Living in Emerson, Georgia: homes, schools and costs

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 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Cartersville High School, about 4 miles away.
A hospital close byPiedmont Cartersville Medical Center in Cartersville, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityAtlanta is about 31 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 Emerson 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

Boom town. The population is up 55% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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: $226,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 16%Bartow County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,486 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $75,250U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 69%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,960 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940: 8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 13%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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area, not Emerson 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: 2,2602020: 1,456
Median age: 39.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 37%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 5%U.S.: 6%

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: Schools, health care and social services (24%); manufacturing (15%); finance, insurance and real estate (12%)
Average commute: 29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 19%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, Cartersville, GA, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

2 public schools in Emerson, run by Bartow County. The nearest public high school is Cartersville High School, about 4 miles away.

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: 63%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 92%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: 29°F
July average high: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 44 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 68 a year
Rain and melted snow: 51.8 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 933 feet

Weather station: Allatoona Dam 2 (2 miles 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

Piedmont Cartersville Medical CenterEmergency room6

Marietta, GACity of 64,00017

Atlanta, GAMetro of 6.5 million31

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: Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, Marietta, Atlanta.

Bartow 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park13 miles
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area22 miles
Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historical Park33 miles
Appalachian National Scenic Trail45 miles
Little River Canyon National Preserve51 miles

Read about Emerson's history on Wikipedia.

Know Emerson?

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

Cartersville, GA25,000 people, 4 miles
Euharlee, GA4,200 people, 11 miles
Kingston, GA1,200 people, 13 miles
Dallas, GA15,400 people, 16 miles
Hiram, GA5,600 people, 17 miles
Waleska, GA1,000 people, 17 miles

Smaller places

White, GA635 people, 10 miles
Kennesaw State University, GA (unincorporated)2,284 people, 11 miles
Taylorsville, GA271 people, 14 miles

Sources

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.