Living in Hiawassee, 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 Hiawassee to say.
A safer neighborhood7 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 6.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byChatuge Regional Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 72 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 Hiawassee 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

Tourist town. About 1 in 4 homes is a vacation or seasonal home, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

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: $411,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 15%Towns County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,072 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them: 58%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,858 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 25%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 15% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Georgia outside metro areas, not Hiawassee 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: 1,0382020: 986
Median age: 51.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 36%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 8%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 (19%)
Unemployment rate: 7%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 18%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Chatuge Regional Hospital, Hiawassee, GA, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Northeast Georgia Medical Center Habersham, Demorest, GA, about 29 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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 Hiawassee, run by Towns 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: 81%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 85%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: 24°F
July average high: 84°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 3 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 102 a year
Rain and melted snow: 60.3 inches a year
Snow: 3 inches a year
Elevation: 2,204 feet

Weather stations: Hayesville 1 NE (8 miles away) and Blairsville Exp Stn (13 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

Cleveland, TNCity of 51,00066

Knoxville, TNMetro of 1 million72

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: Cleveland, Knoxville.

Towns County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, 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.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail7 miles
Great Smoky Mountains National Park34 miles
Blue Ridge Parkway46 miles
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area57 miles

Read about Hiawassee's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hiawassee?

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

Andrews, NC1,800 people, 18 miles
Murphy, NC1,800 people, 19 miles
Clayton, GA2,100 people, 20 miles
Cleveland, GA3,500 people, 24 miles
Franklin, NC4,400 people, 26 miles
Clarkesville, GA2,200 people, 26 miles

Smaller places

Young Harris, GA797 people, 6 miles
Hayesville, NC470 people, 8 miles
Blairsville, GA878 people, 13 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.