What is the cost of living in Valdosta?

Valdosta has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 88.3, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 58.8, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,192/month.

What is the median salary in Valdosta?

The median salary in Valdosta is $53,912 annually (mean: $57,828). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers.

How safe is Valdosta?

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

What are the schools like in Valdosta?

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 Valdosta?

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

Is Valdosta a good place to relocate?

Valdosta has a Life Score of 52.5/100 (D), 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 Valdosta sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Valdosta ranks #144 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

Valdosta, GA

BEA RPP 88.3 ranks #57 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

88.3
Cost index (US=100): $1,192
2BR rent / mo: $53,912
Median salary: 54.1
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Valdosta ranks #144 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (54.1/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and climate.

#144
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: job market (4/100). 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), Valdosta ranks #144 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 88.3 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,192/mo, median salary $53,912; LiveAbility Score 54.1/100, strongest in cost of living and climate.

Signature: BEA RPP 88.3 ranks #57 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 88.3 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,192/mo.

LiveAbility 54.1/100 keeps Valdosta in the middle third (#144 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Valdosta area is 47,550.

Valdosta 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)

54 Top 37% higher than 63% 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

Valdosta housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Valdosta MSA; housing RPP 58.8 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,192/mo.

Studio

$915

/month

1 Bedroom

$921

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,192

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,583

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,915

/month

Valdosta wages and employment

Valdosta posts 47,550 total employment with median salary $53,912 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$53,912

Mean Salary

$57,828

Total Employment

47,550

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$23,100
Retail Salespersons	$28,600
Cashiers	$26,470
Stockers and Order Fillers	$36,290
Waiters and Waitresses	$18,510

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Valdosta 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 Valdosta area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$6,591

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,153

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,034

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Valdosta's composite Life Score is 52.5/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

85/100

Elite

Wages

4/100

Bottom decile

Rent

65/100

Strong

Crime

53/100

Average

Schools

34/100

Weak

Childcare

94/100

Elite

Environment

40/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Valdosta ranks #144 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 54.1/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (86/100)

Cost of living

86
Climate

67
Schools

66
Housing

65
Safety

53
Air quality

44
Low hazard

44
Job market

4

What this shows Valdosta's strongest dimensions are cost of living and climate; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 4/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Valdosta to

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

Metros near Valdosta on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Valdosta 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

Valdosta cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Valdosta 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 Valdosta?

Valdosta runs a $53,912 median salary at a 88.3 cost index, ranking #144 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Valdosta's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Valdosta head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Valdosta
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.