Living in Richland, Georgia: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.7% below the U.S. average in the Columbus metro area.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Richland to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Richland 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Stewart County High School, about 6 miles away.
A hospital close byPhoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, about 23 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityAtlanta is about 117 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 Richland 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: $47,600U.S.: $332,700
Typical rent, with utilities: $611 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical property tax bill: $800 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940: 9%U.S.: 12%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 89.3U.S. average = 100 (the Columbus metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Columbus metro area, not Richland 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: 1,3942020: 1,354
Median age: 44.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%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

Work from home: 0%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, Americus, GA, about 23 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

There are no public schools inside Richland itself. The nearest public high school is Stewart County High School, about 6 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: 34°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 72 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 58 a year
Rain and melted snow: 52.8 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 562 feet

Weather station: Lumpkin 2 SE (8 miles away). 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 Sumter Medical CenterEmergency room23

Columbus, GACity of 202,00032

Atlanta, GAMetro of 6.5 million117

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 Sumter Medical Center, Columbus, Atlanta.

Stewart 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

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Richland Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Jimmy Carter National Historical Park14 miles
Andersonville National Historic Site32 miles

Read about Richland's history on Wikipedia.

Know Richland?

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

Webster County, GA2,400 people, 7 miles
Buena Vista, GA1,600 people, 18 miles
Cusseta-Chattahoochee County, GA8,500 people, 19 miles
Ellaville, GA1,500 people, 23 miles
Cuthbert, GA3,000 people, 23 miles
Dawson, GA4,100 people, 25 miles

Smaller places

Lumpkin, GA896 people, 8 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.