Buford, Georgia
Area Profile
17,997 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Buford, in Gwinnett County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 14 sourcesBuford ranks in the top 14% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.0% and median household income of $69,471. The unemployment rate is published for Gwinnett County, GA, which contains Buford, rather than for Buford alone.
Public schools test above most of the state: 69% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 5% of published profiles for schools.
Residential permitting has slowed: 52 units authorized over the past twelve months, 22% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Gwinnett County, GA, which contains Buford, is 3.0%, lower than in 93% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across Gwinnett County, GA, which contains Buford, grew 0.8% over the past year, to 510,868 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsGwinnett County, GA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $63,186 | 33rd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftGwinnett County, GA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $67,468 | 39th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$6,6902024 ACS 5-Year | $69,471 | Top 46%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$5,3392024 ACS 5-Year | $33,216 | Bottom 48%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.0% | Bottom 42%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±2.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 30.6 min | Bottom 31%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.3% | Top 32%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 71.8% | 33rd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentGwinnett County, GA’s figureJuly 2026 | 510,868 | Top 15%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Gwinnett County, GA’s figureJuly 2026 | +1.6% | Top 24%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Gwinnett County, GA’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.8% | Top 20%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceGwinnett County, GA’s figureJuly 2026 | 526,877 | 85th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 80.1% | Top 43%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $71,900 | Top 38%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $51,170 | Bottom 49%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.1% | 85th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Gwinnett County, GA’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.3% | Top 38%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateGwinnett County, GA’s figureJuly 2026 | 3.0% | Top 7%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.9% | 73rd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 84,970 | $32,850 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 80,730 | $27,780 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 78,460 | $39,020 |
| General and Operations Managers | 69,320 | $111,410 |
| Customer Service Representatives | 59,990 | $42,710 |
| Registered Nurses | 56,460 | $100,490 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Gwinnett County, GA, which contains this city.
69% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 65% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 15.3 students for every full-time teacher across 18 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Gwinnett Middle School | Gwinnett County | 2,360 | 17.0 | 81% | 79% |
| Seckinger High School | Gwinnett County | 2,318 | 18.4 | — | — |
| Buford High School | Buford City | 1,966 | 17.2 | 80% | 66% |
| Lanier High School | Gwinnett County | 1,871 | 16.7 | 50% | 55% |
| Jones Middle School | Gwinnett County | 1,758 | 15.3 | 68% | 71% |
| Twin Rivers Middle School | Gwinnett County | 1,669 | 14.9 | 73% | 66% |
| Ivy Creek Elementary School | Gwinnett County | 1,507 | 15.2 | 73% | 67% |
| Buford Middle School | Buford City | 1,426 | 16.4 | 76% | 69% |
| Lanier Middle School | Gwinnett County | 1,369 | 14.3 | 67% | 61% |
| Buford Senior Academy | Buford City | 1,368 | 16.3 | — | — |
| Sugar Hill Elementary School | Gwinnett County | 1,156 | 13.3 | 66% | 63% |
| Patrick Elementary School | Gwinnett County | 999 | 14.3 | 70% | 61% |
42.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Georgia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run at about the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 100.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,457 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.67% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,943, some 43% above the $1,357 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,943 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $77,700 a year, about 112% of the median household income here of $69,471.
The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,357 a month.
A median home at $368,700 costs 4.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $80,323, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run at about the national average. Where places do differ, housing drives most of it — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Buford’s median household income of $69,471, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area’s figure2023 | 100.5 | Top 44%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price to income ±0.72024 ACS 5-Year | 4.6 | Bottom 11%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 68.2% | 34th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±6452024 ACS 5-Year | 5,939 | 90th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,776 | Bottom 30%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,339 | Bottom 41%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,943 | Bottom 34%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$1492024 ACS 5-Year | $1,357 | Bottom 25%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$42,5212024 ACS 5-Year | $368,700 | 80th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$4222024 ACS 5-Year | $2,457 | 65th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$7,6932024 ACS 5-Year | $80,323 | Top 48%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.67% | 26th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 32.8% | Bottom 28%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±232024 ACS 5-Year | 0 | 1st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 9.8% | 63rd percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2582024 ACS 5-Year | 583 | 91st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has grown 9% since 2020, reaching 18,642 in 2024.
Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 61 units authorized in 2025, up 17% on the prior year.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 52 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
Federal tax returns show Gwinnett County, which contains Buford, lost about 0.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $63,186, below the $67,468 of households that moved out.
At 2.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- DeKalb County, GA 9,843 people · 19% of arrivals
- Fulton County, GA 5,960 people · 11% of arrivals
- Cobb County, GA 2,025 people · 3.8% of arrivals
- Hall County, GA 1,651 people · 3.1% of arrivals
- Forsyth County, GA 1,514 people · 2.9% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- DeKalb County, GA 7,162 people · 12% of departures
- Fulton County, GA 5,477 people · 9.5% of departures
- Hall County, GA 3,416 people · 5.9% of departures
- Barrow County, GA 3,413 people · 5.9% of departures
- Walton County, GA 2,935 people · 5.1% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Gwinnett County, GA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 34°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 52.4 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 53, in the Moderate band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 70 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 52.4" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 34°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 88°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 7 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 1 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 53 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 36°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 65% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, ice storm, cold wave, strong wind, heat wave, hurricane, winter weather, drought, wildfire, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Gwinnett County records 5.1 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 11.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 10.3 per 100,000 residents in Gwinnett County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Buford (Gwinnett County) rather than Buford itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta Intl at 42 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 92.6% | Top 36%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 42 mi | Bottom 18%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 1 | Bottom 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.6% | Top 40%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta Intl | ATL | 42 mi | 12,390 ft |
| Donaldson Fld | GYH | 102 mi | 8,000 ft |
| Mc Ghee Tyson | TYS | 117 mi | 10,000 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
Customize your score
What matters to you?
Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.
Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.
Other cities in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | Fulton County | 505,268 | 70 | Atlanta vs Buford |
| South Fulton | Fulton County | 110,471 | 64 | South Fulton vs Buford |
| Sandy Springs | Fulton County | 107,087 | 77 | Sandy Springs vs Buford |
| Roswell | Fulton County | 92,621 | 77 | |
| Johns Creek | Fulton County | 81,988 | 72 | |
| Mableton | Cobb County | 77,678 | 64 | |
| Alpharetta | Fulton County | 66,855 | 82 | |
| Marietta | Cobb County | 62,263 | 73 | |
| Stonecrest | DeKalb County | 60,501 | 58 | |
| Brookhaven | DeKalb County | 57,855 | 74 | |
| Smyrna | Cobb County | 56,633 | 73 | |
| Dunwoody | DeKalb County | 51,758 | 72 |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Buford side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Buford from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.