Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Boston’s best subject grade is an A for history; its weakest is a D− for incomes. 30% of residents live below the poverty line in Boston, where Georgia’s towns sit at 15% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Boston's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 98% of U.S. towns. On history, just 18 of Georgia’s 373 towns do better. Boston has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Boston beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Boston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 360 in 1880, a peak of 1,640 in 1920, 1,207 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2014 and 3 maps from 1957 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Boston, 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 Boston.
Boston beats the Georgia average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 19% of adults have diabetes in Boston, above both the Georgia town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (12%). 47% of adults have high blood pressure in Boston.
| Boston | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 40% | 36% |
| What stands out | Boston | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.7% | 14.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82% | 77.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14.6% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Boston home is worth about $211,000, up 6.5% in a year, 36% below the Georgia typical home. 47% of Boston households own their home.
| Boston | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $855 a month | $1,154 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Boston for work: only 2% work in town. Boston’s average trip to work is 19 minutes. Since 2013, Boston has added 30 jobs, to 98 in 2023.
| Boston | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $45,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.4% | 9.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Boston has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Boston is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Boston
About 7 of every 100 Boston residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Georgia.
Where Boston’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Georgia, United States
Boston is a city in Thomas County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,207.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.5 years of the area's median household income ($60,262 across the Thomasville, GA area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
2 notable people were born here, including Bobby Walden and Jessie Small.
