Counties / Georgia / Schley County

Schley County, GA

FIPS 13249 · population 4,513 · outside every metro area

$191k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$191k
▲ 0.6% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$816
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$973
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+41.0%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+0.6%FHFA HPI2025+4.8%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$144k
Surveyed gross rent$816
Rent burden 30%+52.4%
Median year built1991
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
13.1%vacant
1,886estimated housing units
Occupied tenure20.0% renter
owner 80.0%renter 20.0%
Structure mix62.3% single-family
Single-family 62.3%20+ units 0.7%Mobile home 32.8%Other 4.1%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs1,223▲ 6.2% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments77annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$892▲ 0.2% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities17.6% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+6.2%WEEKLY WAGE+0.2%Trade, transportation, and utilities17.6%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Schley County presents a small-market tension: available price and workplace data warrant investigation, but rent and listing-market gaps leave a buy case unproven. Zillow put median home value at $190,692 in 2026-06, a 0.64% year-over-year increase. That is a county value measure, not closed-sale evidence. Investors seeking a demonstrated income return or resale liquidity should be cautious; those able to verify rents, condition, and exit depth should investigate.

02Housing economics

Income economics cannot be underwritten: no market rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $973 monthly is a payment standard rather than asking rent and cannot substitute. The 0.90% effective property-tax rate and $1,288 median annual tax are county carrying-cost context, not a parcel bill. Separately, FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 4.77% year over year. It supports an upward direction alongside Zillow but is an index, not a home value; it cannot be averaged with Zillow’s differently dated, constructed observation.

03Demand & competition

Demand and buyer competition are mixed. In the 2025 QCEW annual average, county workplace covered employment rose 6.16%. This is neither resident employment nor unemployment; Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Tax-return migration was essentially balanced, though incoming movers’ average AGI exceeded outgoing movers’ by $12,578—an income-composition fact, not tenant-demand evidence. Non-occupant investor mortgages were 4 of 36 purchases, or 11.11%, showing participation but not bidding behavior or cash buyers.

04Risk & next checks

Risk limits remain material. Inland flood is dominant, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.08% of building value; this county ratio does not reveal a parcel’s flood zone, insurance premium, elevation, or mitigation. The record has no Realtor.com median MLS asking price, active listings, days on market, or price-reduced share, preventing assessment of visible supply, marketing time, and seller concessions. Before concluding, obtain market rent and lease terms, parcel tax and flood/insurance data, and local listing and closed-sale comparables to test cash flow, carrying costs, and exit liquidity.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Schley County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Ellaville city1.7K
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

1 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Ellaville cityIncorporated place
    1,668

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.083% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.90%

$1,288 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-1

107 in · 108 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$12,578

$50,374 arriving · $37,796 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors11.1%

4 of 36 mortgages

investorother financed
No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Actual market rent and property operating costs may not support an income return.
  2. Parcel-level flood exposure and insurance costs may differ from the county-level modeled loss ratio.
  3. Unreported listing inventory, marketing time, and closed-sale comparables may reveal weaker exit liquidity.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Is there a published market rent that permits gross-yield calculation?

No. Market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed; the $973 two-bedroom FMR is a HUD payment standard.

Are Zillow and FHFA reporting the same price change?

No. Zillow reports a $190,692 median home value in 2026-06, up 0.64%, while FHFA reports a repeat-transaction HPI up 4.77% in 2025.

What investor participation is measured?

Non-occupant investor mortgages accounted for 4 of 36 purchases, or 11.11%.