Cost of Living

In the year 2004, the average weekly wage for employment sectors in the county was $526, compared to the statewide average of $728.

In 2004, the total number of employees located in Habersham County was 14,426. Of the total employees, 33.9% were employed in the goods producing sector, followed by 45.4% in the service producing sector and 20.6% employed in government. Statewide, the service producing industry is the largest employment sector, contributing 65.4% of the state’s jobs.

Between 2000 and 2004, Habersham County's annual unemployment rate averaged 3.7%, compared with the state's average of 4.4%. Nationally, the unemployment rate for the same period averaged 5.5%.

The county per capita personal income in 2004 was $24,853, compared to $29,782 for Georgia and $33,050 for the United States.

Habersham County's median household income in 1999 was $36,321, compared to the state's median household income of $42,433. Nationally, the median household income in 1999 was $41,994.

During 1999, 12.2% of the county's population lived below the poverty level, compared with Georgia's rate of 13.0% and the national rate of 12.4%. In addition, 14.4% of the children under the age of 18 lived below the poverty level in Habersham County. Nationally, 16.6% of the population under the age of 18 years lived below the level of poverty.

Residents of Habersham County received total government transfer payments amounting to $4,086 per capita in 2003, compared to $3,762 per capita statewide. Transfer payments include retirement and disability insurance benefit payments, medical benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, and veteran's benefits payments.

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue's Net Property and Utility Digest, Habersham County's assessed property value amounted to $1.1 billion in 2004, resulting in a per capita assessed property value of $27,483. At the state level, per capita assessed property value in 2004 equaled $31,373

For more information please visit Georgia County Snapshots