Downtown Augusta: homes, schools, parks and commute

Last checked Oct. 6, 2026. Sources: Augusta’s GIS neighborhoods layer and historic district layers, the city’s 2023 comprehensive plan, the Richmond County School System’s School Zone and Bus Stop Locator, the state’s 2025 School Grades data, Zillow Research, Augusta Transit’s route data and OpenStreetMap.

Downtown is where Augusta was founded, on the Savannah River, and it is still the seat of the consolidated city and county government. The city’s 2023 comprehensive plan describes the downtown core as a traditional central business district with offices, shops, entertainment, government buildings and “medium to high-density residential development,” and lists new apartment buildings such as The Augustan and Millhouse Station among recent projects. The city’s neighborhood map calls the area the Central Business District and draws it at about 0.9 square miles.

What this means for you

• Zoned high school: Lucy C. Laney High, for the whole area. Check one address in the district’s zone locator.
• Home value: $72,068 in ZIP 30901 in August 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
• Nearest interstate exit: Interstate 520 exit 16 (Sand Bar Ferry Road and Laney-Walker Boulevard), about 4.6 miles by road.

Part of our Augusta neighborhoods guide.

Where it is

Downtown runs along the river from the Riverwalk inland toward Walton Way, with Broad, Ellis, Greene and Telfair streets running east and west through it. Almost all of it is in ZIP code 30901. About two-thirds of the area is inside the city’s Downtown local historic district, where exterior changes need approval from the Historic Preservation Commission, and more than half is in the Augusta Downtown Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. Its neighbors on the city’s map are Olde Town to the east and Laney Walker to the south.

Schools

Downtown is in the Richmond County School System. Shares are of sample points across the area checked in the district’s zone locator on Oct. 6; scores are 2025 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) figures from the state’s School Grades report.

Davidson Fine Arts Magnet, 615 12th St., is inside downtown. It is a magnet school, not a zoned one, and scored 96.8 in 2025. More on calendars and enrollment in our schools guide.

Home values

The typical home value in ZIP 30901 was $72,068 in August 2026, up 8.70% from $66,300 in August 2025, according to the Zillow Home Value Index. The index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price. ZIP 30901 also covers Olde Town, Laney Walker, Bethlehem and East Augusta, so it is not a downtown-only figure. The citywide Augusta figure was $188,114, up 2.38% on the year. More in our home prices guide.

Parks and trails

• Edward M. McIntyre Sr. Riverwalk, along the river with access at 6th, 8th, 9th and 10th streets, and the Riverwalk Marina at 1 Fifth St.
• Augusta Common, 836 Reynolds St., the city’s downtown event lawn.
• Springfield Village Park, 1200 Reynolds St., listed in OpenStreetMap.
• Old Government House, 432 Telfair St., listed among the city’s park facilities.

The main branch of the library is at 902 Greene St. Trails and boat ramps nearby are in our parks and trails guide.

Getting around

• Augusta Transit: the Blue (1, Walton Way), Gold (3, East Augusta), Purple (4, Turpin Hill) and Brown (6, Gordon Highway) lines run through downtown, according to the agency’s route data. Route cards are on the routes page. The transfer facility at 1546 Broad St. is just west of the area.
• Interstates: I-520 exit 16 is about 4.6 miles by road and I-20 exit 200 (River Watch Parkway) about 6.5 miles, exits numbered as in OpenStreetMap.
• City hall and the airports: about 0.7 miles from the middle of downtown to the Augusta Municipal Building at 535 Telfair St., 11.3 miles to Augusta Regional Airport and 152 miles to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. All are distances on the OpenStreetMap road network measured with the OSRM routing engine, not drive times.

Parking rules and the airport are in our getting around guide.

Groceries and everyday stores

OpenStreetMap lists no supermarket inside downtown. It lists a Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy on Walton Way at the area’s edge, and the nearest supermarket it lists is Thriftee’s Supermarket on Sand Bar Ferry Road, about 1.8 miles by road.

HOAs

The city’s neighborhood map and comprehensive plan do not list homeowners associations, so this page does not either.

Who serves downtown

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office patrols all of Augusta; the city has no separate police department. Fire service is the Augusta Fire Department, and trash pickup is run by Environmental Services; see our trash and recycling guide. Property tax goes to the consolidated government and the school system. The tax district is printed on each bill, and rates are in our property tax guide.

Frequently asked questions

What schools is downtown Augusta zoned for?

W.S. Hornsby Middle School and Lucy C. Laney High School for the whole area. At the elementary level, about three-quarters of downtown is zoned for Lamar-Milledge Elementary and the rest for W.S. Hornsby Elementary, according to the Richmond County School System’s zone locator.

What ZIP code is downtown Augusta?

30901. Zillow put the typical home value in 30901 at $72,068 in August 2026, up 8.7% from August 2025. The citywide figure was $188,114.

Is downtown Augusta a good place to live?

Here are the facts. Downtown is the city’s central business district along the Savannah River, with the Riverwalk, Augusta Common, the main library and four Augusta Transit bus lines. It is zoned for Lucy C. Laney High, which scored 59.9 on the state’s 2025 CCRPI, and the typical home value in ZIP 30901 was $72,068 in August 2026, according to Zillow.

How far is downtown Augusta from the airport?

About 11.3 miles by road from the middle of downtown to Augusta Regional Airport, measured on the OpenStreetMap road network. That is a distance, not a drive time.