Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Atlanta might be more expensive than living in rural Georgia, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
What exactly are those Atlanta neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Atlanta are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Atlanta for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Cascade Heights looks to be the cheapest Atlanta neighborhood to live in.
At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Atlanta. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Atlanta that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Atlanta.
For more Georgia reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Georgia
- Cheapest Places To Live In Georgia
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Atlanta For 2024
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Population: 1,815
Cost Of Living Index: 89 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (11th cheapest)
More on Cascade Heights: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 2,398
Cost Of Living Index: 88 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.9 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (18th cheapest)
More on Adams Park: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 2,827
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.3 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.024 (20th cheapest)
More on Center Hill: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 4,221
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.5 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (2cheapest)
More on Mechanicsville: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 10,964
Cost Of Living Index: 92 (11th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.9 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (17th cheapest)
More on Thomasville: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 16,229
Cost Of Living Index: 105 (18th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.7 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (6th cheapest)
More on Edgewood-Kirkwood: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 23,547
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.03 (28th cheapest)
More on Lakewood Heights-Southeastern Atlanta: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 3,620
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.8 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (22nd cheapest)
More on Grove Park: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 11,918
Cost Of Living Index: 109 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.1 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (8th cheapest)
More on Ormewood Park-East Atlanta: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 4,144
Cost Of Living Index: 88 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.0 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.03 (27th cheapest)
More on Adamsville: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Atlanta Hoods In 2024
To rank the cheapest places to live in Atlanta, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.
Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 30 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Atlanta.” We’re lookin’ at you, Cascade Heights.
We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Atlanta. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Atlanta
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Atlanta where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
The most affordable neighborhoods in Atlanta are Cascade Heights, Adams Park, Center Hill, Mechanicsville, Thomasville, Edgewood-Kirkwood, Lakewood Heights-Southeastern Atlanta, Grove Park, Ormewood Park-East Atlanta, and Adamsville.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Atlanta aren’t all cheap. Sweet Auburn takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Atlanta.
The most expensive neighborhoods in Atlanta are Sweet Auburn, Home Park, Oakland City, Poncey-Highland, and Old Fourth Ward.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more Georgia reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Places In Georgia
- Richest Cities In Georgia
- Safest Places In Georgia
- Worst Places To Live In Georgia
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Atlanta For 2024
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cascade Heights | 89 |
| 2 | Adams Park | 88 |
| 3 | Center Hill | 85 |
| 4 | Mechanicsville | 85 |
| 5 | Thomasville | 92 |
| 6 | Edgewood-Kirkwood | 105 |
| 7 | Lakewood Heights-Southeastern Atlanta | 86 |
| 8 | Grove Park | 85 |
| 9 | Ormewood Park-East Atlanta | 109 |
| 10 | Adamsville | 88 |
| 11 | Adair Park | 87 |
| 12 | Candler Park | 131 |
| 13 | Buckhead | 136 |
| 14 | Midtown | 119 |
| 15 | Downtown | 96 |
| 16 | West End | 88 |
| 17 | Grant Park | 104 |
| 18 | Morningside-Lenox Park | 138 |
| 19 | Oakdale | 136 |
| 20 | Atlanta-Inman Park | 119 |
| 21 | Cabbage Town | 111 |
| 22 | Vine City | 96 |
| 23 | Five Points | 99 |
| 24 | Rockdale | 96 |
| 25 | Virginia-Highland | 139 |
| 26 | Old Fourth Ward | 106 |
| 27 | Poncey-Highland | 109 |
| 28 | Oakland City | 88 |
| 29 | Home Park | 115 |
| 30 | Sweet Auburn | 99 |