City comparison
Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance), GA is about 175 miles (300 km) from Savannah, GA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 225 miles, or about 3 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 Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance), GA to Savannah, GA takes about 22 min, covering roughly 175 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.
Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance), GA is on Central Time and Savannah, GA is on Eastern Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance), it's 1 p.m. in Savannah, which puts Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance) 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.
Savannah has a population of 147,583, vs 126,672 in Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance) — about 1.2× larger by population. By land area, Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance) covers about 115 sq mi vs 110 sq mi for Savannah.
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 | Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance) | Savannah | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,045/mo | $1,216/mo | 16.4% higher in Savannah |
| Median home value | $242,300 | $203,300 | 19.2% higher in Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance) |
| Median household income | $47,798 | $54,748 | 14.5% higher in Savannah |
| Groceries index | 97.4 | 96.5 | 0.9% higher in Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance) |
| Utilities index | 91.2 | 89.2 | 2.3% higher in Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance) |
| Transportation index | 98.4 | 98.8 | ≈ equal (Savannah slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 97.9 | 98.3 | ≈ equal (Savannah slightly higher) |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance), you'd need $100,906 in Savannah to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance), GA is about 0.9% cheaper overall than Savannah, GA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 3% higher in Savannah than in Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance). If you earn $80,000 in Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance), you'd need about $80,725 in Savannah to keep the same standard of living.