Moving to
Riverdale.

All Riverdale data Compare Riverdale

14,792people live here $63,455median household income▼ 21% below US $1,360median rent per monthNear US average $178,800median home value▼ 46% below US

What it's like to live in Riverdale

Riverdale is a small city in Georgia with home prices that remain within reach and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Riverdale deals with household incomes below the national average, commute times longer than most cities, college degree attainment below the national average, and hospital ratings below the national average.

The good

Affordable home prices
Average class sizes

The not so good

Below-average household incomes
Above-average commute times
Low college degree attainment
Below-average hospital ratings
High rent burden for renters
Above-average rainfall

How Riverdale compares

Median household income

Riverdale$63,455

Georgia avg$77,353

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Riverdale$1,360

Georgia avg$1,393

US$1,413

Median home value

Riverdale$178,800

Georgia avg$303,300

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Riverdale

Based on Riverdale's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,720

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

Income to keep rent under 30%: $54,400 a year
58% of Riverdale renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$35,760

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $17,880
Homes cost 2.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of livingNear US average

$1,360/mo median rent

Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,360 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $178,800. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.

Median home value $178,800 · 58% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

4.4% county unemployment

Unemployment in Clayton County is 4.4%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Clayton County (county-wide)

Getting aroundNear US average

28 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 28.3 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% take public transit; 12% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

65%

Work from home

12%

Carpool

6.8%

Public transit

5.6%

Walk

5.6%

Other

4.8%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 88°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 34°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Healthcare

2 hospitals

There are 2 Medicare-certified hospitals inside city limits. They average 1.0 out of 5 on Medicare's star rating.

Medicare-certified hospitals

Education & workforce▼ 52% below US

17% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.

Schools

4 public schools inside the boundary

There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park (13 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Riverdale's strongest point is home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($1,360/mo) equals 26% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. Whether it fits comes down to the specifics: the neighborhood, the job, and what matters most in the move.

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