Living in LaGrange, 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 moneyA typical home costs 4.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood247 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 7.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 36.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town16 public schools: 9 elementary, 3 middle and 4 high schools.
A hospital close byWellstar West Georgia Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityAtlanta is about 62 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 LaGrange 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 11% 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: $216,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Troup County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,073 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $43,708U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 40%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,842 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940: 12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Georgia outside metro areas, not LaGrange 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: 34,7302020: 31,387
Median age: 35 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 28%U.S.: 36%
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: Manufacturing (27%); schools, health care and social services (20%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate: 9%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 23%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center, Lagrange, GA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

16 public schools in LaGrange, run by Troup County.

Colleges in or next to town: LaGrange College (under 1,000 students).

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: 68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 86%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: 34°F
July average high: 91°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 55 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 57 a year
Rain and melted snow: 52.5 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 745 feet

Weather stations: La Grange 1N (2 miles away) and W Pt (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

Columbus, GACity of 202,00037

Atlanta, GAMetro of 6.5 million62

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: Columbus, Atlanta.

Troup County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

14 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Bellevue, the Broad Street Historic District, the Dixie Cotton Mills and Mill Village Historic District and Fannin-Trutti-Handley Place. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park39 miles
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site54 miles
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site56 miles

Campus life. Check LaGrange College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about LaGrange's history on Wikipedia.

Know LaGrange?

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

West Point, GA3,700 people, 11 miles
Hogansville, GA3,300 people, 12 miles
Lanett, AL6,800 people, 15 miles
Pine Mountain, GA1,300 people, 16 miles
Valley, AL10,300 people, 17 miles
Huguley, AL2,600 people, 17 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.