Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Thomaston grades D overall, 225th of 258 graded towns in Georgia, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 94% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $39K, and 28% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: natural-hazard risk is low. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. 28% of residents live below the poverty line in Thomaston, above both Georgia’s towns (15%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). On history, just 15 of Georgia’s 373 towns do better. Thomaston's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 92% of U.S. towns.
Where Thomaston beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 570 in 1880, 9,816 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1936 and 3 maps from 1939 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Thomaston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Thomaston, 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 Thomaston.
Thomaston fares better on crime within Georgia than nationally, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Griffin and other neighbors.
Against the 2,082 U.S. towns with household incomes like Thomaston’s, it is less healthy than 64%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
18% of adults have diabetes in Thomaston. Thomaston beats the Georgia average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 35% of adults get no exercise outside work in Thomaston.
| Thomaston | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 29% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Thomaston | GA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.1% | 77.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Thomaston-Upson County school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upson-Lee Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 894 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
Home values rose 45% in five years, to about $180K, against 21% across Georgia.
The typical Thomaston home is worth about $180,000, up 3.5% in a year, 45% below the Georgia typical home. 35% of Thomaston households own their home.
| Thomaston | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 35% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $811 a month | $1,160 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3.9 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Greatest Generation Memorial Park, at 46 acres.
| Thomaston | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greatest Generation Memorial Park | — | 46 |
| 2. Weaver Park | — | 9 |
| 3. Westside Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 38.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 63% of Georgia’s graded towns.
The property crime rate in Thomaston is 25.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Thomaston | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25.2 per 1,000 residents | 14.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 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 86% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Thomaston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Thomaston has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Thomaston’s July high is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Thomaston has about as many jobs (4,688) as working residents, but only 809 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Thomaston’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Thomaston fell to 4,688 in 2023, 728 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Griffin (4%), Atlanta (4%) and Macon-Bibb County (3%).
| Thomaston | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $39,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Thomaston
About 2 of every 100 Thomaston residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
5 places in Thomaston on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Thomaston.
City in Georgia, United States
Thomaston is a city in and the county seat of Upson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,816 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Thomaston, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Atlanta - Sandy Springs (GA) - Gainesville (GA) - Alabama (partial) CSA.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Thomaston.
| Town | GA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomaston | #225 | D | C | C− | C+ | D |
| Lincoln Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hannahs Mill | #109 | C+ | A− | — | C+ | C− |
Hannahs Mill reports no FBI crime data of its own. Lincoln Park isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Thomaston with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Thomaston grades D overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #225 of 258 in Georgia. It grades D for health, C− for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.2 years of the area's median household income ($55,429 across the Thomaston, 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.
17 notable people were born here, including Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Travon Walker.
