City comparison
Alpharetta, GA is about 125 miles (225 km) from Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance), GA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 175 miles, or about 2 h 45 min behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Alpharetta, GA to Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance), GA takes about 16 min, covering roughly 125 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Alpharetta, GA is on Central Time and Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance), GA is on Eastern Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Alpharetta, it's 1 p.m. in Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance), which puts Alpharetta 1 hours behind.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance) has a population of 201,615, vs 65,884 in Alpharetta — about 3.1× larger by population. By land area, Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance) covers about 300 sq mi vs 27 sq mi for Alpharetta.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Alpharetta | Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,767/mo | $1,023/mo | 72.7% higher in Alpharetta |
| Median home value | $562,000 | $141,900 | 296.1% higher in Alpharetta |
| Median household income | $141,402 | $50,492 | 180.0% higher in Alpharetta |
| Groceries index | 100.3 | 96.5 | 3.9% higher in Alpharetta |
| Utilities index | 96.1 | 89.7 | 7.1% higher in Alpharetta |
| Transportation index | 97.0 | 98.7 | 1.7% higher in Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance) |
| Healthcare index | 96.5 | 98.2 | 1.7% higher in Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance) |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Alpharetta, you'd need $83,062 in Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance) to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance), GA is about 16.9% cheaper overall than Alpharetta, GA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 55% higher in Alpharetta than in Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance). If you earn $80,000 in Alpharetta, you'd need about $66,450 in Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance) to keep the same standard of living.