Fayette County, GA

County Profile

122,244 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Fayette 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.

82out of 100
Area Score
Top 1% of 1,225 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 2% of 1,255 counties measured87
SchoolsTop 4% of 973 counties measured89
GrowthTop 17% of 1,226 counties measured68
Housing affordability877th of 1,255 counties measured85
ClimateTop 15% of 1,254 counties measured77
Physical resilienceTop 23% of 1,255 counties measured79
AccessTop 37% of 1,255 counties measured87
Economic stabilityTop 17% of 1,255 counties measured83
The quick read

Fayette County ranks in the top 2% of published profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.5% and median household income of $111,978.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published profiles, placing Fayette County in the top 23% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 16 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
122,244
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$111,978
Top 3% nationally
Density
628/sq mi
194.7 sq mi of land
Median age
43.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Fayette County
Georgia
Metro area
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Nearest major airport
ATL
16 mi · Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta Intl
Median home value
$436,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.5% is lower than 79% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment grew 1.3% over the past year, to 58,206 employed residents.

50% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 97% of measured US locations.

Household income is higher than at least 97% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4,052$111,978Top 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,686$55,125Top 4%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate5.6%Bottom 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute33.8 minTop 10%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher49.9%Top 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Employment58,206Top 40%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.4%Top 25%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (year over year)1.3%Top 12%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force60,323Top 41%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force participation60.1%Top 43%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Bottom 45%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate3.5%Bottom 21%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/063.72.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.5% in June 2026. 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
2021202220232024112k96k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $111,978 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

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.

53% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 60% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.5 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
26
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
53.2%
Top 6% in Georgia
Reading proficiency
59.6%
Top 1% in Georgia
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
McIntosh High SchoolFayette County1,76217.4
Fayette County High SchoolFayette County1,36014.6
Starrs Mill High SchoolFayette County1,35716.2
Whitewater High SchoolFayette County1,30315.7
Sandy Creek High SchoolFayette County1,18913.7
J.C. Booth Middle SchoolFayette County1,11515.965%74%
Rising Starr Middle SchoolFayette County93114.877%77%
Bennett's Mill Middle SchoolFayette County87613.722%52%
Whitewater Middle SchoolFayette County87413.762%72%
Kedron Elementary SchoolFayette County84315.665%65%
Flat Rock Middle SchoolFayette County80012.732%62%
Sara Harp Minter Elementary SchoolFayette County68915.362%62%

33.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Georgia’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,898 takes 20% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.9 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
20.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.9×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,898
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$436,400
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.90Top 22%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate80.1%Top 19%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7746,453Top 18%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$87$1,898Top 2%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,870$436,400Top 7%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income20.3%Top 19%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate4.0%Bottom 2%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
68/ 100
Top 17% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

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 grown 5% since 2020, reaching 125,107 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 3.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
453
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.7
Top 41% nationally
Year over year
+19%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024125k120k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
202020212022202320242025762323
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−23%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 34°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 49.3 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ATLANTA, 5.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation49.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low34°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing36°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

79 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, lightning and earthquake.

LightningElevated
TornadoElevated
HailModerate
EarthquakeModerate
DroughtModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, ice storm, hurricane, heat wave, strong wind, wildfire, landslide, winter weather.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Fayette County records 5.4 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 17.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 9.7 per 100,000 residents in Fayette County.

Homicide
5.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
17.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
9.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Fayette County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Fayette County rather than Fayette County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 16 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta IntlATL16 mi12,390 ft
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM131 mi12,007 ft
Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)MGM134 mi9,020 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
82
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.