TOWN GUIDES
Seventeen towns plus Fort Gordon, each with its own full guide: schools, commutes, housing, and the trade-offs nobody puts in the brochure. Start with the comparison, then read the town.
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01 / COMPARE
County, 2020 Census population where published, and the one-line version of each town. Population figures come from the guides themselves.
| Town | County | Population | The short version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta, GA | Richmond County | See guide | The city proper: gate commutes, Richmond County schools and magnets, the medical district, and housing costs. |
| Evans, GA | Columbia County | See guide | The county's commercial and civic center, with the Lady A Pavilion and the performing arts center. |
| Grovetown, GA | Columbia County | See guide | The town closest to Fort Gordon's gates: new construction, Columbia County schools, and the new Wellstar hospital. |
| Harlem, GA | Columbia County | See guide | Oliver Hardy's hometown in western Columbia County, with the Oliver Hardy Festival every year. |
| Martinez, GA | Columbia County | See guide | The established suburb: Savannah Rapids Park, county services, and the commute toward downtown Augusta. |
| North Augusta, SC | Aiken County | 24,379 | Across the Savannah River: the 12-mile Greeneway, SRP Park, and South Carolina taxes ten minutes from downtown. |
| Aiken, SC | Aiken County | About 32,000 | Horse country: 2,100 acres of free trails at Hitchcock Woods, a half hour from Augusta. |
| Appling, GA | Columbia County | 658 | Unincorporated and proud of it: the de jure county seat with lake access and quiet. |
| Hephzibah, GA | Richmond County | 3,830 | An incorporated city running its own water, sewer, fire, police, and sanitation across 19 square miles. |
| Thomson, GA | McDuffie County | 6,814 | The county seat on I-20: a real city government, its own hospital, a Main Street, and railroad history. |
| Waynesboro, GA | Burke County | 5,799 | The Burke County seat, 35 miles south of Augusta, with Plant Vogtle next door. |
| Wrens, GA | Jefferson County | 2,217 | An 1884 railroad town on US 1 where the city runs water, sewer, natural gas, and trash pickup. |
| Blythe, GA | Richmond / Burke | 744 | A tiny two-county city straddling the Richmond and Burke line south of Augusta. |
| Lincolnton, GA | Lincoln County | 1,480 | The county's only municipality, with the Clarks Hill Lake shoreline a few miles from downtown. |
| Washington, GA | Wilkes County | 3,754 | Reputedly the first place in America named for George Washington, with its own hospital and school district. |
| Edgefield, SC | Edgefield County | 2,322 | The self-styled Home of Ten Governors, with a real downtown square 26 miles north of Augusta. |
| Fort Gordon | Installation | See guide | The installation that sets the region's rhythm: PCS moves, gates, BAH, on-post housing, and jobs. |
02 / EVERY TOWN
Full guides with commute times, school zoning, housing costs, and key contacts. Each town page also gathers that town's deeper guides on safety, neighborhoods, and schools.
CITY GUIDE: NEIGHBORHOODS, SCHOOLS & COMMUTE
The complete 2026 reference for living in the city proper: gate commutes, Richmond County schools and magnet programs, neighborhoods, the medical district, housing costs, and Masters week.
Read the guideSUBURBAN GUIDE: COMMUTE, SCHOOLS & RETAIL
Columbia County's commercial and civic center: the Fort Gordon commute, Columbia County schools, housing costs, the Lady A Pavilion, and the performing arts center.
Read the guideRELOCATION, SCHOOLS & COMMUTE
The town closest to Fort Gordon's gates: commute times, Columbia County schools, housing costs, the new Wellstar hospital, utilities, childcare, and daily life.
Read the guideSMALL-TOWN GUIDE: COMMUTE, SCHOOLS & OLIVER HARDY
Oliver Hardy's hometown in western Columbia County: the Fort Gordon commute, Columbia County schools, housing costs, the Oliver Hardy Festival, and small-town daily life.
Read the guideSUBURBAN GUIDE: PARKS, SCHOOLS & COMMUTE
Columbia County's established suburb: schools, housing costs, the commute toward downtown Augusta, Savannah Rapids Park, and county services.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
City of 24,379 at the 2020 Census across the Savannah River: the 12-mile Greeneway, SRP Park, and South Carolina taxes ten minutes from downtown Augusta.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
Aiken County seat of about 32,000: equestrian country, 2,100 acres of free trails at Hitchcock Woods, and South Carolina taxes a half hour from Augusta.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
Unincorporated Columbia County, 658 people at the 2020 Census: the de jure county seat with no city hall or city services, plus lake access and some of the quietest roads in the county.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
Incorporated city of 3,830 at the 2020 Census in southern Richmond County, running its own water, sewer, fire, police, and sanitation across 19 square miles.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
McDuffie County seat of 6,814 at the 2020 Census on I-20, with a real city government, its own hospital, a Main Street, and railroad history.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
Burke County seat of 5,799 at the 2020 Census, 35 miles south of Augusta, with the courthouse, the county offices, and Plant Vogtle next door.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
Jefferson County city of 2,217 at the 2020 Census on US 1, where the city government runs water, sewer, natural gas, and trash pickup.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
Tiny two-county city of 744 at the 2020 Census, straddling the Richmond and Burke county line south of Augusta.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
Lincoln County seat of 1,480 at the 2020 Census, the county's only municipality, with the Clarks Hill Lake shoreline a few miles from downtown.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
Wilkes County seat of 3,754 at the 2020 Census, reputedly the first place in America named for George Washington, with its own 25-bed hospital and school district.
Read the guideTOWN GUIDE
Edgefield County seat of 2,322 at the 2020 Census: the self-styled Home of Ten Governors, with a real downtown square 26 miles north of Augusta.
Read the guidePCS, HOUSING, GATES & LOCAL LIFE
The complete local reference for soldiers, military families, contractors, retirees, and PCS movers, covering gates, housing, schools, healthcare, taxes, jobs, and daily life.
Read the guide