Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Griffin earns a D−, 240th of 258 graded towns in Georgia, mostly because of safety and health. Its crime rate is higher than 96% of U.S. towns, with 208 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 94% of the country. In its favor, natural-hazard risk is low. Griffin’s violent crime rate is 8.6 per 1,000 residents, against 2.2 in Georgia’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. Griffin has 13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mills House and Hill-Kurtz House. Griffin's schools rank behind 85% of the state's.
Where Griffin beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Mills House
Census counts: 2,320 in 1850, 23,478 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and a map from 1979 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Griffin is from typical.
Its grades run from A for hazard risk (better than 91% of comparable towns) to D− for safety (better than 4%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Griffin, 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 Griffin.
Griffin is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the Georgia rate.
14 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The trail density in Griffin is 1.0 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Quarry's Edge Park, 48 acres with 3.2 miles of trail.
| Griffin | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.6% | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Quarry's Edge Park | 3.2 mi | 48 |
| 2. Airport Road Park | 0.9 mi | 13 |
| 3. Volunteer Park | 0.3 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Griffin-Spalding County school district. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orrs Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 467 | C− |
| Griffin High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,505 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 8.6 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Georgia rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Reported crimes fell from 1,050 to 886 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Griffin’s property crime rate is 28.1 per 1,000 residents. Griffin reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 3,546 U.S. towns with household incomes like Griffin’s, it is less healthy than 77%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
30% of Griffin adults worry about having enough food. Griffin beats the Georgia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 17% of Griffin adults have diabetes.
| Griffin | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 22% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 12% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Griffin | GA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 30.2% | 17.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16.2% | 9.6% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 15.1% | 9.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 90% of U.S. communities. Since 1997, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Griffin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2.7 years of the Atlanta metro’s $90K median household income, the typical home (about $238K) costs less against local pay than in 80% of Georgia towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
The typical Griffin home is worth about $238,000, down 1.7% in a year, 28% below the Georgia typical home. 38% of households own their home in Griffin.
| Griffin | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 38% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,110 a month | $1,160 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Jonesboro weather station, 20 miles away, records that about 59 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 83% of Georgia places with climate records.
Griffin has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 34° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 9,400 working residents takes 22.2 minutes, against 28.3 across Georgia.
Most working residents leave Griffin for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Atlanta (7%), Peachtree City (3%) and McDonough (2%). Half commute less than 23 miles.
| Griffin | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 25% | 15% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $44,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 9% | 8% |
| Work from home | 5.3% | 9.2% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Griffin
About 3 of every 100 Griffin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
13 places in Griffin on the National Register of Historic Places.
37 notable people were born in Griffin.
City in Georgia, United States
Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 23,478. Griffin was founded in 1840 and named for landowner Col. Lewis Lawrence Griffin. Griffin Technical College was located in Griffin from 1963 and a branch of Southern Crescent Technical College is in Griffin. The Griffin Synodical Female College was established by Presbyterians, but closed. The University of Georgia maintains a branch campus in Griffin.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Griffin.
| Town | GA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Griffin | #240 | D− | B | D− | C− | D |
| East Griffin | — | — | A− | — | C− | D− |
| Experiment | #211 | D | A− | — | C− | D− |
East Griffin has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. East Griffin and Experiment report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Griffin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Griffin grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #240 of 258 in Georgia. It grades D for health, D− for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.7 years of the area's median household income ($89,724 across the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, 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.
37 notable people were born here, including Doc Holliday and Wyomia Tyus.
