 |
|
|
|
Quickly Find In The Tabs Below:
|
Detailed pages on related topics: Athens colleges • Athens travel • Athens mortgages and property.
Athens, located in northeastern Georgia about an hour east of Atlanta, is the home of the University of Georgia and is the fourth-largest city in the state. Started as a trading settlement called Cedar Shoals in the 1700s, it was chosen in 1801 as the site of Georgia's first state college and renamed Athens after the city in Greece. Much of the city's economy and culture is based on the university. Today, Athens is home to more than 100,000 residents. It is one of the hippest small cities in America and one of the most progressive cities in the South.
Athens has arts and cultural options rivaling those in cities many times its size. Its thriving music scene produced legendary bands like the B-52's and REM; today's rising stars can be seen the 40 Watt Club and the Georgia Theatre. AthFest presents more than a hundred bands on various stages over a weekend each June. Athens is also home to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, a a 313-acre preserve associated with the University of Georgia, that has several flower and herb gardens and five miles of nature trails. The Georgia Art Museum, with 9,000 feet of gallery space, provides one of the greatest collections in the South, including an impressive collection of Italian Renaissance paintings.
Athens is a hotbed of college sports passion, with the Georgia Bulldogs a perennial powerhouse in a variety of sports. During football season, 80,000-seat Sanford Stadium is packed for every game. For pro sports action, Atlanta offers a team in every major league. Baseball's Atlanta Braves play at 50,000-seat Turner Field, which has a built-in Braves Hall of Fame. The 71,000-seat Georgia Dome, southwest of downtown Atlanta, is home to the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, as well as the annual SEC Championship and Peach Bowl. Philips Arena, situated just west of downtown Atlanta, hosts home games of the NBA's Hawks and the NHL's Thrashers. Atlanta Motor Speedway, located 30 miles south of downtown Atlanta, is one of the largest and oldest in the country. It hosts two NASCAR Busch and Nextel Cup races each year.
For recreation, Athens provides unlimited outdoor pursuits in Georgia's rolling Piedmont region, near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Sandy Creek Park provides 782 acres of recreational areas and a 260-acre lake. It's a perfect spot for swimming, boating, fishing, camping and hiking. Sandy Creek Nature Center offers five miles of trails and several varieties of wildlife. Oconee Forest Park offers 60 acres of natural beauty, with hiking trails, a 1.2-mile mountain bike trail and a 15-acre lake.
With a lively arts scene and one of the youngest populations (median age is 25 years) in the country, Athens offers an interesting nightlife. Plenty of coffee houses, bars and clubs are scattered across the city.
Athens strengths, compared to Peers (similar size places nationally) or State (other places in Georgia):
| Category | Trophy | |
|---|---|---|
| College Educated Adults (vs. State) | Top 4% |  |
| Walking and Biking to Work (vs. State) | Top 4% | |
| Public Transportation Use (vs. State) | Top 9% | |
| Short Commute Times (vs. State) | Top 13% | |
| Racial Diversity (vs. State) | Top 14% | |
| Affordability of Property Taxes (vs. Peers) | Top 19% | |
Comparing Athens to similar size places nationwide (Peers) and to other places in Georgia (State):
Ratings range from 
(lowest) to 
(highest).
| Characteristic | Compared to Peers | Compared to State |
|---|---|---|
| Racial Diversity |  |  |
| Male Share of the Population |  | |
| Female Share of the Population |  |  |
| Well-Paid Single Women | |  |
| Senior Citizens |  | |
| Well-Paid Single Men | | |
| Children Under 5 Years Old | | |
| Age of the Population | | |
| Characteristic | Compared to Peers | Compared to State |
|---|---|---|
| Average Household Size | | |
| Portion of People Married | | |
| Characteristic | Compared to Peers | Compared to State |
|---|---|---|
| College Educated Adults | | |
| Median Family Income | | |
| People in Middle Class or Better | |  |
| People Above Poverty | | |
| Characteristic | Compared to Peers | Compared to State |
|---|---|---|
| Walking and Biking to Work | | |
| Short Commute Times | | |
| Public Transportation Use | | |
| Working at Home | | |
| Characteristic | Compared to Peers | Compared to State |
|---|---|---|
| Affordability of Property Taxes | | |
| Studio & One-Bedroom Rentals | | |
| Affordability of Rents | | |
| Housing Recently Built | | |
| People Living Alone | | |
| Seasonal and Vacation Housing | | |
| Characteristic | Compared to Peers | Compared to State |
|---|---|---|
| Low Violent Crime | | |
| Low Property Crime | | |
Detailed pages on related topics: Athens colleges • Athens travel • Athens mortgages and property.
 | Athens Careers Athens career and employment information. |
 | Athens Colleges Athens colleges and trade schools. |
 | Athens Hotels & Travel Athens hotels, landmarks, tourism, transportation. |
 | Athens Mortgage Athens property, mortgage, and real estate. |
|
A few minutes of your time could make $20 for the American Red Cross. |
Read about and discuss Athens and other places in Georgia
We've crunched the numbers to create PlaceMatch™, which compares thousands of cities and towns to find the places most similar to each.
Are you an official in the Athens government or quasi-government agency such as the chamber of commerce, visitors bureau or economic development council? If so, visit our information page for government officials to see how CityTownInfo can support you.
Webmasters & Bloggers: Please link to this page on Athens. Just copy the HTML below and paste it into your web page or blog.
Copyright © 2004-2008, Moving Traffic, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
