The Ogeechee River, which runs along Richmond Hill and Bryan Neck.

Living Richmond Hill

Moving to Richmond Hill & Bryan County, GA

What newcomers ask us most, answered with official numbers: where things are, what it costs, how the schools work and what to do your first week.

A Living Richmond Hill guide · Updated October 2026

The guide

• Schools and school zonesEvery school, how zones work, test scores
• Cost of livingHome prices, rent, property tax, utilities
• Commute to the Hyundai MetaplantDrive times, roads and road work
• Richmond Hill vs. Pooler, Ellabell, StatesboroThe four towns side by side
• First-week checklistWater, power, license, tag, voting
• NeighborhoodsHeartwood, Buckhead, Ford Plantation, Waterways, Richmond Place
• Community mapParks, restaurants and local businesses

The lay of the land

Bryan County was created in 1793 from Chatham County. In 1940 the Army built what is now Fort Stewart, and it took more than a third of the county’s land, splitting Bryan into upper and lower halves, as the Georgia Encyclopedia puts it. That split still shapes daily life.

• South Bryan is Richmond Hill and the Bryan Neck area along the Ogeechee River and the marsh. It sits on I-95, about half an hour from Savannah.
• North Bryan is Pembroke, the county seat, and Ellabell, along I-16, close to the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America at 1500 Genesis Drive.

Getting from one half to the other means driving around Fort Stewart. Our free-flow route estimate from Richmond Hill to Pembroke is about 31 miles and 48 minutes. The county uses the same split for emergencies: its emergency agency describes area “A” as south of Fort Stewart and “B” as Fort Stewart and northern Bryan.

City or county? It matters

Many “Richmond Hill” addresses are outside the city limits, in unincorporated Bryan County. Which side of the line you’re on decides who sends your water bill, who picks up your trash, who answers a 911 call and how much property tax you pay. The 2025 total millage was 25.914 inside the city and 21.933 in unincorporated Bryan County. Our cost of living guide works through what that means for a typical house.

• City of Richmond Hill: City Hall, 40 Richard Davis Drive, 912-756-3345, richmondhill-ga.gov.
• Bryan County:bryancountyga.gov. The county has offices in Pembroke and in Richmond Hill.

A little history

Before it was Richmond Hill, the town was Ways Station. In 1925 Henry Ford began buying land on Bryan Neck, eventually about 85,000 acres according to the Georgia Encyclopedia, and he wintered here through the 1930s and 1940s. He built schools, churches, community buildings, housing and a sawmill. In 1941 the town was renamed Richmond Hill, and it incorporated as a city in 1962.

The area’s Civil War history is at Fort McAllister, on the Ogeechee River. The earthwork fort held off Union ironclads several times before falling to a land assault on December 13, 1864. Ford later paid to restore it, and today it is Fort McAllister State Park, 3894 Fort McAllister Road, with a museum.

Schools

All public schools in the county belong to one district, Bryan County Schools, with about 10,800 students in 2024-25. In Richmond Hill, three elementary schools sit side by side on Frances Meeks Way and each takes a grade band (PreK-1, 2-3 and 4-5), so young siblings can be at different schools. In the state’s 2025 report, the district’s single score was 87.2 out of 100, against 78.0 for Georgia, and its four-year graduation rate was 94.5%, against 87.2% statewide. A new Richmond Hill High School opened in August 2025.

School zones follow your address, not your subdivision’s marketing. Read our schools guide for the full list and how to check your zone with the district.

What it costs

Those Census figures are five-year averages, so they trail the market. Zillow’s home value index for Richmond Hill was about $420,000 in August 2026. Our cost of living guide covers prices, property tax, sales tax and utilities.

Jobs and the Hyundai Metaplant

The Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, at 1500 Genesis Drive in Ellabell, held its grand opening on March 26, 2025. Hyundai says 8,500 people will work there by 2031. From Richmond Hill, it’s about 29 miles and 39 minutes without traffic. A Hyundai Mobis supplier plant is in Richmond Hill’s Belfast Commerce Park. Our commute guide has drive times from each nearby town and the road projects coming to I-16.

Health care

There is no hospital emergency room in Richmond Hill today. Memorial Health said in September 2025 that it plans to build freestanding ERs in Richmond Hill and Pooler, but it hasn’t announced an opening date. For now:

• Emergencies: call 911. The nearest Level I trauma center is Memorial Health University Medical Center, 4700 Waters Avenue, Savannah, 912-350-8000, about 19 miles from Richmond Hill.
• Urgent care: St. Joseph’s/Candler runs urgent care in Richmond Hill. Its website lists two Richmond Hill locations, on Highway 144 and at Heartwood, so check sjchs.org or call before you go.

Parks, water and things to do

The city’s biggest park is J.F. Gregory Park, 521 Cedar Street, a 335-acre park with a playground, picnic tables and walking and bike trails. Bryan County runs youth and adult sports from Henderson and Timber Trail parks in the south and Hendrix Park in the north.

• Farmers marketSaturday afternoons at J.F. Gregory Park
• Wetlands CenterThe city’s rental hall in the park
• Fish hatcheryFree kids’ fishing days
• Hendrix ParkNorth Bryan’s sports complex
• Landfill and dump hoursWhere your extra trash goes
• Events calendarFestivals, markets and what’s on this week

Library

The Bryan County Public Library at Richmond Hill is at 9607 Ford Avenue (912-756-3580). It and the Pembroke branch are part of the Statesboro Regional Library System, not Savannah’s Live Oak system. Any Georgia resident can get a free card with a photo ID and proof of address. The county’s website lists Richmond Hill hours as 9 to 6 on weekdays and 9 to 2 on Saturday; the library catalog shows slightly different hours, so call ahead.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates, Vintage 2025: county and city totals (co-est2025-alldata, sub-est2025_13), downloaded Oct. 15, 2026.
2. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer files: land area.
3. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates (tables B19013, B25077, B25064, B08013), via Census Reporter.
4. Georgia Encyclopedia: “Bryan County,” “Richmond Hill,” “Fort Stewart” and “Fort McAllister” (georgiaencyclopedia.org).
5. Explore Georgia: Fort McAllister State Park listing.
6. Bryan County Emergency Management Agency, “Be Ready” handout, 2025.
7. City of Richmond Hill, richmondhill-ga.gov: City Hall contact, parks and facilities.
8. Bryan County, “Libraries,” bryancountyga.gov/residents/libraries (read Oct. 15, 2026).
9. Georgia Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, 2025 School Grades data; Georgia Department of Education, 2025 four-year graduation rates.
10. Bryan County and City of Richmond Hill 2025 millage rates (see our cost of living guide for the full source list); Zillow Home Value Index, August 2026.
11. Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, hmgma.com, and its March 26, 2025 grand opening release.
12. Memorial Health, “Memorial Health building freestanding emergency rooms in Pooler and Richmond Hill,” Sept. 3, 2025; Memorial Health University Medical Center location page.
13. St. Joseph’s/Candler, urgent care location pages for Richmond Hill (sjchs.org).
14. Drive distances and times: OSRM route estimates without traffic, Oct. 15, 2026.

Facts checked October 15, 2026 by the Living Richmond Hill team. Something changed? Tell us and we’ll update this page.