Hi everyone, I’m Tim Trevathan, your favorite Atlanta Realtor. Milton, Georgia is a suburb of Metro Atlanta that is located north of the city. Specifically, it is in northern Fulton County, located just north of Alpharetta. Today we are going to talk about the pros and cons of living in this popular city.
Stay tuned until the end to find out the reasons why you may love living in Milton, and also some potential drawbacks to calling it home. Before I get started, my contact information is on the screen. I love helping people discover Metro Atlanta and find their new home. Whether you are interested in Milton or have your heart set on another area of town, I’d love to hear from you! Please send me a text or an email, or pick up the phone and give me a call if that is more your style. It has been a pleasure to work with individuals and families from all across the country and help them call Metro Atlanta their new home.
Okay, let’s get back on topic. Milton, Georgia. Why is it so popular? There are several pros to living here, but no place is perfect and there are some drawbacks as well.
Pro 1: Comparatively Rural. Compared to the rest of Metro Atlanta, Milton feels more rural and less developed. Development is certainly creeping this way as it has a tendency to do, but Milton isn’t yet as developed as nearby Alpharetta, Roswell, or Johns Creek.
That means you see more undeveloped land as you drive around, and new homes tend to be built on larger lots here unlike the postage stamp sized lots you see a lot of new homes built on in the more developed suburbs where land is harder to find.
Speaking of rural, did you know that there are over 50 horse farms in Milton? This is the only place I know of left in Fulton County where driving past more than a horse or two, if you even drive past horses at all, is a part of normal daily life.
Milton is proud of its rural history and has done a great job of maintaining much of that character and charm as development has come ever closer.
Con 1: Affordability. It used to be a quiet, very rural area, but since becoming a popular place to live, and a popular place to build large homes, home prices in Milton have gone up accordingly.
In March 2023, the median home sold price was $782,000. If you love everything about Milton but have a budget under $500,000, it can be very hard to find a home. Shortly before making this video, I pulled up the active listings for Milton and there was exactly 1 property under $500,000 and it was a townhome. There were only 8 listings under $750,000.
Home prices are arguably one of the biggest cons to Milton as many young professionals and young families are simply priced out of the housing market here.
Pro 2: Schools. Everyone wants their kids to go to a great school, and the public schools in Milton have a great reputation. Last year per US News & World Report, Milton High School was ranked 6th out of the twenty public high schools in Fulton County and 25th out of over 400 in the state of Georgia. It even ranked in the top 1000 public high schools in the nation out of thousands and thousands.
Cambridge High School also serves Milton and believe it or not, it ranks even higher. US News & World Report ranked it 2nd in the county, 11th in the state, and in the top 400 in the nation.
There are dozens of public high schools in the Atlanta area, many of which have great reputations, but it is safe to say that these are two of the best.
Con 2: Commute to Atlanta. If you’ve watched any of my previous pro and con videos, you know that traffic is a con pretty much anywhere in the Atlanta area. That certainly holds true for Milton. It is located in the very northern end of Fulton County, so if you work downtown or near the Perimeter, you have to navigate all of the traffic headed into town from Alpharetta, then Roswell, then Dunwoody on your way to Sandy Springs in the Perimeter area and then beyond if you work in the Buckhead or downtown area.
If you will be working anywhere close to downtown Atlanta, I encourage you to hop on Google maps around the time you think you’d be heading into work and plug in Milton as your starting location and your job as your destination to see what sort of commute time you are looking at if you choose to buy a home in Milton. Don’t forget the commute time may be double on days it is rainy or there is a traffic accident!
Pro 3: Community Events. Milton shines when it comes to community events. You can find the entire list on the city’s website, but some annual highlights include the Community Egg Hunt each Easter, the Independence Day Walk, the Crabapple Fest, which is an art festival each fall, Christmas in Crabapple, and Breakfast with Santa.
These are popular events that always draw a crowd.
Con 3: Limited Retail. Milton is largely residential. There are only 2 main roads that skirt either side of Milton, and most of the retail is clustered along one of these roads and in the small downtown area.
If you live in the south part of Milton, you’ll be close to the Target, Kohl’s, Walmart, Publix, Aldi, and Home Depot that are in Milton, plus all of the shopping in Roswell or Alpharetta.
If you live in the northern part of Milton, there is a Publix up there, but it will be a drive either over to Canton or Cumming, or down to the southern tip of Milton or Roswell, depending where you live, to do the vast majority of your shopping.
Part of Milton’s charm is its lack of development and rural feel, but the downside is the lack of local shopping.
Pro 4: Low Crime. Statistically, Milton is a very safe place to live. Of course no place is immune from crime, but it is less likely to happen in Milton than most of the rest of the state.
For example, the website Neighborhood Scout found the rate of property crime in the state is 17.89 per 1,000 people while it is only 5.14 per 1,000 people in Milton.
Violent crime is even less common in Milton, and the risk of being a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 1,179.
If safety is a priority for you, Milton is a great place to call home!
Con 4: A Car is a Must. With Milton’s rural charm, and comparative lack of retail development, there is not a lot of walkability in Milton. There is some down near the city center, but for the most part you will need a car to get where you want to go.
A lot of people enjoy the ability to walk out of their front door and jog to the park or walk to a local restaurant for drinks or dinner.
If that lifestyle is a priority for you, Milton is likely not where you want to look for your next home. The priority given to maintaining the community’s rural charm means that most homes are on large lots, and not much priority has been given to becoming a walkable community.
So, there you have it! Some pros and cons of living in Milton, Georgia. It is a unique community and if you want the convenience of being fairly close to all suburbia has to offer but want the escape of seeing horse farms on your daily commute and the peace of large, spacious lots, then Milton might be just the place for you!
If so, I’d love to hear from you and help you start the search for your new home in Milton. If Milton isn’t quite right, maybe its too expensive or maybe you’d like to be closer to Atlanta or maybe you’d like more walkability, then I’d love to hear from you too and talk about which cities might be a better fit for you.
Have a great day and talk to you next time!
Elementary Schools
Middle Schools
High Schools