HarlemGA
A town of 4,239, settled in 1875. Public schools that outperform most of Georgia.
Is Harlem a good place to live?
Harlem grades B− overall, 73rd of 258 graded towns in Georgia, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 89% of Georgia towns on state tests and graduation. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $291K, 4.2 years of the Augusta metro’s $69K median household income. Among 150 Georgia towns, just 1 have a lower property crime rate than Harlem. Harlem's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 87% of U.S. towns. Among 150 Georgia towns, just 5 have a lower violent crime rate than Harlem.
What makes Harlem stand out
Where Harlem beats most towns.
Harlem has grown 59% since 2010
2,666 counted in 2010 and 3,571 in 2020; an estimated 4,239 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 18.8% since 2020, after 33.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Harlem grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Harlem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Harlem: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Harlem, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Harlem.
Harlem is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has added half again as many jobs in ten years, but it has household incomes well below the Georgia norm.
For schools, Harlem earns an A
Its public schools are run by the Columbia County school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Harlem Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 930 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
Most of Harlem’s workers commute out: the town has 0.5 jobs for each of them
Jobs based here grew from 380 in 2013 to 682.
Most working residents leave Harlem for work: only 3% work in town. At $46,000, Harlem’s median household income is against $63,000 in Georgia’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Jobs based in Harlem grew to 682 in 2023, 302 more than in 2013.
| Harlem | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $46,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.3% | 9.2% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 15% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Harlem
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Harlem has mild winters and hot summers
Harlem has mild winters and warm summers. At 91°F, Harlem’s July high is where Georgia’s towns sit at 90°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Crime reported in Harlem
Harlem's reported crime rate is well below Georgia's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2022.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
For cost of living, Harlem earns a C−
The typical Harlem home is worth about $291,000, up 2.2% in a year, 12% below the Georgia typical home. 58% of households own their home in Harlem.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
On CDC estimates, Harlem is healthier than 58% of U.S. towns
Against the 4,412 U.S. towns with household incomes like Harlem’s, it is healthier than 94%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Its widest gap with Georgia is tooth loss: 9.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide.
Harlem beats the Georgia average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 37% of Harlem adults feel lonely.
| Harlem | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 39% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 40% | 36% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 23% | 19% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Harlem | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.2% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.7% | 17.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2.9% of Harlem is conserved land
0.4 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The trail density in Harlem is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Harlem | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 2.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Harlem City Park | 0.1 mi | 14 |
| 2. Sadie Rolland Memorial Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Fort Gordon and 8 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Harlem. Close and well known come first.
11 mi LandmarkFort Gordon
20 mi Stadium & arenaJames Brown Arena
37 mi MuseumCallaway Plantation
20 mi MuseumMeadow Garden
32 mi MuseumRobert Toombs House State Historic Site
20 mi MuseumMorris Museum of Art120K visitors a yearPhoto credits
Fort Gordon: U.S. Army Cyber Command, Public domain · James Brown Arena: Thomson200, CC0 · Callaway Plantation: A P Wood, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Meadow Garden: Flickr user Sir Mildred Pierce, CC BY 2.0 · Robert Toombs House State Historic Site: TampAGS, for AGS Media, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Morris Museum of Art: Thomson200, CC0
Everything we know about Harlem
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Harlem; the nearest are
About 11 of every 100 Harlem residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
97% of working residents leave Harlem for work
Where Harlem’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Harlem
City in Georgia, United States
Harlem is a city in Columbia and McDuffie counties, in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Augusta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Harlem had a population of 3,571. This city was named after the neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan. Harlem is the birthplace of comedian Oliver Hardy; the annual Harlem Oliver Hardy Festival is held on the first Saturday each October on Main Street in his honor.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 554 ft
- ZIP code
- 30814
- Area code
- 706
Questions about Harlem
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Harlem, GA a good place to live?
Harlem grades B− overall, better than 50% of U.S. towns and #73 of 258 in Georgia. It grades B for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Harlem, GA expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.