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Place dossier plate
SheetGA-EAST-ELLIJAY-GA · East Ellijay, GA 418 pop · income 2nd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around East Ellijay
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest East Ellijay on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Merryville · lowest
26,554
Merryville · lowest
26,554 median HH income
10.6% of the leader · rank #1
East Ellijay · this city
26,563
East Ellijay · this city
26,563 median HH income
10.6% of the leader · rank #2
Napakiak · near
26,563
Napakiak · near
26,563 median HH income
10.6% of the leader · rank #3
Cave-In-Rock · near
26,563
Cave-In-Rock · near
26,563 median HH income
10.6% of the leader · rank #4
Sicily Island · near
26,563
Sicily Island · near
26,563 median HH income
10.6% of the leader · rank #5
West Mountain · highest
250,001
West Mountain · highest
250,001 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for East Ellijay on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 418.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
East Ellijay - the verdict
East Ellijay ranks in the 2nd percentile for household income and the 24th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
2nd
percentile, household income
33rd
percentile, home value
51st
percentile, median rent
24th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: East Ellijay, GA
Georgia's East Ellijay is a small town, with 418 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in East Ellijay report a median income of $26,563 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 5.3%. East Ellijay's housing stock carries a median value of $167,200, and the median resident age is 57.3 years. About 20.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 45.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 84 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 2000% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 2390.2 incidents per 100,000 residents, near the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Georgia run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Georgia at 96.3 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,203 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $225 across Georgia, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 39.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of East Ellijay's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to comparison shortlist to population change to reported crime to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For East Ellijay, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in East Ellijay?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 6.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for East Ellijay?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Georgia, the closest population matches are Camak (425 residents, $62,222 income); Roopville (408 residents, $66,250 income); Yatesville (402 residents, $73,438 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Lake View, AR (418 residents); West Mountain, CT (418 residents); Lemon Grove, FL (418 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Is East Ellijay growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,162 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +177.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 84 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
What can the FBI record say about safety in East Ellijay?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2390.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 5% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in East Ellijay?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 67.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
67.6%
Work from home
10.6%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 170 workers age 16+.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 5.3% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
96.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Georgia average
F
City profile score · East Ellijay, GA
36/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate C+
5.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living C
96.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime F
278 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
20.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$26,563
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
East Ellijay profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 63/100 (C+) · 5.3%
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.3 index
Violent crime: 36/100 (F) · 278 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 35/100 (F) · 20.1%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $26,563
Where East Ellijay sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
East Ellijay's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - East Ellijay highlighted among 22 peers.Read the chart values
East Ellijay, GA (this city): home $167,200, crime 2,390/100k
Cecil, GA : home $84,000, crime 356/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does East Ellijay compare to other US cities?
Here's how East Ellijay stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income2% higher than other cities
Home value33% pricier than other cities
Median rent51% pricier than other cities
Safety24% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Georgia, East Ellijay ranks #99 of 166 Georgia cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares East Ellijay against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Georgia only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Georgia-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places East Ellijay near the bottom of Georgia's cities
Among the 638 Georgia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, East Ellijay ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares East Ellijay only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#589 of 610
3rd percentile in Georgia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 638
0th percentile in Georgia
Median Home Value
#291 of 577
50th percentile in Georgia
Poverty Rate
#487 of 637
23rd percentile in Georgia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#265 of 638
58th percentile in Georgia
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Georgia only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
2nd percentile nationally for median household income · 24th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
East Ellijay's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
East Ellijay's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How East Ellijay's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$167,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 67% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
East Ellijay's home-value-to-income ratio: 6.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,325 of 15,516
More affordable than 8% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,592 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 6.3×, East Ellijay sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,325 of 15,516 and #10,592 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$26,563East Ellijay, GA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context East Ellijay, GA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for East Ellijay, GA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)20.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)45.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
418
Median Income
$26,563
Median Home Value
$167,200
Median Age
57.3
Poverty Rate
5.3%
Labor force participation
45.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2390.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
277.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2112.3
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
East Ellijay's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
654 residents
2021
864 residents
2022
1,112 residents
2023
1,400 residents
2024
1,622 residents
2025
1,816 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
84
housing units authorized
Single-Family
10
detached homes
Multifamily
74
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
201
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
4
4
0
$0.6M
2020
96
11
85
$10.2M
2021
120
13
107
$12.6M
2022
140
12
128
$14.3M
2023
104
11
93
$10.9M
2024
84
10
74
$8.9M
Permit volume increased 2000% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
67.6%
Carpool
15.9%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
5.9%
Work from Home
10.6%
Based on 170 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Georgia statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Georgia at $225 (electricity about $125 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Georgia statewide averages, not a meter reading for East Ellijay. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Georgia's BEA cost-of-living index is 96.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around East Ellijay is $1,203/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Georgia statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 39.5 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Georgia statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county East Ellijay sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How East Ellijay compares to similar-size Georgia cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.