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Towns / Georgia

Harlem, Georgia

Harlem is a small town of about 4,200 people in Columbia County, Georgia. It's growing fast: its population is up 17% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.9 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, Greenville, is about 97 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom town

Population
4,239
up 17% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$274,500
Columbia County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$46,197
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Augusta area
91.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Thomson, GA
To Greenville
97 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.1% below the U.S. average in the Augusta-Richmond County metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.9 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 Harlem 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 town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byUniversity McDuffie County Regional Medical Center in Thomson, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityGreenville is about 97 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 Harlem 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.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 17% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$274,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Columbia County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$46,197U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
58%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,380 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940
5%U.S.: 12%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.9U.S. average = 100 (the Augusta-Richmond 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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Augusta-Richmond County metro area, not Harlem 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
4,2392020: 3,609
Median age
34.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
15%U.S.: 6%
College students
11%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 (23%); government (12%); construction (11%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%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: University McDuffie County Regional Medical Center, Thomson, GA, about 13 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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 Harlem, run by Columbia 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%

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
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
59 a year
Nights at or below freezing
66 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.1 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
465 feet

Weather stations: Appling 2 NW (9 miles away) and Gibson (22 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: University McDuffie County Regional Medical Center, Macon-Bibb County, Greenville.

Columbia 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ninety Six National Historic Site51 miles

Read about Harlem's history on Wikipedia.

Know Harlem?

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

  • Dearing, GA534 people, 4 miles
  • Appling, GA (unincorporated)702 people, 9 miles
  • Blythe, GA798 people, 11 miles
  • Keysville, GA305 people, 15 miles
  • Matthews, GA (unincorporated)134 people, 15 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.