Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Rome grades D− overall, 234th among Georgia's 258 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. Its police reported 218 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 94% of U.S. towns. Residents are less healthy than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also has a long history, with 20 places on the National Register. 32% of working residents work locally in Rome, where Georgia’s towns sit at 9% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include Chieftains and Berry Schools. Rome is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 71% of U.S. towns.
Where Rome beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Chieftains
Butch WalkerChieftains is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its 20 National Register listings are more than in 95% of Georgia towns with a listing.
Census counts: 4,010 in 1860, a low of 2,748 in 1870, 37,713 in 2020. The archive holds 22 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 2 maps from 1967 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Rome is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rome, 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 Rome.
Rome draws workers from Lindale and beyond and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Georgia; it also has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Reported crimes fell from 1,868 to 1,117 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Rome is 5.6 per 1,000 residents. Rome reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 94% report less. The property crime rate in Rome is 23.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Rome | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.1 per 1,000 residents | 14.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Rome City school district. Two of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West End Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 1,005 | B+ |
| Rome High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,986 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
26,345 jobs are based in Rome, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 21.7 minutes, against 28.3 across Georgia.
About one in 3 of Rome’s working residents works in town. 21% of Rome residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Rome has added 1,781 jobs, to 26,345 in 2023.
| Rome | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 15% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.9% | 9.2% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
19 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Ridge Ferry Park, 62 acres with 1 miles of trail.
| Rome | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.1% | 2.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ridge Ferry Park | 1 mi | 62 |
| 2. Floyd County Courthouse | 0.6 mi | 29 |
| 3. Berry College Wildlife Management Area and Refuge | 0.4 mi | 93 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
19% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Rome. Rome beats the Georgia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 16% of adults have diabetes in Rome.
| Rome | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 23% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 22% | 14% |
| What stands out | Rome | GA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 18.9% | 13.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 25.4% | 17.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.7% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Rome home is worth about $231,000, up 1.3% in a year, 30% below the Georgia typical home.
| Rome | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,032 a month | $1,160 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 52% | 52% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Rome weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 217 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 89% of Georgia places with climate records. The Rome weather station records that about 49 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 75% of Georgia places with climate records.
Rome has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Rome’s July high is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Georgia average. Rome has grown 2.7% since 2020, to 38,934 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Georgia.
| Rome | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.1 years | 36.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 14% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 24% | 22% |
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.5 points). Across Georgia, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.5, men 36.5.
| Rome | GA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 11.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.4% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14% | 13.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.9% | 12.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.5% | 12.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.6% | 9.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 5.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 17.8% | 10.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.1% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.9% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.8% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16% | 21.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.4% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
233 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 31 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 233 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Rome.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Rome
About 6 of every 100 Rome residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Georgia.
2 colleges in town.
20 places in Rome on the National Register of Historic Places.
66 notable people were born in Rome.
City in Floyd County, Georgia, US
Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Floyd County. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 37,713. It is the largest city in Northwest Georgia and the 26th-largest city in the state. Rome was founded in 1834, after Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, and the federal government committed to removing the Cherokee and other Native Americans from the Southeast. It developed on former indigenous territory at the confluence of the Etowah and the Oostanaula rivers, which togethe…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Rome.
| Town | GA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rome | #234 | D− | C | D | B− | D |
| Lindale | #116 | C | B− | — | A− | D− |
| Berry College | — | — | — | — | A− | A |
Berry College has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lindale and Berry College report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Rome with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rome grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #234 of 258 in Georgia. It grades D for health, D for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.5 years of the area's median household income ($65,565 across the Rome, GA metro area).
66 notable people were born here, including Butch Walker and Arn Anderson.
