Savannah, GA

Metro Area Profile

418,285 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Savannah, GA metropolitan area.

72out of 100
Area Score
Top 19% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 1% of 379 published metros89
GrowthTop 4% of 821 published metros83
Housing affordability659th of 822 published metros79
ClimateTop 30% of 822 published metros72
Physical resilience665th of 822 published metros30
AccessTop 12% of 822 published metros97
Economic stabilityTop 30% of 822 published metros67
The quick read

Savannah ranks in the top 1% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.1% and median household income of $77,180.

Housing sits below most published city profiles for affordability: rent takes 23% of median household income and the median home is 3.9 times it — each just short of the thresholds that would count as strained, but both toward the costly end.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by hurricane, earthquake and coastal flooding.

At a glance

Population
418,285
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$77,180
Top 23% nationally
Density
310/sq mi
1349.1 sq mi of land
Median age
36.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Savannah, GA
Nearest major airport
SAV
4 mi · Savannah/Hilton Head Intl
Median home value
$302,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.1% is lower than 94% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment grew 1.7% over the past year, to 215,025 employed residents.

36% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 82% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,575$77,180Top 23%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$980$40,645Top 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate12.2%Bottom 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute27.6 minTop 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher35.8%Top 18%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment215,025Top 31%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)5.0%Top 5%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)1.7%Top 9%June 2026
Labor force221,818Top 31%June 2026
Labor force participation65.1%Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$58,750Bottom 36%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$47,240Bottom 44%2025 OEWS
Metro employment198,360Top 29%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Bottom 46%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.1%Bottom 6%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.52.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.1% in June 2026. 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.
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

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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,454 takes 23% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.9 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
22.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.9×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,454
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$302,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.91Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate62.2%Bottom 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±239181,432Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$26$1,454Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,520$302,000Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income22.6%Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate11.1%Bottom 48%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
83/ 100
Top 4% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

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 6% since 2020, reaching 431,589 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

At 12.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
5,038
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
12.0
Top 3% nationally
Year over year
−1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
47.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024432k405k
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.

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.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SAVANNAH INTL AP, 4.0 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND6.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation48.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low40°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing32°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

30 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, earthquake and coastal flooding.

HurricaneHigh
EarthquakeElevated
LightningModerate
Coastal floodingModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 4 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Savannah/Hilton Head IntlSAV4 mi9,351 ft
Brunswick Golden IslesBQK60 mi8,001 ft
Augusta Rgnl At Bush FldAGS96 mi8,001 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
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.