McDonough, Georgia

Area Profile

30,947 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for McDonough, in Henry County.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 31% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 25% of 4,199 cities measured69
Schools2,402nd of 4,162 cities measured44
GrowthTop 42% of 4,224 cities measured54
Housing affordability3,029th of 4,218 cities measured55
ClimateTop 29% of 4,225 cities measured75
Physical resilienceTop 29% of 4,226 cities measured76
Access3,127th of 4,226 cities measured84
Economic stabilityTop 50% of 4,226 cities measured58
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.0% and median household income $75,343, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.6 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 116 units authorized over the past twelve months, 48% below the prior year.

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
30,947
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$75,343
Top 39% nationally
Density
2,313/sq mi
13.4 sq mi of land
Median age
33.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Georgia
Nearest major airport
ATL
21 mi · Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta Intl
Median home value
$314,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0%, lower than in 61% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 1.0% over the past year, to 16,481 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHenry County, GA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$48,2925th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHenry County, GA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,9339th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,3722024 ACS 5-Year$75,343Top 39%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2452024 ACS 5-Year$33,041Bottom 47%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year11.0%Bottom 49%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year35.7 minBottom 15%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year28.5%Top 33%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year78.3%54th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202616,481Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+2.2%Top 18%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.0%Top 18%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,16816th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year82.8%Top 32%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$71,900Top 38%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$51,170Bottom 49%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%77th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Top 44%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.0%Top 39%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.9%67th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.63.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.0% 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

202120222023202478k73k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $75,343 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 — Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons84,970$32,850
Fast Food and Counter Workers80,730$27,780
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand78,460$39,020
General and Operations Managers69,320$111,410
Customer Service Representatives59,990$42,710
Registered Nurses56,460$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.

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 43% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.6 students for every full-time teacher across 19 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
19
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
37.6%
Bottom 41% in Georgia
Reading proficiency
43.0%
Top 50% in Georgia
The 12 largest of 19 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Union Grove HighHenry County1,62219.157%62%
Ola High SchoolHenry County1,58618.948%60%
Eagle's Landing High SchoolHenry County1,57820.819%38%
McDonough High SchoolHenry County1,35918.411%32%
Ola Middle SchoolHenry County1,03917.052%54%
Union Grove MiddleHenry County1,03318.447%56%
Eagle's Landing Middle SchoolHenry County97416.221%36%
Tussahaw ElementaryHenry County88615.526%29%
McDonough Middle SchoolHenry County87618.318%24%
Ola Elementary SchoolHenry County86615.759%50%
Timber Ridge Elementary SchoolHenry County71315.261%49%
Walnut Creek ElementaryHenry County71214.535%34%

57.8% 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 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Division is up 43% over five years, and up 1.0% 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 $2,973 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.95% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,080, some 16% above the $1,792 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,080 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $83,200 a year, about 110% of the median household income here of $75,343.

The typical renter household here spends 37% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,792 a month.

A median home at $314,600 costs 3.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $93,277, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
100.5

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.

Rent as a share of income
37.1%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,080
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,792
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$314,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against McDonough’s median household income of $75,343, 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area’s figure2023100.5Top 44%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+1.0%20th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+42.7%50th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+109.2%74th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.4Bottom 27%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year54.8%14th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6012024 ACS 5-Year11,61995th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,900Bottom 23%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,490Bottom 35%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,080Bottom 30%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$912024 ACS 5-Year$1,792Bottom 12%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,7242024 ACS 5-Year$314,60074th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3142024 ACS 5-Year$2,97373rd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,5652024 ACS 5-Year$93,277Top 33%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year0.95%48th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year37.1%Bottom 15%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1232024 ACS 5-Year11390th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.0%62nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%41st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3122024 ACS 5-Year73393rd percentileof 32,3302024 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

54/ 100
Top 42% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling 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 12% since 2020, reaching 32,803 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 32,803 residents in 2024, up 1.9% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 116 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Henry County, which contains McDonough, gained about 1.7% 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 $48,292, below the $51,933 of households that moved out.

At 3.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
116
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.7
Top 38% nationally
Year over year
−48%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202433k29k
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
+1.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
32%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$48,292
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$51,933
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Clayton County, GA 4,616 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. DeKalb County, GA 1,955 people · 8.9% of arrivals
  3. Fulton County, GA 1,884 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  4. Gwinnett County, GA 723 people · 3.3% of arrivals
  5. Spalding County, GA 721 people · 3.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Clayton County, GA 2,963 people · 16% of departures
  2. Fulton County, GA 1,483 people · 8.0% of departures
  3. DeKalb County, GA 1,217 people · 6.6% of departures
  4. Spalding County, GA 1,027 people · 5.6% of departures
  5. Gwinnett County, GA 605 people · 3.3% 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 Henry County, GA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025536132
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−70%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 36°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 50.4 inches, including 2.2 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 40, in the Good band, and about 6 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ATLANTA HARTSFIELD INTL AP, 21.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year622024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals50.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals2.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year62024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year402024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
40
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
62
90th percentile index
Days above 100
6
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

76 / 100
Physical resilience

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 61% 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.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 71% of measured US cities.

TornadoModerate
LightningModerate
EarthquakeModerate
DroughtModerate

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

Violent crime
338
per 100,000 residents · 2024 calendar year
Property crime
2,664
per 100,000 residents · 2024 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

McDonough's police department reported 338 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,664.

Henry County records 11.8 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 22.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 13.7 per 100,000 residents in Henry County.

Homicide
11.8
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
22.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
13.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.9
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by McDonough’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 McDonough (Henry County) rather than McDonough itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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 21 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year95.6%Top 22%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle21 miBottom 43%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.3%Top 26%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta IntlATL21 mi12,390 ft
Augusta Rgnl At Bush FldAGS126 mi8,001 ft
Donaldson FldGYH136 mi8,000 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.

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Area Score
64
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Other cities in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
AtlantaFulton County505,26870Atlanta vs McDonough
South FultonFulton County110,47164South Fulton vs McDonough
Sandy SpringsFulton County107,08777Sandy Springs vs McDonough
RoswellFulton County92,62177
Johns CreekFulton County81,98872
MabletonCobb County77,67864
AlpharettaFulton County66,85582
MariettaCobb County62,26373
StonecrestDeKalb County60,50158
BrookhavenDeKalb County57,85574
SmyrnaCobb County56,63373
DunwoodyDeKalb County51,75872

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.

Compare

Put McDonough side by side with a similar place.

McDonough vs Glenn HeightsMcDonough vs Manchester

Moving to McDonough from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2024 calendar year
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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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 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.

ZIP codes in McDonough

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in McDonough with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track McDonough closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3025364,779$81,892$315,800—
3025249,554$100,770$360,60068