Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Blakely earns a D−, 256th among Georgia's 258 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. It reports more crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, including 84 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 95% of the country. It also has a long history, with 3 places on the National Register. Blakely’s violent crime rate is 16.5 per 1,000 residents, above both Georgia’s towns (2.2) and U.S. towns (1.6). Its National Register listings include Early County Courthouse and James And Clara Butler House. The median household income is $50K, and 27% of residents live below the poverty line.
Where Blakely beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 279 in 1880, 5,371 in 2020. The archive holds 15 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 2 maps from 1973 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Blakely is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Blakely, 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 Blakely.
Blakely has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it reports violent crime at 5 times the Georgia rate and carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Georgia (mostly hurricanes).
Violent crime runs at 16.5 per 1,000 residents, 5 times the Georgia rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−.
Blakely’s property crime rate is 17.7 per 1,000 residents. Blakely reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 97% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Early County school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Early County High School, with 506 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early County Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 758 | C |
| Early County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 506 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
At 2.3 years of the county’s $54K median household income, the typical home (about $127K) costs less against local pay than in 92% of Georgia towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
The typical Blakely home is worth about $127,000, up 7.3% in a year, 61% below the Georgia typical home. 48% of Blakely households own their home.
| Blakely | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $765 a month | $1,160 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
19% of adults have diabetes in Blakely. Blakely beats the Georgia average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 47% of adults have high blood pressure in Blakely.
| Blakely | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 38% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 22% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Blakely | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.2% | 14.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.5% | 77.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16.6% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Blakely has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Blakely is 92°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of Georgia towns; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Blakely has about as many jobs (1,811) as working residents, but only 485 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 17.8 minutes, against 28.3 across Georgia.
About one in 4 of Blakely’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Blakely has lost 397 jobs, to 1,811 in 2023. The top destinations are Dothan (7%), Colquitt (5%) and Albany (4%).
| Blakely | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.8 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Blakely | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.4% | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Alex Howell Baseball Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Blakely; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Blakely residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Georgia.
3 places in Blakely on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Georgia, United States
Blakely is a city in and the county seat of Early County, Georgia, United States. As of 2020, its population was 5,371. It is located approximately halfway between Columbus and Tallahassee, Florida on U.S. Route 27.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Blakely grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #256 of 258 in Georgia. It grades D for health, D− for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.3 years of the area's median household income ($54,083 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
