Living in Kingston, Georgia: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.1% above the U.S. average in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Kingston to say.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Adairsville High School, about 8 miles away.
A hospital close byPiedmont Cartersville Medical Center in Cartersville, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityAtlanta is about 44 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 Kingston 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 60% 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

Home prices since then: Up 16%Bartow County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $932 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $52,682U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 74%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,342 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940: 7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 18%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 100.1U.S. average = 100 (the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area, not Kingston 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: 1,1762020: 736
Median age: 39.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 9%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%U.S.: 6%
College students: 5%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: Manufacturing (30%)
Work from home: 3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 17%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, Cartersville, GA, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

1 public school in Kingston, run by Bartow County. The nearest public high school is Adairsville High School, about 8 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: 28°F
July average high: 91°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 53 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 70 a year
Rain and melted snow: 51.9 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 692 feet

Weather stations: Cartersville (9 miles away) and Cartersville #2 (9 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

Piedmont Cartersville Medical CenterEmergency room9

Marietta, GACity of 64,00030

Atlanta, GAMetro of 6.5 million44

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: Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, Marietta, Atlanta.

Bartow County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, 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:

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park26 miles
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area35 miles
Little River Canyon National Preserve38 miles
Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historical Park46 miles
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park48 miles

Read about Kingston's history on Wikipedia.

Know Kingston?

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

Euharlee, GA4,200 people, 6 miles
Cartersville, GA25,000 people, 9 miles
Adairsville, GA5,100 people, 10 miles
Emerson, GA2,300 people, 13 miles
Lindale, GA4,300 people, 14 miles
Rome, GA39,000 people, 14 miles

Smaller places

Taylorsville, GA271 people, 10 miles
Shannon, GA (unincorporated)2,012 people, 11 miles
White, GA635 people, 12 miles
Plainville, GA358 people, 13 miles
Berry College, GA (unincorporated)1,647 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.