Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ball Ground is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A overall, 9th among Georgia's 258 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $118K. It also does better than most on schools: its schools outperform 86% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $499K, 5.6 years of the Atlanta metro’s $90K median household income. On history, just 32 of Georgia’s 373 towns do better. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Among 149 Georgia towns, just 2 have a lower property crime rate than Ball Ground.
Where Ball Ground beats most towns.
1,433 counted in 2010 and 2,560 in 2020; an estimated 3,470 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 44% since 2020, after 78.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Ball Ground is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 296 in 1890, 2,560 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 4 maps from 1926 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ball Ground, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Ball Ground.
Ball Ground has less tooth loss than most of Georgia, has household incomes well above the Georgia norm and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of Georgia.
85% of households own their home in Ball Ground, against 58% in Georgia’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns. The typical Ball Ground home is worth about $499,000, up 1.3% in a year, 52% above the Georgia typical home. The median rent in Ball Ground is $1,344 a month.
| Ball Ground | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,344 a month | $1,152 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Cherokee County school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball Ground Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 663 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
1.8% of residents live below the poverty line in Ball Ground, where Georgia’s towns sit at 15% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Jobs based in Ball Ground grew to 575 in 2023, 288 more than in 2013. Ball Ground’s average trip to work is 29 minutes.
| Ball Ground | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 1.8% | 15% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $118,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 9.2% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Georgia is tooth loss: 7.6% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide. Against the 6,042 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ball Ground’s, it is less healthy than 60%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Ball Ground beats the Georgia average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 18% of adults binge drink in Ball Ground.
| Ball Ground | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 16% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 22% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 14% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 23% | 19% |
| What stands out | Ball Ground | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.6% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.3% | 9.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 87.8°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 93% of Georgia places with climate records; January nights average 30.7°.
Ball Ground has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Among 264 Georgia towns, just 7 have a lower January low than Ball Ground. About 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Ball Ground | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 31°F | 33°F | 22°F |
| July high | 88°F | 90°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ball Ground's reported crime rate is well below Georgia's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. No violent crimes were reported in 2025.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The median household earns $117,829, against $77,353 across Georgia, one input to its A for jobs and income.
Adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (39% statewide). 43% of Ball Ground adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Ball Ground has grown 44% since 2020, to 3,470 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Ball Ground | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 25% | 29% |
| Median age | 41 years | 36.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 15% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 24% | 22% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.7 points. Across Georgia, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Ball Ground | GA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.6% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.4% | 11.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.8% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.5% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.2% | 13.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.3% | 12.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.8% | 12.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.7% | 9.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.7% | 5.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.2% | 10.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.8% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.3% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.2% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.1% | 21.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.4% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,500, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Ball Ground | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Calvin Farmer Park | — | 14 |
| 2. Lions Club Field | — | 2 |
| 3. Ball Ground City Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ball Ground
About 8 of every 100 Ball Ground residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
Where Ball Ground’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Ball Ground on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States
Ball Ground is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The city was originally Cherokee territory before they were removed from the land and it was given to white settlers. A railroad was built in 1882 and a town was formed around the resulting railroad stop. The town was incorporated on January 1, 1883, and became an industrial-based economy largely centered around its marble industry until around the mid-20th century when the industries began to leave and the city started to decline. From 2000 onwards the city saw rapid growth; as of the 2020 census the city had a population of 2,560, which is over three times the city's population of 730 in 2000.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Ball Ground grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #9 of 258 in Georgia. It grades B+ for health and A for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
