Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Jackson gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $283K for a typical one, or 3.2 years of the Atlanta metro’s $90K median household income. It grades C− overall, 143rd among Georgia's 258 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 96% of the country, and the median household income is $46K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 19% of residents live below the poverty line in Jackson, against 15% in Georgia’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Jackson's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 87% of U.S. towns. Jackson has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them J. R. Carmichael House and Butts County Courthouse.
Where Jackson beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Jackson | GA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.3% | 14.5% |
Where Jackson’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Jackson is from typical.
Its grades run from A for hazard risk (better than 94% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 4%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 212 in 1880, 5,557 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jackson, 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 Jackson.
Jackson trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, draws workers from Locust Grove and beyond and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Georgia.
38% of Jackson adults get no exercise outside work. Jackson beats the Georgia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 18% of Jackson adults have diabetes.
| Jackson | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 29% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 38% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Jackson | GA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.3% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.7% | 6.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 28.8% | 17.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Butts County school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Jackson High School, with 1,060 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henderson Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 761 | C+ |
| Jackson High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,060 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
3,452 jobs are based in Jackson, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 21.9 minutes, against 28.3 across Georgia.
Most working residents leave Jackson for work: only 13% work in town. Since 2013, Jackson has added 838 jobs, to 3,452 in 2023. The average trip to work in Jackson is 22 minutes.
| Jackson | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $46,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities. Since 1994, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Jackson.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Monticello weather station, 16 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 211 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 84% of Georgia places with climate records.
Jackson has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Jackson’s July high is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $283K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles.
53% of households own their home in Jackson. The typical Jackson home is worth about $283,000, up 0.8% in a year, 14% below the Georgia typical home.
| Jackson | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $817 a month | $1,160 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.7 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Daughtry Park, at 76 acres.
| Jackson | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 2.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Daughtry Park | 0.7 mi | 76 |
| 2. Patterson Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Jackson; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Jackson residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
5,045 counted in 2010 and 5,557 in 2020; an estimated 5,884 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 6.5% since 2020, after 10.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
2 places in Jackson on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Jackson.
City in Georgia, United States
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Butts County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 5,045 in 2010, up from 3,934 at the 2000 census. In 2020, its population was 5,557. The community was named after the Governor James Jackson.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Jackson grades C− overall, better than 23% of U.S. towns and #143 of 258 in Georgia. It grades D− for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
7 notable people were born here, including Mike Collins and Mac Collins.
