Macon, GA
Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area
Figures are medians for the whole Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area, not the city proper.
Among the 300 U.S. metros CityLedger tracks, Macon ranks 292nd for affordability — how far a typical paycheck stretches after local prices — and 291st for income. A household earns $56,638 a year while median rent runs $1,104/mo, making it expensive relative to what residents earn. Affordability and price level are different lenses: the raw cost of living here runs 11% below the U.S. average.
Its strongest card is hazard safety (19th of 300), while affordability is the soft spot (292nd). Housing usually decides a move: rent ranks 89th and home prices 54th among the 300 metros CityLedger tracks.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you in Macon, your take-home is worth about $65,565 once local prices are factored in — local prices stretch it further than the U.S. average.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
The numbers
Income & cost
- Median income
- 291st of 300↑16.9%$56,638
- Cost of living?The local price level vs. the U.S. average of 100 (BEA). Lower means cheaper. This is raw prices, not adjusted for income.
- 35th of 30089 (US=100)
- Cost-adj. income?Median household income divided by the local price level — what the typical paycheck is really worth here.
- $63,977
- Per-capita income
- $32,924
- Full-time pay
- $40,171
Housing
- Median rent
- 89th of 300↑32.9%$1,104/mo
- Home value
- 54th of 300↑75.2%$219,400
- Property tax
- $1,800/yr · 0.8%
- Sales tax
- 7.42%
Jobs & education
- Unemployment
- 279th of 3006.8%
- Bachelor's+
- 261st of 30024.3%
- Avg commute
- 193rd of 30025.4 min
People
- Population
- 236,551
- Population change
- +2.3%
- Median age
- 38.1 yrs
- Foreign-born
- 3%
- Broadband
- 89.4%
Environment & risk
- Air quality (AQI)
- 234th of 30051
- Natural-hazard loss
- 19th of 300$8/$10k
Health
- Fair/poor health
- 270th of 30023.6%
- Uninsured (18–64)
- 14.1%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. EPA, FEMA, CDC, NOAA — every figure's source is listed on our methodology page. Data built 2026-06-14. ↑↓ mark the change since 2019.
How CityLedger scores it
Transparent weights — see our methodology.
Strengths
- + Cost of living
- + Rent
- + Home prices
- + Hazard safety
Watch-outs
- – Affordability
- – Household income
- – Job market
- – Education
- – Air quality
- – Health
Climate
30-year normals (1991–2020) from the nearest station — macon middle ga rgnl ap.
What jobs pay in Macon
Median annual wage by occupation (BLS OEWS 2025) — half of workers in each role earn more, half less.
- Family medicine physicians
- $281,860
- IT managers
- $150,710
- Financial managers
- $138,160
- Pharmacists
- $132,280
- Software developers
- $120,410
- Lawyers
- $108,200
- General & operations managers
- $90,500
- Registered nurses
- $85,070
- Civil engineers
- $83,620
- Accountants & auditors
- $74,870
- Secondary school teachers
- $64,800
- Elementary school teachers
- $61,510
- Electricians
- $54,320
- Truck drivers (heavy)
- $50,190
- Plumbers
- $48,110
- Police officers
- $46,630
- Maintenance & repair workers
- $46,100
- Carpenters
- $41,670
- Construction laborers
- $40,010
- Customer service reps
- $38,340
- Janitors
- $30,380
- Retail salespersons
- $28,820
- Cashiers
- $27,820
- Waiters & waitresses
- $17,830
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2025 — annual median wage. Cross-industry, all experience levels.
Where new residents move from
The states sending the most people to the Macon metro, by estimated movers (U.S. Census 2022 migration flows, 5-year). Moves from elsewhere in Georgia are excluded to show where out-of-state arrivals originate.
- Florida807
- Virginia429
- South Carolina397
- North Carolina339
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 Migration Flows (5-year).
Cities like Macon
Closest matches across cost, income, size, education, and age — tap to compare.
Macon metro — frequently asked
- What is the median rent in the Macon metro?
- Median gross rent across the Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area is $1,104 a month (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024). That figure covers the whole metro area, not just the city of Macon.
- What is the median household income in the Macon metro?
- A typical household in the Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area earns $56,638 a year (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- Is Macon expensive to live in?
- The overall cost of living in the Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area runs about 11% below the U.S. average (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024) — prices are lower than average, before accounting for local pay.
- Does a paycheck go far in the Macon metro?
- After adjusting for local prices, the median household income is worth about $63,977 (versus its face value of $56,638). CityLedger rates the Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area expensive for what residents earn.
- What is the typical home value in the Macon metro?
- The median home value across the Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area is $219,400 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- What is the unemployment rate in the Macon metro?
- The unemployment rate in the Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area is 6.8% (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).