Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Georgia

Hamilton, Georgia

Hamilton is a small town of about 1,800 people in Harris County, Georgia. It's the county seat. It has grown about 6% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Atlanta, is about 74 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
1,824
up 6.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$289,300
Harris County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$92,083
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Columbus area
89.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
18 miles
Valley, AL
To Atlanta
74 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.7% below the U.S. average in the Columbus metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byEamc - Lanier in Valley, about 18 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityAtlanta is about 74 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 Hamilton 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
$289,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%Harris County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,078 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$92,083U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
69%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,288 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.3U.S. average = 100 (the Columbus 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 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Columbus metro area, not Hamilton 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
1,8242020: 1,715
Median age
34 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
10%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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 (27%); manufacturing (19%); retail (16%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Eamc - Lanier, Valley, AL, about 18 miles away. It's a rural emergency hospital (24-hour emergency care and outpatient services, no overnight stays). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital, Phenix City, AL, about 19 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 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

3 public schools in Hamilton, run by Harris 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.

Weather

January average low
34°F
July average high
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
74 a year
Nights at or below freezing
46 a year
Rain and melted snow
48.8 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
727 feet

Weather stations: Mulberry Grove (16 miles away) and Columbus Metro Ap (18 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

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: Eamc - Lanier, Columbus, Atlanta.

Harris County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Cason and Virginia Callaway House and the Sunnyside School-Midway Baptist Church and Midway Cemetery Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Horseshoe Bend National Military Park51 miles
  • Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site51 miles
  • Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site53 miles
  • Jimmy Carter National Historical Park57 miles
  • Andersonville National Historic Site58 miles

Read about Hamilton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hamilton?

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

Smaller places

  • Cataula, GA (unincorporated)1,522 people, 7 miles
  • Waverly Hall, GA677 people, 10 miles
  • Ellerslie, GA (unincorporated)1,011 people, 10 miles
  • Shiloh, GA435 people, 11 miles
  • Antioch, GA (unincorporated)870 people, 12 miles
  • Piney Grove, GA (unincorporated)576 people, 14 miles
  • Warm Springs, GA441 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.