Living in Boston, Georgia: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13% below the U.S. average in the parts of Georgia outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Boston to say.
A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is The Renaissance Center for Academic and Career Development, about 11 miles away.
A hospital close byArchbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityJacksonville is about 130 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Boston meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Home prices since then: Up 25%Thomas County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $855 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $44,728U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 47%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940: 14%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 14%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 87U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Georgia outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 25% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Georgia outside metro areas, not Boston alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,2512020: 1,210
Median age: 36.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 14%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 0%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (24%); retail (18%); manufacturing (10%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 30%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Archbold Memorial Hospital, Thomasville, GA, about 11 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Boston itself. The nearest public high school is The Renaissance Center for Academic and Career Development, about 11 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Georgia's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 90%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 37°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 76 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 31 a year
Rain and melted snow: 59.9 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 205 feet

Weather stations: Quitman 2 NW (13 miles away) and Monticello 5 SE (21 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Archbold Memorial HospitalEmergency room11

Valdosta, GACity of 56,00031

Jacksonville, FLMetro of 1.8 million130

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Archbold Memorial Hospital, Valdosta, Jacksonville.

Thomas County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Boston Historic District.

Read about Boston's history on Wikipedia.

Know Boston?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Thomasville, GA18,700 people, 12 miles
Quitman, GA4,000 people, 14 miles
Monticello, FL2,800 people, 18 miles
Cairo, GA10,200 people, 25 miles
Moultrie, GA15,000 people, 27 miles
Hahira, GA3,600 people, 28 miles

Smaller places

Barwick, GA352 people, 8 miles
Pavo, GA601 people, 12 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.