Living in Comer, Georgia: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.7% below the U.S. average in the Athens-Clarke County metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Comer 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 town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Madison County High School, about 6 miles away.
A hospital close bySt. Mary's Hospital in Athens, about 18 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityGreenville is about 69 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 Comer 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: $223,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 28%Madison County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $52,891U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $2,009 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940: 9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 93.3U.S. average = 100 (the Athens-Clarke County metro area)

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 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Athens-Clarke County metro area, not Comer 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: 1,6312020: 1,527
Median age: 31.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 29%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 6%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: Schools, health care and social services (31%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (9%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
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: St. Mary's Hospital, Athens, GA, about 18 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

2 public schools in Comer, run by Madison County. The nearest public high school is Madison County High School, about 6 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.

Weather

January average low: 32°F
July average high: 89°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 46 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 60 a year
Rain and melted snow: 51.2 inches a year
Snow: 2 inches a year
Elevation: 694 feet

Weather station: Danielsville (11 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

St. Mary's HospitalEmergency room18

Johns Creek, GACity of 80,00062

Greenville, SCMetro of 1 million69

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: St. Mary's Hospital, Johns Creek, Greenville.

Madison County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Comer Historic District, Smithonia and the Watson Mill Covered Bridge and Mill Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area54 miles
Appalachian National Scenic Trail60 miles

Read about Comer's history on Wikipedia.

Know Comer?

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

Winterville, GA1,200 people, 11 miles
Elberton, GA4,900 people, 15 miles
Franklin Springs, GA1,200 people, 15 miles
Royston, GA2,700 people, 16 miles
Nicholson, GA1,900 people, 17 miles
Watkinsville, GA4,100 people, 21 miles

Smaller places

Carlton, GA311 people, 5 miles
Colbert, GA679 people, 5 miles
Danielsville, GA895 people, 7 miles
Hull, GA248 people, 10 miles
Bowman, GA868 people, 11 miles
Arnoldsville, GA445 people, 11 miles
Ila, GA376 people, 12 miles
Crawford, GA918 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.