State Freedom Score
Georgia
#27 of 50
Who holds power now
Split controlAfter the 2026 midterms · projected, not yet certified
- Governor
- Keisha Lance Bottoms (D)Flipped
- U.S. Senate
- Jon Ossoff (D)Raphael Warnock (D)
- State Senate
- Republican
- State House
- DemocraticFlipped
Changed hands in 2026: Governor (R → D), State House (R → D). The score of 60 reflects the laws on Georgia’s books today. It moves only when they change.
Sources: gubernatorial elections · Senate elections · state legislative elections
The breakdown
- Taxes65
#18 of 50 on the Tax Foundation's 2026 index
- Second Amendment100
Permitless carry since 2022
- School choice25
No universal school-choice program
- Cost of living61
Prices 4% below the U.S. average
- Jobs47
Jobs −0.1% in a year · 3.2% unemployed
How it voted for president
The certified 2024 result: the longer-run lean, beside the 2026 picture above. Neither is part of the score: who wins an election doesn’t change a state’s freedom until its laws change.
Also worth knowing (not scored)
- Where people are moving: Population +5.3% since 2020
- Faith community: 27% attend worship weekly
Coming soon
Know when Georgia changes
New laws, bills and votes that move your freedom, without wading through the news. Pick what to watch:
How the State Freedom Score works
Five things, weighted equally: taxes, the Second Amendment, school choice, cost of living and jobs. Each is scored 0-100 between the best and worst real state, so a 100 is the best in the country. Permitless carry and universal school choice are yes-or-no laws, scored 100 or 25.
Who holds power is not part of the score. Control after the 2026 midterms (projected until certified) and the 2024 presidential result are shown beside it, so a change in who wins never moves the score until the laws change too.
- Tax Foundation, 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index
- Certified 2024 presidential results by state
- Permitless carry states (29)
- EdChoice, universal school choice (19 states)
- BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
- Pew Research Center, 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study
- Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates
- BLS payroll jobs & unemployment by state (via FRED), Aug 2026