Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Clarkesville’s subject grades is an A− for schools. 35% of residents are 65 or older in Clarkesville, against 15% in Georgia’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Only 5 of the 265 Georgia towns we compare have a lower July high than Clarkesville. Its National Register listings include Grace Church and Acoa. Clarkesville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 85% of U.S. towns. Clarkesville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Clarkesville beats most towns.
Grace Church| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Clarkesville Elementary School | PK–5 | 466 |
Census counts: 502 in 1850, a low of 263 in 1870, 1,911 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
23 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Clarkesville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Clarkesville, 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 Clarkesville.
Most working residents leave Clarkesville for work: only 7% work in town. Clarkesville’s average trip to work is 21 minutes, where Georgia’s towns sit at 26 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Since 2013, Clarkesville has added 304 jobs, to 1,639 in 2023.
| Clarkesville | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 15% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Habersham County school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clarkesville Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 466 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
Clarkesville’s median age is 46.9 years. Clarkesville has grown 16% since 2020, to 2,186 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 19% of residents are under 18 in Clarkesville.
| Clarkesville | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46.9 years | 36.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 25% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.8 points. Across Georgia, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Clarkesville | GA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.8% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.1% | 11.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.3% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14% | 13.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6% | 12.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.6% | 12.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.2% | 9.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 18.1% | 5.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11% | 10.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.1% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.5% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.4% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 10.9% | 21.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.3% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,200, single groups can be off by several points
Clarkesville beats the Georgia average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 33% of Clarkesville adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Clarkesville | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 40% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 38% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 22% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 39% | 33% |
| What stands out | Clarkesville | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.1% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 2018, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Clarkesville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Clarkesville has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Clarkesville is 31°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Clarkesville home is worth about $386,000, up 2.4% in a year, 17% above the Georgia typical home.
| Clarkesville | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,271 a month | $1,154 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Clarkesville | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pitts Park | 0.3 mi | 9 |
| 2. Mauldin House & Garden | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Clarkesville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi LakeLake Lanier
10 mi MountainCurrahee Mountain
24 mi MountainBrasstown Bald
39 mi Stadium & arenaMemorial Stadium, Clemson
40 mi LakeLake Hartwell12 mi WaterfallTallulah GorgeLake Lanier: http://www.terraprints.com, CC BY 2.5 · Currahee Mountain: Wikilackey (talk), Public domain · Brasstown Bald: Unknown, Public domain · Memorial Stadium, Clemson: Caseyh at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Hartwell: blahedo, CC BY-SA 2.5
4 within 15 miles of the center of Clarkesville
About 7 of every 100 Clarkesville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Georgia.
Where Clarkesville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
23 places in Clarkesville on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Clarkesville.
City in Georgia, United States
Clarkesville is a city in and the county seat of Habersham County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 1,911, up from the 2010 census population of 1,733, up from 1,248 at the 2000 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 5.7 years of the area's median household income ($67,309 across the Cornelia, 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 C+.
6 notable people were born here, including Carter Barron and Benjamin Purcell.
