What is the cost of living in Augusta-Richmond County?

Augusta-Richmond County has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 91.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 70.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,261/month.

What is the median salary in Augusta-Richmond County?

The median salary in Augusta-Richmond County is $64,684 annually (mean: $68,803). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Augusta-Richmond County?

The violent crime rate in the Augusta-Richmond County area is 300 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1567 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Augusta-Richmond County?

The state of GA has 2,315 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.4:1. Charter schools make up 4.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Augusta-Richmond County?

Infant center-based childcare in the Augusta-Richmond County area averages $6,591 per year. Preschool averages $6,034/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Augusta-Richmond County a good place to relocate?

Augusta-Richmond County has a Life Score of 55.4/100 (C-), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Augusta-Richmond County sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Augusta-Richmond County ranks #137 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC

LiveAbility 54.5/100 places Augusta-Richmond County #137 of 387 (middle third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

91.9
Cost index (US=100): $1,261
2BR rent / mo: $64,684
Median salary: 54.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Augusta-Richmond County ranks #137 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (54.5/100), with its strongest marks in climate and schools.

#137
of 387 US metros · Above median: 11,180,878
metro-area population: 300
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,315
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (16/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Augusta-Richmond County ranks #137 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 91.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,261/mo, median salary $64,684; LiveAbility Score 54.5/100, strongest in climate and schools.

Signature: LiveAbility 54.5/100 places Augusta-Richmond County #137 of 387 (middle third).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 91.9 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,261/mo.

LiveAbility 54.5/100 keeps Augusta-Richmond County in the middle third (#137 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Augusta-Richmond County area is 219,950.

Augusta-Richmond County vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

55 Top 35% higher than 65% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Augusta-Richmond County housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Augusta-Richmond County MSA; housing RPP 70.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,261/mo.

Studio

$939

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,114

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,261

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,627

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,984

/month

Augusta-Richmond County wages and employment

Augusta-Richmond County posts 219,950 total employment with median salary $64,684.

Median Salary

$64,684

Mean Salary

$68,803

Total Employment

219,950

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$26,620
Retail Salespersons	$29,350
Registered Nurses	$87,760
Cashiers	$28,310
General and Operations Managers	$102,360

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Augusta-Richmond County area from NCES.

Schools

2,315

Enrollment

1,738,641

Student:Teacher

14.4:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Augusta-Richmond County area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$6,591

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,153

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,034

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Augusta-Richmond County's composite Life Score is 55.4/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

64/100

Above average

Wages

46/100

Average

Rent

56/100

Above average

Crime

55/100

Above average

Schools

32/100

Weak

Childcare

97/100

Elite

Environment

38/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Augusta-Richmond County ranks #137 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 54.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (84/100)

Climate

84
Schools

68
Cost of living

64
Housing

56
Safety

55
Job market

46
Low hazard

46
Air quality

16

What this shows Augusta-Richmond County's strongest dimensions are climate and schools; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 16/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Augusta-Richmond County to

Winston-Salem Worcester Yakima York-Hanover Youngstown-Warren Yuba City

Metros near Augusta-Richmond County on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Augusta-Richmond County on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Augusta-Richmond County cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Augusta-Richmond County wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Augusta-Richmond County?

Augusta-Richmond County runs a $64,684 median salary at a 91.9 cost index, ranking #137 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Augusta-Richmond County's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Augusta-Richmond County head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Augusta-Richmond County
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.