What Is It Like to Live in Georgia?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#26

26th out of 50 states overall.

Below average for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#21

21st cheapest state, about 9% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $68,200 here.

How we measure cost ›

Georgia ranks 26th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 21st for affordability. It does best on climate, economy, and cost, and struggles most with education, healthcare, and air quality. A typical household earns about $68,900 a year, and the cost of living runs about 9% below average.

Why Georgia ranks #26 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Georgia scores on each, best to worst.

Climate
#7 of 50
Economy
#8 of 50
Cost of living
#21 of 50
Dog friendly
#25 of 50
Walkability
#27 of 50
Green space
#28 of 50
Safety
#29 of 50
Education
#37 of 50
Healthcare
#41 of 50
Air quality
#44 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Georgia at a glance

Typical household income

$68,900

26th highest

Typical home price

$326,000

27th highest

Overall cost of living

9% below average

21st cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 8%

22nd highest income tax

Typical commute

About 29 min

one way

Taxes in Georgia

See your real Georgia take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Georgia taxes.

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Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.