Clayton County, GA

County Profile

298,924 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Clayton County, GA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 28% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity838th of 1,463 counties measured51
Schools1,257th of 1,377 counties measured15
Growth1,162nd of 1,453 counties measured34
Housing affordability1,223rd of 1,462 counties measured60
ClimateTop 23% of 1,463 counties measured75
Physical resilienceTop 40% of 1,463 counties measured66
AccessTop 26% of 1,463 counties measured90
Economic stability986th of 1,463 counties measured47
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.2% and median household income $59,806, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 24% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.3 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 449 units authorized over the past twelve months, 38% below the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
298,924
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,806
Bottom 35% nationally
Density
2,110/sq mi
141.7 sq mi of land
Median age
33.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Clayton County
Georgia
Nearest major airport
ATL
6 mi · Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta Intl
Median home value
$222,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.2% — higher than in all but 47% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 1.0% over the past year, to 140,361 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$34,7661st percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$35,8921st percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,8772024 ACS 5-Year$59,806Bottom 35%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$6592024 ACS 5-Year$27,759Bottom 15%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$35,128Bottom 1%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year17.6%Bottom 23%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year34.0 minBottom 9%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year22.5%Top 49%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year71.6%19th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026140,361Top 17%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.3%Bottom 46%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.0%Top 20%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026146,55083rd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year78.6%Top 35%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year2.1%95th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 42%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.2%Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year10.6%67th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.33.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202460k52k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,806 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons84,970$32,850
Fast Food and Counter Workers80,730$27,780
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand78,460$39,020
General and Operations Managers69,320$111,410
Customer Service Representatives59,990$42,710
Registered Nurses56,460$100,490

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

24% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 30% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.3 students for every full-time teacher across 69 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
69
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
24.5%
Bottom 8% in Georgia
Reading proficiency
29.9%
Bottom 11% in Georgia
The 12 largest of 69 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Morrow High SchoolClayton County2,07720.019%35%
Lovejoy High SchoolClayton County2,04918.813%33%
Forest Park High SchoolClayton County1,71117.313%32%
Charles R. Drew High SchoolClayton County1,70817.815%31%
Mundy's Mill High SchoolClayton County1,66518.314%25%
Jonesboro High SchoolClayton County1,63021.220%26%
Eddie White Middle SchoolClayton County1,36416.616%25%
Riverdale High SchoolClayton County1,35919.416%32%
Dubois Integrity Academy · charterState Specialty Schools I- Dubois Integrity Academy1,34119.437%36%
Mount Zion High SchoolClayton County1,23218.113%28%
North Clayton High SchoolClayton County1,12417.613%17%
Michelle Obama STEM Elementary AcademyClayton County1,04816.425%28%

99.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Georgia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run at about the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 100.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Division is up 43% over five years, and up 1.0% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,933 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.87% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,820, some 27% above the $1,433 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,820 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $72,800 a year, about 122% of the median household income here of $59,806.

The typical renter household here spends 37% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,433 a month.

A median home at $222,300 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $75,697, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
100.5

Prices here run at about the national average. Where places do differ, housing drives most of it — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
36.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,820
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,433
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$222,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Clayton County’s median household income of $59,806, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area’s figure2023100.5Bottom 27%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+1.0%12th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+42.7%39th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+109.2%75th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.9Bottom 31%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year54.5%3rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±872024 ACS 5-Year115,47692nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,660Bottom 9%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,182Bottom 18%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,820Bottom 11%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$252024 ACS 5-Year$1,433Bottom 9%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,3172024 ACS 5-Year$222,30064th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$672024 ACS 5-Year$1,93363rd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,5922024 ACS 5-Year$75,697Bottom 48%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.87%56th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year36.8%Bottom 2%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1492024 ACS 5-Year26542nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%4th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.0%41st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±9152024 ACS 5-Year9,53590th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

34/ 100
Ranks 1,162 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 1% since 2020, to 297,703 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 774 units authorized in 2025, 11% below the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Clayton County lost about 1.1% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $34,766, close to the $35,892 of households that moved out.

At 1.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
449
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.5
Bottom 27% nationally
Year over year
−38%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
41.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024299k298k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
25%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$34,766
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$35,892
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Fulton County, GA 6,286 people · 27% of arrivals
  2. DeKalb County, GA 3,085 people · 13% of arrivals
  3. Henry County, GA 2,963 people · 13% of arrivals
  4. Gwinnett County, GA 810 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  5. Cobb County, GA 796 people · 3.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fulton County, GA 6,099 people · 24% of departures
  2. Henry County, GA 4,616 people · 18% of departures
  3. DeKalb County, GA 2,655 people · 10% of departures
  4. Fayette County, GA 935 people · 3.6% of departures
  5. Cobb County, GA 786 people · 3.0% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025954337
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−19%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 36°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 50.4 inches, including 2.2 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 45, in the Good band, and about 3 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ATLANTA HARTSFIELD INTL AP, 5.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year632024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals50.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals2.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year32024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year452024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
45
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
63
90th percentile index
Days above 100
3
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

66 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 50% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

TornadoElevated
LightningModerate
Ice stormModerate
EarthquakeModerate

Low or minimal exposure: hail, cold wave, strong wind, inland flooding, heat wave, hurricane, wildfire, winter weather, landslide, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Clayton County records 10.7 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 15.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 17.1 per 100,000 residents in Clayton County.

Homicide
10.7
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
17.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
9.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Clayton County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta Intl at 6 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year91.3%Top 18%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle6 miTop 3%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 3%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%Top 10%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta IntlATL6 mi12,390 ft
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM135 mi12,007 ft
Augusta Rgnl At Bush FldAGS142 mi8,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
53
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.