Moving to
Candler-McAfee.

All Candler-McAfee data Compare Candler-McAfee

20,905people live here $64,699median household income▼ 20% below US $1,498median rent per monthNear US average $259,300median home value▼ 22% below US

Candler-McAfee is an unincorporated community in DeKalb County, GA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Candler-McAfee

Candler-McAfee is an unincorporated community in Georgia with home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Candler-McAfee deals with household incomes below the national average, commute times longer than most cities, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and a population that has been shrinking.

The good

Affordable home prices
Low unemployment in the county
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

Below-average household incomes
Above-average commute times
Air quality concerns
Shrinking population
High rent burden for renters
Above-average rainfall

How Candler-McAfee compares

Median household income

Candler-McAfee$64,699

Georgia avg$77,353

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Candler-McAfee$1,498

Georgia avg$1,393

US$1,413

Median home value

Candler-McAfee$259,300

Georgia avg$303,300

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Candler-McAfee

Based on Candler-McAfee's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,996

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $59,920 a year
52% of Candler-McAfee renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$51,860

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $25,930
Homes cost 4.0× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of livingNear US average

$1,498/mo median rent

Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,498 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $259,300. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.

Median home value $259,300 · 52% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.6% county unemployment

Unemployment in DeKalb County is 3.6%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

DeKalb County (county-wide)

Safety

716 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Candler-McAfee doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the DeKalb County Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs above the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 3351/100k · Policed by DeKalb County Police Department (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 26% above US

33 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 32.8 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 5% take public transit; 21% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

62%

Work from home

21%

Carpool

5.8%

Public transit

5.3%

Other

4.6%

Walk

0.8%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 88°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 35°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▼ 18% below US

30% bachelor's degree or higher

College degree attainment runs below average at 30%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.

Schools

8 public schools inside the boundary

There are 8 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 13:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park (5 miles away). There are 7 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Candler-McAfee's strongest points are home prices that remain within reach and county unemployment below the national average; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($1,498/mo) equals 28% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (21% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for people who dread long commutes.

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