Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Georgia.
St. Marys grades C− overall, 154th among Georgia's 258 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 91% of Georgia towns on state tests and graduation. On the other side, the median household income is $74K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. St. Marys’ January low is 43°F, against 33°F in Georgia’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns. St. Marys has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Orange Hall and St. Marys Historic District.
Where St. Marys beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Sugarmill Elementary | PK–5 | 651 |
| Saint Marys Elementary School | PK–5 | 623 |
| Mary Lee Clark Elementary School | PK–5 | 480 |
Orange Hall
Its founding year, 1792, comes before those of 97% of the Georgia towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 268 in 1810, a low of 206 in 1840, 18,256 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1933 and 4 maps from 1918 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far St. Marys is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in St. Marys, 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 St. Marys.
St. Marys has schools in the top 5% of Georgia and sends many workers across the state line to Jacksonville, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Georgia (mostly hurricanes).
Its A ranks #12 of the 260 Georgia towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Camden County school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Marys Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,077 | A |
| New Hope Christian Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 89 | – |
| Sugarmill ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 651 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
24% of working residents cross a state line to work, Jacksonville among the top destinations.
Most working residents leave St. Jobs based in St. Marys fell to 3,875 in 2023, 800 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Kingsland (16%), Jacksonville (6%) and Brunswick (4%).
| St. Marys | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $74,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 11% | 9.2% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
36% of adults feel lonely in St. Marys. Marys beats the Georgia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 13% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in St. Marys.
| St. Marys | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 39% | 33% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| What stands out | St. Marys | GA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8% | 6.5% |
| More smokers | 16.2% | 13.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.9% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of Georgia towns, with expected losses of about $378 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
St. Marys’ FEMA risk score is 71 of 100. Since 1992, 73 flood insurance claims have been paid out in St. Marys.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 43.1°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.4°. The Fernandina Beach weather station, 10 miles away, records that about 45 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 82% of Georgia places with climate records.
The July high in St. Marys is 91°F. Marys has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 31% of residents (39% statewide). St. Marys has grown 11% since 2020, to 20,546 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 27% of St. Marys residents are under 18.
| St. Marys | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.8 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 27% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 29% | 25% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.9 points. Across Georgia, 51.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.2, men 31.4.
| St. Marys | GA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 11.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.9% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.9% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11% | 13.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.2% | 12.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.5% | 12.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.4% | 9.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.5% | 5.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.7% | 10.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.7% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 29.2% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.7% | 21.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.7% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Reported crimes rose from 267 to 308 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
4.2 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Tommy Casey Memorial Dog Park, at 27 acres.
| St. Marys | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 2.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. St Marys Civic Park | 0.3 mi | 20 |
| 2. Tommy Casey Memorial Dog Park | — | 27 |
| 3. Crooked River State Park | — | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical St. Marys home is worth about $312,000, about the same as a year ago, 5% below the Georgia typical home.
| St. Marys | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,183 a month | $1,152 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around St. Marys. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaEverBank Field
24 mi Park & preserveJekyll Island
32 mi LandmarkIgbo Landing Historic Site
26 mi National MemorialFort Caroline National Memorial369K visitors a year
30 mi Stadium & arenaVyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
3 mi National SeashoreCumberland Island National Seashore60K visitors a yearEverBank Field: AndrewAvitus, CC BY 3.0 · Jekyll Island: normanack on Flickr, CC BY 2.0 · Igbo Landing Historic Site: Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Caroline National Memorial: NPS Photo, Public domain · VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena: Nichos (talk), Public domain · Cumberland Island National Seashore: The original uploader was Pgabolde at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of St. Marys; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 St. Marys residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Georgia.
Coastal flooding makes up 9% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
3 places in St. Marys on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Georgia, US
St. Marys is a city in Camden County, Georgia, United States, located on the southern border of Camden County on the St. Marys River. It had a population of 18,256 at the 2020 census, up from 17,121 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsland, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area. The Florida border is just to the south across the river, Cumberland Island National Seashore is to the northeast, and Kingsland, Georgia, is to the west. Jacksonville, Florida, is 38 miles south, and Savannah, Georgia, is 110 miles north. St. Marys is the ferry departure point for the passenger ferry to Cumberland Island. Other attractions include the St. Marys Submarine Museum, Crooked River State Park, the…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with St. Marys.
| Town | GA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Marys | #154 | C− | C− | C+ | A | C |
| Kingsland | #87 | B− | C | B− | A | B− |
| Kings Bay Base | — | — | D− | — | A | A− |
Kings Bay Base has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Kings Bay Base reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare St. Marys with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
St. Marys grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #154 of 258 in Georgia. It grades C for health, C+ for safety and A for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
St. Within Georgia, it does better than 60% of towns.
Yes. That is 4.2 years of the area's median household income ($74,378 across the Kingsland, GA area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
St. 2 notable people were born here, including Tina Cornely and Rashaad Singleton.
