambrose
Population: 446 Median Income: $18,864
Median Home Value: $65,000
8. Rebecca
Population: 305 Median Income: $36,447
Median Home Value: $37,200
9. Stillmore
Population: 572 Median Income: $26,094
Median Home Value: $37,300
10. Franklin
Population: 970 Median Income: $17,059
Median Home Value: $141,700
There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Georgia
If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Peach State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Georgia, according to science.
- Best: Dutch Island
- 2nd Best: Vernonburg
- 3rd Best: Moreland
For more reading, check out:
Well how do I start? Oak Park is a small town, but I have lived there most of my life. It is definitely an acquired taste of living. The people that live there enjoy simple country living and it is a nice place to live. Most go hunting, fishing, ride ATV’s, farming, etc. it’s a nice small quiet town to live in. Very peaceful and friendly and they have plenty of churches to choose from. Everyone knows everyone and willing to help one another. As for the comment about the bar, yes there is in fact a bar in town along with a subway and a few gas stations. The town is stretched out so most businesses are near the interstate. Someone that is not from there would be ignorant to that. So this town is technically idle for potential businesses because land is cheap and the cost to build and establish a business would be less costly. The potential for income would be there with the location beside the interstate and business from people in the surrounding small towns. See what this article fails to include is the fact that this town and others are surrounded by many small towns so none of them are really developed though there is plenty of room for development and growth. This town has a tremendous amount of potential. I can assure you that your statistics regarding crime is completely inaccurate or out dated. There is little to no crime unless you consider a speeding ticket a crime. I would know being the former police commissioner and former city councilwoman. It’s kind of like being on the Andy Griffith show. It’s like Mayberry. So to me this would be an ideal place to raise a family.
Amanda B. Knott, thank you so much for our words regarding Oak Park. I live in Deerfield Beach FL and we are doing some personal research on small towns around Georgia, since it is not too north and not too south either. My husband can`t stand the snow. Some how I found Oak Park among others. I was very disappointed to read the article that places it among the worst towns to live. Like you said, ” Mayberry like town” is what we long for. Tks so much for being fair to the place you love and keep up telling the truth. God bless you. If we decide to move to your town, we will love to meet you there.