Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,443, settled in 2015.
McRae-Helena earns a D, 212th among Georgia's 258 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $44K, and 32% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, homes are within reach, about $114K for a typical one, or 2.2 years of the county’s $51K median household income. 32% of residents live below the poverty line in McRae-Helena, above both the Georgia town median (15%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). McRae-Helena's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. McRae-Helena has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Telfair County Courthouse and Jail and South Georgia College Administration Building.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far McRae-Helena is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers and 2 maps from 1972 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in McRae-Helena, 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 McRae-Helena.
McRae-Helena trades workers with Eastman and other neighbors, but it has poverty well above the Georgia rate.
29% of McRae-Helena adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Among 261 Georgia towns, just 10 have a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than McRae-Helena. 33% of McRae-Helena adults say their health is fair or poor.
| McRae-Helena | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 23% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 22% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 29% | 25% |
| What stands out | McRae-Helena | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.2% | 7% |
| More uninsured adults | 29.1% | 13.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Telfair County school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Telfair County High School, with 388 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telfair County ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 793 | B− |
| Telfair County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 388 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
McRae-Helena has mild winters and hot summers. McRae-Helena’s July high is 93°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
McRae-Helena has about as many jobs (1,479) as working residents, but only 291 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 3,872 in 2013 to 1,479.
About one in 5 of McRae-Helena’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in McRae-Helena is 21 minutes. Since 2013, McRae-Helena has lost 2,393 jobs, to 1,479 in 2023.
| McRae-Helena | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
McRae-Helena's reported crime rate is well below Georgia's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 5 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| McRae-Helena | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.7 per 1,000 residents | 14.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Little Ocmulgee State Park & Lodge, at 39 acres.
| McRae-Helena | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Little Ocmulgee State Park & Lodge | — | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of McRae-Helena; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 McRae-Helena residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
3 places in McRae-Helena on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Georgia, United States
McRae–Helena is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, formed on January 1, 2015, by the merger of the two cities of McRae and Helena. McRae–Helena is the county seat of Telfair County. It is the largest city in Telfair County, with a population of 6,253 in 2020. This includes the population held as inmates at McRae Correctional Institution.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
McRae-Helena grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #212 of 258 in Georgia. It grades D− for health and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
