Living in Butler, 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 Butler to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Butler itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byUpson Regional Medical Center in Thomaston, about 24 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityAtlanta is about 84 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 Butler 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

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $81,300U.S.: $332,700
Typical rent, with utilities: $592 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them: 41%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $779 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940: 6%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%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. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Georgia outside metro areas, not Butler 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: 1,8252020: 1,874
Median age: 37.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 10%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%U.S.: 6%

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: Construction (13%)
Unemployment rate: 2%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 5%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Upson Regional Medical Center, Thomaston, GA, about 24 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 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

4 public schools in Butler, run by Taylor County.

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 cable, fiber or DSL internet: 51%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 73%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: 32°F
July average high: 89°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 47 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 54 a year
Rain and melted snow: 51.1 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 635 feet

Weather station: Talbotton (19 miles away). 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

Upson Regional Medical CenterEmergency room24

Warner Robins, GACity of 88,00034

Atlanta, GAMetro of 6.5 million84

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: Upson Regional Medical Center, Warner Robins, Atlanta.

Taylor County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Butler Downtown Historic district.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Andersonville National Historic Site25 miles
Jimmy Carter National Historical Park37 miles
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park41 miles

Read about Butler's history on Wikipedia.

Know Butler?

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

Fort Valley, GA9,200 people, 21 miles
Montezuma, GA2,900 people, 22 miles
Ellaville, GA1,500 people, 22 miles
Buena Vista, GA1,600 people, 23 miles
Thomaston, GA9,900 people, 24 miles
Hannahs Mill, GA3,200 people, 27 miles

Smaller places

Reynolds, GA900 people, 8 miles
Ideal, GA391 people, 13 miles
Junction City, GA139 people, 13 miles
Salem, GA (unincorporated)385 people, 14 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.