Dr. Luther C. and Lucy Hurt Fischer House · Photo: Rheave · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Chamblee costs more to live in than 94% of U.S. towns
It ranks #252 of 263 in Georgia for affordability. Up 1.2% in a year, 43% above the Georgia typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area ($90K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Chamblee’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($90K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 26% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 51% of renters.
In dollars
- $472Ktypical home, 43% above the Georgia typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $2,270a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 100prices across the Atlanta metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 111)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 4.8 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$90K, Atlanta-area income
- 25%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 51%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Georgia: 52%Census 2020–24
- 26%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Chamblee, in brief
Most Chamblee households rent
60% of households rent their home, 6,833 in all, against 34% across Georgia. Renting ↓
Building at about twice the Georgia pace
Builders were permitted 401 new homes in 2025: 13 per 1,000 residents, against 6 across Georgia. That’s 2,845 in the past 10 years. New homes ↓
A burst of building in 2022
Chamblee permitted 1,038 new homes in 2022, 97% of them in buildings with two or more homes, against about 201 in a typical year of the past decade. 2025 came in at 401. New homes ↓
A high property tax rate
Owners pay about 1.01% of a home’s value a year in property tax, against 0.77% across Georgia. The median bill is $4,379 (Georgia: $2,341). On the typical home, that’s about $400 a month. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Chamblee’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Chamblee is more affordable than 6% of U.S. towns, #252 of 263 in Georgia. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Georgia: up 19.2% in five years, against 20.9% statewide (Zillow).
Up 19.2% in five years
About the same pace as Georgia (20.9%).
Show as a table
| January | Chamblee | Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $285,000 | $172,000 |
| 2018 | $316,000 | $185,000 |
| 2019 | $339,000 | $201,000 |
| 2020 | $340,000 | $214,000 |
| 2021 | $370,000 | $239,000 |
| 2022 | $409,000 | $291,000 |
| 2023 | $435,000 | $321,000 |
| 2024 | $462,000 | $333,000 |
| 2025 | $470,000 | $337,000 |
| 2026 | $471,000 | $331,000 |
| September 2026 | $472,000 | $329,000 |
A typical Chamblee home worth $276K in October 2016 is worth about $472K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 18 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 4.8 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Chamblee’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $127K short of a typical Chamblee home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,270 a month here, $600 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Chamblee’s typical property tax (1.01% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,270
Renters already here pay a median of $1,859, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
401 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 401 new homes in Chamblee in 2025: 34 single-family houses and 367 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $93 million to build. That's 13 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Georgia (6). Over the past 10 years, Chamblee has permitted 2,845 homes in all.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 26 | 24 | 2 | $16.4 million |
| 2025 | 401 | 34 | 367 | $93 million |
| 2024 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $11.3 million |
| 2023 | 205 | 21 | 184 | $46 million |
| 2022 | 1,038 | 35 | 1,003 | $148.2 million |
| 2021 | 75 | 75 | 0 | $24.9 million |
| 2020 | 26 | 26 | 0 | $9.4 million |
| 2019 | 200 | 186 | 14 | $61.7 million |
| 2018 | 356 | 151 | 205 | $97.6 million |
| 2017 | 193 | 135 | 58 | $46.1 million |
| 2016 | 331 | 28 | 303 | $39.1 million |
| 2015 | 35 | 35 | 0 | $8.8 million |
| 2014 | 40 | 40 | 0 | $8.8 million |
| 2013 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $3.2 million |
| 2012 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $475,000 |
| 2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $843,000 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2007 | 101 | 101 | 0 | $14.7 million |
| 2006 | 66 | 6 | 60 | $6.5 million |
| 2005 | 199 | 7 | 192 | $14 million |
| 2004 | 275 | 33 | 242 | $20 million |
| 2003 | 22 | 6 | 16 | $2.6 million |
| 2002 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2001 | 100 | 0 | 100 | $1.6 million |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Georgia norm
The median bill is $4,379 (Georgia: $2,341), 1.01% of a home’s value a year, against 0.77% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Chamblee
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area, or Georgia. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 100 | GA 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 100 | GA 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 96 | GA 93 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 97 | GA 97 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Chamblee vs. its neighbors
Of the 4 towns here with a Zillow value, Chamblee has the 2nd-lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamblee | D | $472K | $433K | 1.01% | $2,270 |
| Brookhaven | D− | $743K | $693K | 0.94% | $2,560 |
| Doraville | C− | $360K | $332K | 0.83% | $1,810 |
| Dunwoody | D | $667K | $603K | 0.90% | $2,360 |
Questions about the cost of living in Chamblee
Is Chamblee expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Chamblee costs more than 94% of U.S. towns: a D for cost of living, #252 of 263 in Georgia. The typical home costs 4.8 years of the median household income of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area ($90K).
How much does a house cost in Chamblee?
About $472K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 1.2% in a year. The Georgia typical home is $329K.
What salary do you need to live in Chamblee?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $123,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,870 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $91,000.
How much is rent in Chamblee?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,270 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,859 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Chamblee?
The median bill is $4,379 a year, 1.01% of the median home value (Georgia: $2,341, 0.77%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Chamblee going up?
Yes: up 1.2% in the past year and 19.2% in five years, against 20.9% across Georgia (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Chamblee buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.