Best Places to Live in Atlanta for Families: 7 Top Picks
If you’re looking for places to live in Atlanta for families, look no further. Atlanta, Georgia was awarded US News and World Report’s 30th best place to live in the US in 2024-2025. However, not all of its areas are created equal. So, we pored over the statistics, expert rankings, and other factors to share the top locations.
Main Takeaways
- The best places to live in Atlanta for families are Peachtree Corners, Alpharetta (AKA Milton), John’s Creek, Decatur, Tyrone, Roswell, and Duluth.
- The best areas to live in Atlanta for families have been chosen based on each area’s quality of schools, attractions, crime rate, income, and transportation.
Table of Contents
Our Criteria for the Best Areas to Live in Atlanta for Families
Atlanta property management only used the very best of the best criteria to definitively determine the best neighborhoods in Atlanta for families. For the sake of brevity, we’ll acknowledge our main ones here, rather than repeating them over and over later.
First, we relied on leading non-profit GreatSchools for most of our school rankings. Then, we used the New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Wall Street Journal-featured Neighborhood Scout database for crime rates. Next, we turned to each town and city’s official home pages to fill in the details. With that said, we hope these findings help you find the best places to live in Atlanta for families like yours.
Peachtree Corners
Peachtree Corners wasn’t just recognized as one of the best places to live in Atlanta for families. It was crowned one of Fortune’s Best Places to Live for Families in the US. And for good reason.
Schools
46% of schools in Peachtree Corners’ district are above average in school quality. As a unique bonus, the district boasts a specialized high school in math, science, and tech with a 100% graduation rate and 98% college readiness rate. All in all, Peachtree Corners should be on your list if your child is interested in the sciences.
Income
The median household income in Peachtree Corners from 2018-2022 is $74,716, according to the US Census.
Additionally, Peachtree Corners is a developing mecca for technology professionals. As such, the city has a Technology Park that employs 7,500 people. In addition, the city runs a Curiosity Lab in which tech firms test prototypes on a 5G-powered, 3-mile-long track.
Attractions
First, there’s the Peachtree Corners Town Center, a huge space with dozens of stores and restaurants. The Center also features events like sports event screenings, free summer concerts, and free yoga classes.
Furthermore, the town borders the Chattahoochee River. This convenient placement enables families to fish, raft, and boat as much as they want.
Crime rate
Peachtree Corners has a violent crime rate of 3.47 victims out of 1,000 residents, teetering under Georgia’s 3.67 rate and the country’s median 4.0 rate.
From another angle, people have a 1 in 289 chance of being a victim of violent crime in the city.
Transportation
Peachtree Corners primarily has public transportation by bus. So, residents can expect to use buses for their commute.
Alpharetta/Milton
Another one of the best areas to live in Atlanta for families is the Alpharetta area, also colloquially known as the Milton area. Here’s why:
Schools
Alpharetta has two school districts, with 45% and 66% of each’s schools being above average. Many of its schools are US News and World Report award-winning as of 2023.
Attractions
Alpharetta has many free university museums and lots of wildlife to explore. Furthermore, it holds over 250 shops, 200 restaurants, and year-round art exhibits and live music.
Crime rate
Overall, Alpharetta holds a 2.87-per-1,000 resident crime rate compared to the national median of 4. Put another way, 1 in 349 residents have a chance of being the victim of a violent crime.
Income
The US Census reports that Alpharetta’s median household income is $129,946.
Transportation
Luckily for busy commuters, Alpharetta has public transportation in the form of a rapid rail and bus transit system.
John’s Creek
John’s Creek has garnered national praise as one of the best suburbs of Atlanta for families. Foremostly, Niche.com lauded it as Georgia’s #1 best place to raise a family in Georgia. Even better, the magazine Travel + Leisure rated the city as the #1 Best US Suburb to Live in 2024. Also, Livability.com did so for 2023.
Schools
45% of John’s Creek’s district’s schools are above average. In particular, John’s Creek High School is a US News and World Report award-winning school, with a score of 96.19 out of 100.
Attractions
John’s Creek is famous for its nature-packed, Cherokee heritage, with dozens of parks to explore. Also, the land offers plenty of options for traveling through historical buildings, trails, and bodies of water. One notable spot is the Tipton-Hanes State Historic Site, which honors the town’s initial settlers.
Crime Rate
John’s Creek was found to be safer than 71% of other US cities. It has a crime rate of just 0.57 per 1,000 residents, and residents have a minuscule 1 in 1,754 chances of being targeted for a crime.
Income
The American Community Survey stated John’s Creek’s average household income as $153,882.
Transportation
John’s Creek has public bus transportation through Xpress. However, the city also plans on developing commuter rail access in the future, so travel may get easier in the future.
Decatur
Decatur is one of the best places to live in Atlanta for families because of its transportation offerings, activities, and other features.
Schools
Decatur is part of two school districts—the Decatur City District and the Dekalb County School District. 75% of the former schools are above average, while 55% of the latter are below average. So, this is something to keep in mind if you move here.
Attractions
Decatur has the ambiance and convenience of a small town. At the same time, it’s centered just minutes away from downtown Atlanta. It has a historic neighborhood called the MAK Local Historic District, dozens of local shops and restaurants, and a seemingly endless number of events going on, from music strolls to author meet-and-greets.
Crime rate
Decatur has a crime rate is 1.36 in 1,000 residents, with a respectably low victim likelihood of 1 in 738.
Income
The Census’s reported median Decatur income from 2018-2022 is $129,992.
Transportation
Decatur has a robust public transportation system, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. Furthermore, the government has taken care to carve out expansive parking. So, people can enjoy that convenience, too.
Tyrone
Tyrone has phenomenal schools—just one of the reasons it’s one of the best suburbs of Atlanta for families. The proof is below:
Schools
A whopping 100% (!) of Tyrone’s district’s schools are above average. Needless to say, many of them were marked as award-winning by the US News and World Report.
Attractions
The town has lots of classes, camps, and festivals. As one unique event, there’s a yearly festival celebrating Tyrone’s founding.
Crime rate
Crimegrade.org gave Tyrone an A+ rating for its low violent crime rate.
Income
For a family of four, Neighborhood Scout reports that Tyrone has an annual income of $219,296.
Transportation
While we included Tyrone as one of the best places to live in Atlanta for families for its exceptional safety and schools, there are a few downsides.
Unfortunately, there is no public transportation. Additionally, the town’s average commute time is around 32 minutes, longer than the national average. So, you may need to carpool with others to get to work.
Roswell
Roswell is well-known as one of the best areas to live in Atlanta for families. In fact, it was twice named Atlanta Magazine’s “Best Place to Live in Metro Atlanta.” Learn the specifics below:
Schools
45% of Roswell’s greater county offers schools above average in quality.
Attractions
Roswell has everything from a Cultural Arts Center to historic house museums to large community events every week. Oftentimes, there are festivals and parades. It also features multiple nature centers where you can go on nature walks, hike, and canoe, like the Chattahoochee Nature Center, Nantahala Outdoor Center, and the Roswell Riverwalk.
Crime rate
Roswell has a rate of 2.01 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Also, residents have a 1 in 497 chance of experiencing violence there. According to City Crime Rankings, it’s the 18th Safest City in the US.
Income
The US Census lists Roswell’s median household income as $122,924. On the other hand, the average per capita income is $62,878.
Transportation
This area uses the aforementioned Metropolitan Rapid Transit Authority system.
Duluth
Bloomberg Businessweek magazine recognized Duluth as one of the best areas to live in Atlanta for families. More specifically, they praised it as one of the “Best Affordable Suburbs in America.”
Schools
Duluth is part of two districts, the Gwinnett County District and the Fulton County District. On that note, 46% of the former district’s schools are above average, and 45% of the latter’s are.
Attractions
Duluth is a vibrant, buzzing place with something for everyone happening all the time. Multiple events are going on every day, like farmer’s markets, standup comedy, festivals, concerts, trivia nights, and more. To boot, they even have classes every month, like kids’ art classes or storytelling hours.
Crime Rate
Duluth has a crime rate of 1.28 violent crime victims per 1,000 residents. In addition, there is a 1 in 82 chance of being a crime victim there.
Income
The US Census reported Duluth’s 2018-2022 median income as being $88,915.
Transportation
Duluth has many express bus routes throughout the city, from commuter routes to local ones. By this token, Duluth has exceptional ease of access.
The Best Places to Live in Atlanta for Families, Unlocked
All the above cities and towns are some of the best neighborhoods in Atlanta for families. They all have fabulous schools, attractions, safety rates, and other factors essential for enabling your child to thrive. You should keep these factors in mind if you’re moving to Atlanta.
As a matter of fact, there are so many best places to live in Atlanta for families that it might feel impossible to choose. No need to fear, because we’re here to help. Our professional property managers have years of experience with all Atlanta has to offer, its pros and cons, and more. As such, we can work with you to narrow down which places work and don’t work for you. In fact, we can introduce you to homes that meet your needs and budget.
Or, if you’re a landlord, we can take over your management burdens, like tenant screening, maintenance, and rent collection, so you can just focus on your ROI.
Either way, we’re here to help. Contact us today to streamline your rental experience.
