Lexington's housing stock is small and largely older, reflecting its history as a nineteenth-century county seat. Homes cluster around the courthouse square and along a compact grid of streets, with a mix of historic houses and modest single-family residences. Beyond the town limits, the surrounding Oglethorpe County countryside offers larger parcels, farmhouses, and rural acreage, giving buyers a choice between in-town historic character and county land. The market here is unhurried, with limited inventory and a character defined by preservation rather than new development.

Lexington's layout centers on the courthouse square, around which the town's oldest homes, shops, and civic buildings are arranged. Residential streets extend a short distance from the square in a compact grid, and the community transitions quickly to farmland and woods at its edges. The town's small scale means there are no large subdivisions; instead, the square and its immediate surroundings function as the town's commercial and social heart, with the county's offices and schools nearby.

Life in Lexington is quiet and small-town, organized around the courthouse square and the county's rhythms. The square's antique, art, and gift shops, along with a cafe and bakery, give residents and visitors a modest but distinctive local gathering place, and the town's historic architecture lends it a strong sense of place. Day-to-day life is rural and unhurried, with county government offices and schools close at hand. For dining, shopping, and entertainment on a larger scale, residents look to Athens, about twenty miles west along U.S. Route 78.

Public education in Lexington is provided by the Oglethorpe County School District, which is headquartered in the city and operates four schools serving about 2,300 students across the county. Oglethorpe County High School, the district's only high school, opened in Lexington in 1924. The district's small, countywide scale keeps schools closely tied to the community, and families also have access to higher-education and cultural resources at the University of Georgia in nearby Athens.

Lexington sits on U.S. Route 78, a historic east-west highway that connects the city to Athens to the west and Washington and points east. Athens, home to the University of Georgia, lies roughly twenty miles away, making it the primary regional destination for employment, shopping, and services. The surrounding county is served by rural state and county roads, and Interstate 85 is reachable through Athens and the broader northeast Georgia highway network for travel toward Atlanta and South Carolina.

Recreation in Lexington is rural and low-key, built around the Oglethorpe County Recreation Department's programs and the surrounding countryside. The town's historic square and courthouse area provide a walkable, scenic center, and the county's farms, woodlands, and rolling Piedmont landscape offer space for hunting, fishing, and outdoor pursuits. Residents also draw on Athens, roughly twenty miles west, for its parks, greenways, botanical garden, and the full range of University of Georgia sporting and cultural events.