Chatham County, GA

County Profile

300,879 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Chatham County, GA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 37% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 3% of 1,463 counties measured84
Schools1,028th of 1,377 counties measured31
GrowthTop 6% of 1,453 counties measured77
Housing affordability1,132nd of 1,462 counties measured65
ClimateTop 35% of 1,463 counties measured72
Physical resilience1,218th of 1,463 counties measured31
AccessTop 13% of 1,463 counties measured95
Economic stability829th of 1,463 counties measured56
The quick read

Chatham County ranks in the top 3% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.8% and median household income of $71,097.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.2 students for every teacher.

3,522 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 10% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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

Population
300,879
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$71,097
Top 35% nationally
Density
695/sq mi
432.7 sq mi of land
Median age
37.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Chatham County
Georgia
Metro area
Nearest major airport
SAV
12 mi · Savannah/Hilton Head Intl
Median home value
$302,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.8%, lower than in 94% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 1.2% over the past year, to 154,631 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 89% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$67,63669th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$62,16861st percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,9072024 ACS 5-Year$71,097Top 35%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$9922024 ACS 5-Year$40,342Top 24%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$59,938Top 38%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year13.0%Bottom 49%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.7 minTop 42%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year37.7%Top 11%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year72.8%24th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026154,631Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+4.3%Top 12%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.2%Top 18%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026159,06584th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year79.2%Top 32%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%89th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Top 47%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20262.8%Top 6%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year11.6%73rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.12.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 2.8% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202471k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $71,097 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Savannah, GA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand7,810$38,250
Retail Salespersons6,820$30,160
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,710$27,460
Waiters and Waitresses4,940$20,830
Cashiers4,470$29,140
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers4,410$58,930

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.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 31% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.2 students for every full-time teacher across 57 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
58
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.2
across 57 of them
Math proficiency
31.1%
Bottom 22% in Georgia
Reading proficiency
31.3%
Bottom 17% in Georgia
The 12 largest of 58 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Godley Station SchoolSavannah-Chatham County1,58515.045%41%
Groves High SchoolSavannah-Chatham County1,46919.99%12%
Jenkins High SchoolSavannah-Chatham County1,26514.925%33%
Pulaski Elementary SChoolSavannah-Chatham County1,14714.535%29%
New Hampstead High SchoolSavannah-Chatham County1,12315.025%36%
New Hampstead K-8 SchoolSavannah-Chatham County1,11814.3——
Windsor Forest High SchoolSavannah-Chatham County1,06915.515%23%
Rice Creek SchoolSavannah-Chatham County1,01113.719%21%
Hesse SchoolSavannah-Chatham County99613.338%34%
Beach High SchoolSavannah-Chatham County97315.012%17%
Savannah Arts AcademySavannah-Chatham County80113.377%86%
West Chatham Elementary SchoolSavannah-Chatham County79614.734%33%

73.6% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 4% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 95.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Savannah, GA Metro Area is up 64% over five years, and up 3.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,541 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.84% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,680, some 14% above the $1,471 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,680 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $67,200 a year, about 95% of the median household income here of $71,097.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,471 a month.

A median home at $302,700 costs 3.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $92,515, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
95.9

Prices here run about 4% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Savannah, 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.

Rent as a share of income
32.4%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,680
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,471
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$302,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Chatham County’s median household income of $71,097, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Savannah, GA Metro Area’s figure202395.9Bottom 42%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Savannah, GA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%43rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Savannah, GA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+63.5%99th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Savannah, GA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+120.5%90th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.3Bottom 22%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year56.8%5th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2402024 ACS 5-Year137,53293rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,533Bottom 13%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,235Bottom 15%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,680Bottom 19%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$272024 ACS 5-Year$1,471Bottom 8%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,8072024 ACS 5-Year$302,70081st percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$982024 ACS 5-Year$2,54177th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,0992024 ACS 5-Year$92,515Top 21%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.84%53rd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year32.4%Bottom 12%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4782024 ACS 5-Year4,73693rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.4%56th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.0%50th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1,1812024 ACS 5-Year17,14995th percentileof 3,2222024 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.

Development Momentum

77/ 100
Top 6% of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 4% since 2020, reaching 307,336 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 307,336 residents in 2024, up 0.8% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

Federal tax returns show Chatham County lost about 0.4% 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 $67,636, above the $62,168 of households that moved out.

At 11.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
3,522
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
11.7
Top 4% nationally
Year over year
−10%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
53.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024307k295k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
66%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$67,636
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$62,168
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Effingham County, GA 1,119 people · 6.5% of arrivals
  2. Bryan County, GA 725 people · 4.2% of arrivals
  3. Liberty County, GA 535 people · 3.1% of arrivals
  4. Beaufort County, SC 412 people · 2.4% of arrivals
  5. Bulloch County, GA 339 people · 2.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Effingham County, GA 1,988 people · 11% of departures
  2. Bryan County, GA 1,237 people · 6.9% of departures
  3. Liberty County, GA 896 people · 5.0% of departures
  4. Bulloch County, GA 582 people · 3.2% of departures
  5. Fulton County, GA 367 people · 2.0% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420254k2k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+142%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 40°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 48.1 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 44, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SAVANNAH INTL AP, 12.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals48.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals40°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year442024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
44
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

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

31 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and coastal flooding, with hurricane alone responsible for 68% of it. inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneHigh
Coastal floodingElevated
LightningModerate
EarthquakeModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, wildfire, inland flooding, ice storm, strong wind, cold wave, tornado, hail, winter weather, drought, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. 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.

Chatham County records 10.5 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 18.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 15.1 per 100,000 residents in Chatham County.

Homicide
10.5
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
18.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
15.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
12.5
per 100,000 residents

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 Chatham County as a whole. 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. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. 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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Savannah/Hilton Head Intl at 12 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year92.2%Top 13%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle12 miTop 13%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%Top 14%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Savannah/Hilton Head IntlSAV12 mi9,351 ft
Brunswick Golden IslesBQK55 mi8,001 ft
Charleston AFB/IntlCHS88 mi9,001 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.

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Area Score
63
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.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
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated September 26, 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.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.