Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety58#6,572/15,637
Economy52#7,457/15,631
Housing23#11,606/14,977
Health44#8,747/15,609
Healthcare44#8,834/15,650
Environment9#14,110/15,453
Education34#10,401/15,649
Infrastructure80#3,059/15,650
Community28#11,326/15,651
Leisure & amenities93#1,123/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Thunderbolt, Georgia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Chatham County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Child care cost burden · low15.8%
100/100Georgia 23.0%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChatham County value
Restaurants and bars · high16.0 /10k
96/100Georgia 8.5 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChatham County value
Property crime rate · low326 /100k
96/100Georgia 1,409 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationChatham County value
Comfortable days · high34.8%
94/100Georgia 31.5%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationChatham County value
Distance to an airport · low9 mi
93/100Georgia 42 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauChatham County value
New business applications · high20.0 /1k
90/100Georgia 22.5 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauChatham County value

Weaknesses

Hospital quality rating · low1.7
3/100Georgia 3.0United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesChatham County value
Natural hazard risk · high96.4
4/100Georgia 24.82025Federal Emergency Management AgencyChatham County value
Reading scores · low2.60
4/100Georgia 2.97United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChatham County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.2 µg/m³
7/100Georgia 9.1 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyChatham County value
Homicide rate · high10.5 /100k
8/100Georgia 7.4 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataChatham County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high19.4%
9/100Georgia 14.0%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
30.0% (2015-2019) → 51.3% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
3.5 /1k (2021) → 1.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−55%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
30.1% (2015-2019) → 19.5% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
22.7% (2015-2019) → 30.6% (2020-2024)
+7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
87.9% (2015-2019) → 95.6% (2020-2024)
+7.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.5× (2015-2019) → 4.4× (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Thunderbolt, Georgia improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+7.7 points87.9% → 95.6%

Declined2

Rent burden+21 points30.0% → 51.3%
Rent / income+7.9 points22.7% → 30.6%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Thunderbolt, Georgia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.7 min2015-2019	21.0 min2020-2024	+0.4 min	Within the margin of error	43%
Bachelor's degree or higher	36.9%2015-2019	40.7%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Broadband subscriptions	87.9%2015-2019	95.6%2020-2024	+7.7 points	Improved	47%
Effective property tax rate	0.81%2015-2019	1.23%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	1%
High school diploma or higher	87.1%2015-2019	92.4%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Home price to income ratio	3.5×2015-2019	4.4×2020-2024	+1.0×	Within the margin of error	24%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4042015-2019	0.4362020-2024	+0.031	Within the margin of error	26%
Median household income	$60,8192015-2019	$75,2342020-2024	+24%	Within the margin of error	41%
Poverty rate	14.9%2015-2019	17.6%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	22.7%2015-2019	30.6%2020-2024	+7.9 points	Declined	13%
Rent-burdened households	30.0%2015-2019	51.3%2020-2024	+21 points	Declined	7%
Unemployment rate	5.0%2015-2019	3.5%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.4%2015-2019	19.4%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	59%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Thunderbolt, Georgia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Thunderbolt, Georgia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Thunderbolt, Georgia itself moved −13.9 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,533 residents (±41)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 20–29 women (−8.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

2,533 residents (±41)

Thunderbolt, Georgia
Georgia share

White57%1,445
Black31%†793
Hispanic or Latino7.1%†179
Asian2.3%†58
American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%0
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races2.3%†58

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

1,969 residents (±162)

Thunderbolt, Georgia
Georgia share

No high school diploma7.6%†150
High school or GED23%†457
Some college22%†435
Associate degree6.3%†125
Bachelor's degree22%428
Graduate degree19%†374

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,200 households (±153)

Thunderbolt, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $25k10%†124
$25k–50k27%†318
$50k–75k13%†155
$75k–100k23%†277
$100k–150k13%†161
$150k–200k5.1%†61
$200k or more8.7%†104

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $50k–75k (−16.3 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,200 households (±153)

Thunderbolt, Georgia
Georgia share

Own62%738
Rent39%462

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

410 households (±119)

Thunderbolt, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $7501.5%†6
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,50033%†135

Home values

738 homes (±174)

Thunderbolt, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $150k8.4%†62
$150k–250k13%†96
$250k–400k48%†353

Age of homes

1,389 homes (±159)

Thunderbolt, Georgia
Georgia share

2010 or later4.5%†63
2000–200920%†279
1980–199916%†229

Size of homes

1,389 homes (±159)

Thunderbolt, Georgia
Georgia share

Studio1.5%†21
1 bedroom8.4%†116
2 bedrooms32%†451

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,304 workers (±192)

Thunderbolt, Georgia
Georgia share

Drive alone76%997
Carpool6.9%†90
Public transit0.0%0
Walk2.3%†30
Bike0.0%0
Work from home14%†187
Other0.0%0

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,117 workers (±199)

Thunderbolt, Georgia
Georgia share

Under 15 min24%†263
15–29 min51%†575
30–44 min12%†137

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Savannah, GA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Chatham County, the county holding most of Thunderbolt's residents.

Chatham County has 9,037 employer establishments, 296 for every 10,000 residents (1.19× the US rate of 248; 1.25× Georgia's), with 153,824 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,405. The Census Bureau also counts 30,929 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 9,037; 30,929 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 296; US 248 · Georgia 236
Paid employees: 153,824
Average annual pay: $54,405; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Chatham County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	840	27.5	1.50×More than typical	17,786	$23,465	173
Ambulatory health care services	766	25.1	1.20×About typical	9,252	$71,886	1,383
Lessors of real estate	498	16.3	1.32×More than typical	1,509	$55,323	3,045
Full-service restaurants	399	13.1	1.70×More than typical	10,525	$25,708	66
Specialty trade contractors	357	11.7	0.76×Fewer than typical	4,267	$64,953	1,314
Limited-service restaurants	349	11.4	1.43×More than typical	5,953	$20,550	70
Offices of physicians	306	10	1.55×More than typical	3,902	$97,419	337
Truck transportation	283	9.3	1.83×More than typical	3,900	$50,326	1,186
Clothing and accessories stores	264	8.6	2.38×More than typical	2,726	$21,703	314
Religious organizations	227	7.4	1.34×More than typical	1,805	$31,082	—
Construction of buildings	222	7.3	0.96×About typical	1,768	$83,808	827
Services to buildings and dwellings	221	7.2	1.07×About typical	2,271	$32,977	2,152

Rank places for an industry Open Chatham County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 305,244 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $2.3M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Thunderbolt, Georgia: $925 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2.3M; +499% vs FY2025
Per resident: $925; US $1,994
Sole-source: 4.1%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.1%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$2M85%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$232.2K9.9%
Department of Veterans Affairs$95K4.1%
Department of the Navy$9,0670.4%
Bureau of Reclamation$6,6540.3%
National Park Service$4,4610.2%
Federal Acquisition Service$3,9980.2%
U.S. Coast Guard$2120.0%

Top recipients

C2 DEFENSE INC.$2M85%
SCDATACOM, LLC$342.9K15%
SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY$2,8370.1%
CURRENT EDGE SOLUTIONS LLC$2,0480.1%
ADVANCED PROSTHETICS AND ORTHOTICS, LLC$1,1780.1%

Spending by fiscal year

407.7KFY2017
137.9KFY2018
570.1KFY2019
458.5KFY2020
459.1KFY2021
1.1MFY2022
917.9KFY2023
520.4K

Top industries (NAICS)

Software publishers · 5132$2M85%
Investigation and security services · 5616$254.2K11%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$60K2.6%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$10.7K0.5%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$7,1120.3%
Building equipment contractors · 2382

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Thunderbolt, Georgia, so they do not add up across cities.

Thunderbolt, Georgia's figures are part of those of Chatham County, GA ($383.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.6% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Thunderbolt is mostly in Chatham County.

See federal money in Chatham County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Thunderbolt, Georgia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Earl L. "Buddy" CarterR-GA-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 5.5%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Chatham County58100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Savannah, GA64

Other cities and towns in Chatham County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1376364

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends