True Cost of Living in Suwanee, GA

Suwanee is a town we have not talked about much here on the channel before. It’s a smaller suburb just south of Buford in Gwinnett with a population of just under 22,000 people as of 2021. Just like Buford and Flowery Branch, this is a trendy area to live for people who need to commute into Atlanta every day for work. Suwanee sits about 30 miles north of Atlanta, so highly favored for those making the trek into Atlanta for work. Depending on where in Suwanee you are, you’re only about 10 or 15 minutes from parts of Lake Lanier, so you still have quick access to the beautiful lake, so it’s really the best of both worlds.

So what is it going to cost you to live in Suwanee? Anytime I give you information on the cost of living in a specific town, I like to point to bestplace.org, which is a website that breaks down the cost of living in cities all across the US. They use a scale of 100 to describe the overall cost of living in an area compared to the national average. Georgia has a score of 93.4, which is below the national average of 100. However, Suwanee was given a ranking of 116.8, which is obviously higher than the national average. This is also substantially higher than towns I’ve told you about before, like Gainesville, Flowery Branch, and Buford. So, where does this high ranking come from?

According to Redfin, the median sales price in Suwanee in August 2021 was $461,000, but I think this number is a bit low- I think an average a little closer to $530 would be more accurate. This is a good bit higher than areas like Flowery Branch and Gainesville, but it is even closer to Atlanta. This is also because of the top-rated schools in Gwinnett County, like North Gwinnett High School, which has a 9 out of 10 rating on greatschools.org. Even though Suwanee itself is not that large, there are currently, at the time of filming this video, just over 100 homes for sale. Prices range from $309 thousand, all the way up to $10 million.

There are several gated communities in Suwanee, where many multi-million dollar homes can be found. It is definitely possible to find a home in the $3 to $4 hundred thousand range, but you’ll find that many of these homes were built in the late ’90s or early 2000s, so they might need some cosmetic upgrades, but if you are willing to put in a little work, you can get in this area with that budget. Housing was ranked 155.2 compared to the national average of100 on bestplaces.org, so this is most definitely where that high overall ranking comes from.

Something else you will want to think about if choosing to move to Suwanee, or really anywhere in Georgia, is HOA fees. Most homes in Georgia are located inside neighborhoods, most of which have homeowners associations. These homeowners associations, or HOA’s, charge homeowners anywhere from $100 a month up to several thousand dollars a year- depending on the amenities they provide. These fees are used to maintain the neighborhood pool tennis courts, keep up the landscaping in the common areas, et cetera. This is an extra fee you will want to factor in when you’re deciding if the cost of living here is an improvement to where you currently live, especially if you choose to live in one of the gated communities we talked about earlier, you are most definitely going to have to budget for some pretty steep HOA fees.

Utilities in Suwanee are right on par with the national average. This will always vary based on the size of your house. However, you will notice that most homes in Suwanee are two stories. I get questions from clients moving to Georgia from another state about running the AC for practically the entire year. You’ll find that even though your AC is always running, your electric bill (depending on the size of your house) will come in around $130 a month. As far as grocery shopping goes, you’ll find Publix, Kroger, Aldi, Lidl, and Walmart in Suwanee. There is also an H-Mart, a top-rated Korean grocery store which is a really cool spot.

Next up is tax here in Suwanee. In Gwinnett County, you’ll see a 6% sales tax, which is pretty standard here in Georgia. Property taxes are a bit higher in Suwanee since home values are higher, but I also just made an entire video talking about all the fun details of property taxes, so you’ll want to check that out for more info. Generally though, if you move from a state like Illinois or New Jersey, you will think the property taxes here are fantastic since the average rate is only 1%, compared to Illinois’ 2.27% and Jersey’s 2.49% percent. Here in Georgia, we have income taxes, which are calculated on a progressive scale, ranging from 1% up to 5.75%. I’ve talked about this a ton before on my channel. Still, my clients who have moved up to Georgia from Florida always say that despite now having to pay income taxes, their property taxes are so much lower than this balanced out having to directly pay income taxes.

You will have to drive if you live in Suwanee, or just about any suburb. We do not really have public transportation, but the US is not known for its excellent public transit, so it affects most people. The closer you get to Atlanta, the more Uber and Lyft drivers you’ll find, so you do have more options in Suwanee than you will in, say, Gainesville. Still, you’re also not going to be able to pull out your phone at any time of the day and have an Uber be able to reach you in less than 5 minutes like you will in Atlanta. Right now, gas prices are averaging about $2.90 a gallon. Georgia has a tax rate of $0.28 per gallon, which is very low compared to states like Pennsylvania at $0.59 per gallon and California at $0.62 per gallon. The current average price of a gallon of gas in the US is $3.16 per gallon, so we are well below that here in Suwanee.

The overall cost of living in Suwanee is higher than you’ll find in many towns I’ve talked about here on my channel before. Still, Suwanee is an excellent town that people seek out for its excellent schools and easy access to Atlanta.

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