Living in Leesburg, Georgia: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.3% below the U.S. average in the Albany metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town8 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
A hospital close byPhoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityAtlanta is about 141 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 Leesburg 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: $199,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 22%Lee County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,055 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $79,460U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $1,720 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 87.7U.S. average = 100 (the Albany 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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Albany metro area, not Leesburg 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: 3,5972020: 3,491
Median age: 34.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 28%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: 9%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: Schools, health care and social services (17%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (15%)
Unemployment rate: 2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 5%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: Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Albany, GA, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

8 public schools in Leesburg, run by Lee 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: 72%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 88%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: 37°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 84 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 37 a year
Rain and melted snow: 52.5 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 262 feet

Weather stations: Leesburg 2 (2 miles away) and Albany 3 SE (14 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

Phoebe Putney Memorial HospitalEmergency room10

Albany, GACity of 67,00011

Atlanta, GAMetro of 6.5 million141

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: Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Albany, Atlanta.

Lee County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Jimmy Carter National Historical Park25 miles
Andersonville National Historic Site32 miles

Read about Leesburg's history on Wikipedia.

Know Leesburg?

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

Albany, GA67,000 people, 11 miles
Dawson, GA4,100 people, 16 miles
Putney, GA3,200 people, 18 miles
Americus, GA15,600 people, 24 miles
Sylvester, GA5,400 people, 24 miles
Cordele, GA9,700 people, 28 miles

Smaller places

Sasser, GA257 people, 11 miles
Smithville, GA627 people, 13 miles
Bronwood, GA317 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.