Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 97% of the country. Overall it grades C−, 161st of 258 graded towns in Georgia. Its public schools beat 75% of Georgia towns on state tests and graduation. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $40K, and 31% of residents live below the poverty line. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. 31% of residents live below the poverty line in Brunswick, above both the Georgia town median (15%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). No town in Georgia scores higher than Brunswick on history. Brunswick is home to College of Coastal Georgia.
Where Brunswick beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Fort Frederica National Monument (Additional Documentation)| Widest gap | Brunswick | GA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 28.9% | 14.5% |
Its founding year, 1771, comes before those of 99% of the Georgia towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 36 in 1810, a peak of 21,703 in 1960, 15,210 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1803 and 4 maps from 1956 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Brunswick is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brunswick, 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 Brunswick.
Brunswick draws workers from St. Simons and beyond, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Georgia (mostly hurricanes) and is a long drive from an emergency room.
The nearest emergency room, Southeast Georgia Health System -- Camden Campus, is 26.1 miles away in a straight line. Against the 2,474 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brunswick’s, it is less healthy than 81%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
51% of adults have high blood pressure in Brunswick. Only 10 of the 261 Georgia towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Brunswick. 42% of adults have obesity in Brunswick.
| Brunswick | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 23% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 14% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 51% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 29% | 25% |
| What stands out | Brunswick | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.2% | 14.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.5% | 77.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 28.9% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Glynn County school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Brunswick High School, with 1,951 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glynn Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 735 | A− |
| Brunswick High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,951 | B |
| Glynn AcademyTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,911 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
12,567 jobs are based in Brunswick, 2.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.5 minutes, against 28.3 across Georgia.
About one in 4 of Brunswick’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Brunswick is 18 minutes. Since 2013, Brunswick has lost 746 jobs, to 12,567 in 2023.
| Brunswick | 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 | $40,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of Georgia towns, with expected losses of about $374 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on. 257 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 38 properties have flooded more than once.
Brunswick’s FEMA risk score is 70 of 100. Since 1979, 257 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brunswick.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Brunswick home is worth about $255,000, about the same as a year ago, 22% below the Georgia typical home. 43% of Brunswick households own their home.
| Brunswick | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 43% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $951 a month | $1,160 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Brunswick weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 314 days, longer than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average 42.9°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.5°.
Only 2 of the 264 Georgia towns we compare have a higher January low than Brunswick. Brunswick has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Brunswick | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 43°F | 33°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 90°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
4.5 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Coffin Park, 45 acres with 1 miles of trail.
| Brunswick | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Coffin Park | 1 mi | 45 |
| 2. Seldon Park | — | 28 |
| 3. Miller Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Brunswick's reported crime rate is well above Georgia's. Only 3 of the 150 Georgia towns we compare have a higher violent crime rate than Brunswick. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Brunswick | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 13.9 per 1,000 residents | 3 | 1.9 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 55.4 per 1,000 residents | 21.7 | 14.1 |
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brunswick. Close and well known come first.
5 mi Park & preserveJekyll Island
6 mi LandmarkIgbo Landing Historic Site
5 mi National MonumentFort Frederica National Monument108K visitors a year
11 mi National SeashoreCumberland Island National Seashore60K visitors a year
30 mi LandmarkFort Clinch7 mi Theme parkSummer WavesJekyll Island: normanack on Flickr, CC BY 2.0 · Igbo Landing Historic Site: Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Frederica National Monument: Bubba73 (talk), Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cumberland Island National Seashore: The original uploader was Pgabolde at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Clinch: Fl295 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Brunswick
About 4 of every 100 Brunswick residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
Coastal flooding makes up 11% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
7 places in Brunswick on the National Register of Historic Places.
42 notable people were born in Brunswick.
City in the United States
Brunswick ( BRUN-zwik) is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Savannah and contains the Brunswick Old Town Historic District. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the city proper was 15,210; the Brunswick metropolitan area's population as of 2020 was 113,495. Established as "Brunswick" after the German Duchy of Brunswick–Lüneburg, the ancestral home of the House of Hanover, the municipal community was incorporated as a city in 1856. Throughout its history, Brunswick has served as an important port…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Brunswick.
| Town | GA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brunswick | #161 | C− | B | — | A− | D− |
| Dock Junction | #122 | C | B | — | A− | D− |
| Country Club Estates | #134 | C | B | — | A− | D |
| Jekyll Island | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Brunswick, Dock Junction and Country Club Estates report no FBI crime data of their own. Jekyll Island isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Brunswick with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Brunswick grades C− overall, better than 19% of U.S. towns and #161 of 258 in Georgia. It grades D− for health and A− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($66,623 across the Brunswick-St. Simons, GA metro 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.
42 notable people were born here, including Adam Wainwright and Anna Jay.
