Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A regional job hub with 34,623 jobs.
Dalton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 175th of 258 graded towns in Georgia, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: homes are within reach, about $239K for a typical one, or 3.5 years of the Dalton metro’s $68K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 80% of the country. 38% of working residents work locally in Dalton, above both Georgia’s towns (9%) and U.S. towns (8%). Dalton has 10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Western and Atlantic Depot and Thomas A. Berry House. Among 264 Georgia towns, just 7 have a lower January low than Dalton.
Where Dalton beats most towns.
Western and Atlantic Depot| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Dalton State College | 4,265 |
Census counts: 1,649 in 1860, 34,417 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 5 maps from 1919 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Dalton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dalton, 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 Dalton.
Dalton draws workers from Calhoun and beyond, has seen reported crime fall by a third or more and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Georgia.
34,623 jobs are based in Dalton, 2.4 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 3 of Dalton’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Dalton is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Chattanooga (5%), Calhoun (3%) and Atlanta (2%).
| Dalton | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 15% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 4.8% | 9.2% | 11% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Dalton Public Schools. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hammond Creek Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,057 | – |
| Dalton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,919 | C− |
| Brookwood Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 688 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
27% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Dalton. Dalton beats the Georgia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 76% of adults had a checkup this year in Dalton.
| Dalton | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 29% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 23% | 19% |
| What stands out | Dalton | GA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 27.3% | 13.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 25.8% | 17.7% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 20% | 15% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
52% of Dalton households own their home. The typical Dalton home is worth about $239,000, about the same as a year ago, 27% below the Georgia typical home. Dalton’s median rent is $996 a month.
| Dalton | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 52% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $996 a month | $1,160 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 845 to 600 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Georgia, it does better than 52% of towns.
| Dalton | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.9 per 1,000 residents | 14.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
4.7 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Raisin Woods Mountain Bike Park, at 125 acres.
| Dalton | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.3% | 2.2% | 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. Raisin Woods Mountain Bike Park | — | 125 |
| 2. Heritage Point Park | 0.2 mi | 105 |
| 3. Al Rollings Park | — | 35 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average 30.7°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 95% of Georgia places with climate records; July afternoons average 89.4°.
Dalton has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 38 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dalton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dalton. Close and well known come first.
25 mi MountainLookout Mountain
27 mi WaterfallRuby Falls23 mi CaveEllison's Cave
16 mi State parkNew Echota21 mi Theme parkLake Winnepesaukah
25 mi MuseumTennessee Valley Railroad MuseumLookout Mountain: Teke, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ruby Falls: Oydman (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · New Echota: Cculber007 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum: TVSRR at English Wikipedia. Photo by Jason Trew /TVSRR, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Dalton
About 6 of every 100 Dalton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Georgia.
10 places in Dalton on the National Register of Historic Places.
22 notable people were born in Dalton.
City in Georgia, United States
Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 34,417 people; the city's metro area was 124,837. Dalton is located just off Interstate 75 in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northwest Georgia and is the second-largest city in northwest Georgia, after Rome. Dalton is home to many of the nation's floor-covering manufacturers, primarily those producing carpet, rugs, and vinyl flooring. It is home to the Dalton Convention Center, which showcases the Georgia Athletic Co…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Dalton grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #175 of 258 in Georgia. It grades C− for health, C for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within Georgia, it does better than 52% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
22 notable people were born here, including Lane Davies and Morris Almond.
