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Towns / Georgia

College Park, Georgia

College Park is a suburb of about 13,900 people in Fulton County, Georgia, in the Atlanta area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Atlanta, is about 9 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Atlanta

Population
13,887
down 0.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$325,800
Fulton County prices up 12% since 2022
Household income
$51,635
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Atlanta area
100.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Riverdale, GA
To Atlanta
9 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.1% above the U.S. average in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood182 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 13 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 63.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town26 public schools: 18 elementary, 5 middle and 3 high schools.
  • A hospital close bySouthern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityAtlanta is about 9 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means College Park meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

College Park runs into the built-up area around Atlanta (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$325,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 12%Fulton County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,207 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$51,635U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
21%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,611 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940
12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100.1U.S. average = 100 (the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area, not College Park alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
13,8872020: 13,898
Median age
32 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
9%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
29%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Transportation, warehousing and utilities (20%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (16%); schools, health care and social services (11%)
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
21%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Southern Regional Medical Center, Riverdale, GA, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

26 public schools in College Park, run by Fulton County and Clayton County.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Georgia's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
36°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
47 a year
Nights at or below freezing
36 a year
Rain and melted snow
50.4 inches a year
Snow
2 inches a year
Elevation
1,010 feet

Weather station: Atlanta Hartsfield Intl Ap (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Southern Regional Medical Center, South Fulton, Atlanta.

Fulton County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the College Park Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historical Park9 miles
  • Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area13 miles
  • Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park20 miles

Read about College Park's history on Wikipedia.

Know College Park?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.