Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Tifton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 174th of 258 graded towns in Georgia, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 52% of the state's. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $208K for a typical one and 4.2 times the Tifton area’s $50K median household income. 33% of working residents work locally in Tifton, above both the Georgia town median (9%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Tifton is home to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Tifton is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns.
Where Tifton beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Tifton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,384 in 1900, 17,045 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 2 maps from 1973 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tifton, 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 Tifton.
Tifton draws workers from Fitzgerald and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has household incomes well below the Georgia norm.
11,726 jobs are based in Tifton, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19.3 minutes, against 28.3 across Georgia.
About one in 3 of Tifton’s working residents works in town. 24% of residents live below the poverty line in Tifton. The top destinations are Valdosta (4%), Albany (3%) and Moultrie (2%).
| Tifton | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 15% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $45,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.6% | 9.2% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Tift County school district. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eighth Street Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 883 | C+ |
| Tift County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,207 | C |
| Len Lastinger Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 448 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
Against the 4,113 U.S. towns with household incomes like Tifton’s, it is less healthy than 54%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
Tifton beats the Georgia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 25% of Tifton adults worry about having enough food.
| Tifton | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 22% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 23% | 19% |
| What stands out | Tifton | GA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 25.4% | 17.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.6% | 9.6% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 13.4% | 9.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Tifton’s median rent is $798 a month. The typical Tifton home is worth about $209,000, up 3.7% in a year, 37% below the Georgia typical home.
| Tifton | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 41% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $798 a month | $1,160 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 43 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Tifton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3.6 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Fulwood Park, at 31 acres.
| Tifton | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.7% | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fulwood Park | — | 31 |
| 2. Veteran's Memorial Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Tifton has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Tifton is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1 within 15 miles of the center of Tifton
About 10 of every 100 Tifton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
Where Tifton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Tifton on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Georgia, United States
Tifton is a city in and the county seat of Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 17,045 at the 2020 census. The area's public schools are administered by the Tift County School District. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has its main campus in Tifton. Southern Regional Technical College and the University of Georgia also have Tifton campuses. Sites in the area include the Coastal Plain Research Arboretum, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, and the Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village. The Tifton Commercial Historic District and the Tifton Residential Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Tifton.
| Town | GA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tifton | #174 | C− | C | — | B− | D |
| Phillipsburg | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Unionville | — | — | B+ | — | B− | D− |
Unionville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Tifton and Unionville report no FBI crime data of their own. Phillipsburg isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Tifton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Tifton grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #174 of 258 in Georgia. It grades D for health and B− 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 C.
