Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Winder is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 128th among Georgia's 258 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 50% of Georgia towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: residents are less healthy than 65% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. A typical home there costs about $342K, 3.8 years of the Atlanta metro’s $90K median household income. 19% of the land in Winder is conserved, against 2.2% in Georgia’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Only 5 of Georgia’s 374 towns score higher on the outdoors. Winder has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Barrow County Courthouse and Rockwell Universalist Church.
Where Winder beats most towns.
Census counts: 202 in 1890, 18,338 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 3 maps from 1896 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Winder is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Winder, 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 Winder.
Winder is healthier than towns with similar incomes, is one of Georgia’s best towns for the outdoors and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Georgia.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #3 of 264 in Georgia.
19 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Winder’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile, where Georgia’s towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Fort Yargo State Park, at 1,627 acres with 12.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fort Yargo State Park | 12.7 mi | 1,627 |
| 2. Jug Tavern Park | 0.5 mi | 3 |
| 3. Veteran's Commemorative Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Barrow County school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Winder-Barrow High School, with 1,869 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 973 | B |
| Winder-Barrow High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,869 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. Since 2015, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Winder.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 4,485 in 2013 to 6,300.
Most working residents leave Winder for work: only 6% work in town. The average trip to work in Winder is 33 minutes. Jobs based in Winder grew to 6,300 in 2023, 1,815 more than in 2013.
| Winder | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.1% | 9.2% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 15% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Winder 4s weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 219 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 85% of Georgia places with climate records. The Winder 4s weather station records that about 38 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 85% of Georgia places with climate records.
Winder has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Winder’s July high is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,692 U.S. towns with household incomes like Winder’s, it is healthier than 50%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
39% of Winder adults feel lonely. Winder beats the Georgia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 15% of Winder adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Winder | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 33% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 29% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Winder | GA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 7.3% | 6.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Within Georgia, it does better than 63% of towns.
| Winder | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.2 per 1,000 residents | 14.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Winder home is worth about $342,000, down 0.7% in a year, close to the Georgia typical home.
| Winder | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,209 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 Winder. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi MountainStone Mountain
Big draw22 mi LakeLake Lanier
20 mi Stadium & arenaSanford Stadium
38 mi MuseumChattahoochee Nature Center
21 mi Stadium & arenaGas South Arena
40 mi GardenPiedmont ParkStone Mountain: KyleAndMelissa22, Public domain · Lake Lanier: http://www.terraprints.com, CC BY 2.5 · Sanford Stadium: The original uploader was Clio64 at French Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chattahoochee Nature Center: muffinn from Worcester, UK, CC BY 2.0 · Gas South Arena: fr:File:ArenaatGwinnettCenterSat.png : fr:User:Betp (26 janvier 2008 à 20:19), Public domain · Piedmont Park: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of Winder; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Winder residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Georgia.
14,099 counted in 2010 and 18,338 in 2020; an estimated 21,252 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 16.1% since 2020, after 30.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
11 places in Winder on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Georgia, United States
Winder (, WYNE-dər) is a city and the county seat of Barrow County, Georgia, United States. It is located east of Atlanta and is part of Metro Atlanta. The population was 18,338 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Winder.
Russell has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Russell reports no FBI crime data of its own. Bethlehem isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Winder with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Winder grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #128 of 258 in Georgia. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools.
Within Georgia, it does better than 63% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
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