Living IN Hart

Hart County, GA is a great place to live, work, and play!

Hart County, GA offers a welcoming lifestyle with small-town rural charm, endless outdoor recreation, and a vibrant downtown which earned the "Georgia Downtown of the Year" in 2023. Residents enjoy excellent schools, affordable living, and a prime location near I-85 between Atlanta and Greenville. Hart County blends quality of life with opportunity.

Recreation

There is no shortage of recreation on and around Lake Hartwell, from taking a boat out on the lake to fishing and tubing. Several lakeside parks offers camping, biking, hiking, and swimming, as well boat ramps to put paddlers, boaters, water skiers, and anglers on the water. Payne’s Creek Campground is nationally known for its bike trails and lakeside camp sites.

Just a few miles away is Cateechee Golf Club, featuring a gorgeous 18-hole course as well as a fine dining and a wedding venue. The Bell Family YMCA in Hartwell offers aerobics classes, fitness center, gym, weight room and a pool. Hart County also provides a bevy of family friendly recreational facilities.

For fun that is a little more relaxed, the Hart County Botanical Garden offers eight acres consisting of several different theme gardens and an amphitheater which hosts periodic concerts. Or take the family for a drive through the Lake Hartwell Wildlife Safari to see American Bison, ostrich, camels, water buffalo, wildebeest, zebu, parakeets, tortoises and much more!

Home Ownership

The American dream is alive in Hart County, with 63.5% of residents owning their place of residence. Plus, more than 2,400 vacant homes and a lot of land to build on mean there is plenty of space for your employees to settle in Hart County. Median home value in Hart County is $267,348 in 2025. (Source: Esri)

For families, there are five schools within the Hart County Charter System including Hart County High School, which was named an AP Honor School by the Georgia Department of Education and boasts a 98% graduation rate. The Hart County College and Career Academy is adjacent to Hart County High School, and trains students in a variety of highly relevant career paths for our local employers.

Also providing training aligned with local industry needs:

Athens Technical College, 18 miles, Elberton, GA
North Georgia Technical College, 40 miles, Toccoa, GA

Both technical colleges are part of the Technical College System of Georgia.

Accredited and nationally recognized colleges and universities are a short commute from Hartwell:

Anderson University, 45 miles, Anderson, SC
Clemson University, 35 miles, Clemson, SC
Emmanuel University, 18 miles, Franklin Springs, GA
Piedmont University, 42 miles, Athens GA (branch campus)
The College of Athens, 42 miles, Athens GA
Toccoa Falls College, 33 miles, Toccoa Falls, GA
University of Georgia, 42 miles, Athens, GA
University of North Georgia, 42 miles, Athens, GA (branch campus)

Healthcare

Medical care is conveniently available at two nearby hospitals:

Elbert Memorial Hospital, 18 miles, Elberton, GA.
St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital, 13 miles, Lavonia, GA

There are several primary care and urgent care centers in Hart County, including MedLink Hartwell, AnMed Primary Care, Hartwell Family Practice, Hartwell Family Clinic, Peachtree Immediate Care, Whole Heart Wellness, a concierge family practice, and several local urgent cares.

Public Transportation

Hart County has a reliable public, demand-response transportation system designed to help citizens, especially the elderly, get around. Hart County Public Transit can help you get anywhere within the Hartwell city limits for a flat rate of $2 per trip and offers rides outside city limits and medical rides to nearby Franklin County, for additional fees.