Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Decatur grades A− overall, 17th of 258 graded towns in Georgia. Few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Residents are healthier than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its public schools beat 95% of Georgia towns on state tests and graduation. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $277K, 3.1 years of the Atlanta metro’s $90K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 20 places on the National Register. 76% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Decatur, against 25% in Georgia’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children and Mary Gay House. No town in Georgia scores higher than Decatur on civic life.
Where Decatur beats most towns.
Old DeKalb County Courthouse
Its 20 National Register listings are more than in 95% of Georgia towns with a listing.
Census counts: 530 in 1840, a low of 401 in 1870, 24,928 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 5 maps from 1954 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Decatur is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 5%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Decatur. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaMercedes-Benz Stadium
Big draw9 mi MountainStone Mountain
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaState Farm Arena
6 mi Zoo & aquariumGeorgia Aquarium
Big draw15 mi Theme parkSix Flags Over Georgia
13 mi Stadium & arenaTruist ParkMercedes-Benz Stadium: Atlanta Falcons, CC BY 3.0 · Stone Mountain: KyleAndMelissa22, Public domain · State Farm Arena: Hermann Luyken, CC0 · Georgia Aquarium: Diliff, CC BY 2.5 · Six Flags Over Georgia: hagerman, CC BY 2.0 · Truist Park: Thechased at English Wikipedia, CC BY 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Decatur, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Decatur.
Decatur pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Georgia norm, has schools in the top 5% of Georgia and has less food insecurity than most of Georgia.
Decatur’s trail density is 2.3 miles per square mile. Legacy Park, at 80 acres with 4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 10 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves.
| Decatur | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.6% | 2.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Legacy Park | 4 mi | 80 |
| 2. Hidden Cove Park | 0.5 mi | 10 |
| 3. Dearborn Park | 0.4 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A+ ranks #4 of the 260 Georgia towns we grade for schools. Its A+ is the best School Grade on its borders; Atlanta (C+) is next.
Its public schools are run by City Schools of Decatur. Three of its 17 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beacon Hill Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,285 | A |
| Decatur High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,901 | A |
| Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 529 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Georgia is food insecurity: 7.3% of its 17,855 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.7% statewide.
15% of Decatur adults get no exercise outside work. Only 7 of the 261 Georgia towns we compare have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Decatur. 7.7% of Decatur adults smoke cigarettes.
| Decatur | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 29% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 40% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 19% | 17% |
| What stands out | Decatur | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.3% | 17.7% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.4% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.9% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
113 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 10 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 113 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Decatur.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The property crime rate in Decatur is 18.5 per 1,000 residents. Within Georgia, it does better than 56% of towns.
| Decatur | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.5 per 1,000 residents | 14.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
July afternoons average 89°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 82% of Georgia places with climate records; January nights average 33.3°.
Decatur has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Decatur | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 33°F | 33°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 90°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Decatur has about as many jobs (10,626) as working residents, but only 988 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 14,429 in 2013 to 10,626.
Most working residents leave Decatur for work: only 9% work in town. 39% of workers work from home in Decatur. Since 2013, Decatur has lost 3,803 jobs, to 10,626 in 2023.
| Decatur | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 39% | 9.2% | 11% |
| Median household income | $139,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.2% | 15% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Decatur grades A− overall with a typical home of about $277K, below the Georgia typical value; only 9 of the 26 Georgia towns graded A− or better can say that. Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Scottdale is next at $323K.
The typical Decatur home is worth about $277,000, down 3.3% in a year, 16% below the Georgia typical home.
| Decatur | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,655 a month | $1,152 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 58% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
26 within 15 miles of the center of Decatur
About 6 of every 100 Decatur residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Georgia.
19,335 counted in 2010 and 24,928 in 2020; an estimated 25,276 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
20 places in Decatur on the National Register of Historic Places.
57 notable people were born in Decatur.
City in Georgia, United States
Decatur () is a city in and the county seat of DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear Decatur as the address. The city is served by three MARTA rail stations (Decatur, East Lake, and Avondale). The city is located approximately five miles (eight kilometers) northeast of Downtown Atlanta and shares its western border with both the city of Atlanta (the Kirkwood and Lake Claire neighborhoods) and unincorporated DeKalb County. The Druid Hills neighborhood is to the northwest of Decatur.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Decatur.
At #17 in GA, it grades higher overall than all 6 graded towns on its borders; Avondale Estates (B) comes closest. Scottdale next door grades lower for schools (C− to Decatur’s A+) and higher for cost of living (C− to D−).
| Town | GA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur | #17 | A− | D− | C | A+ | A+ |
| North Decatur | #88 | C+ | D | — | C− | A+ |
| Belvedere Park | #120 | C | C | — | C− | B |
| Druid Hills | #75 | B− | D− | — | C− | A+ |
| Atlanta | #151 | C− | D | D | C+ | A− |
| Scottdale | #91 | C+ | C− | — | C− | A− |
| Avondale Estates | #59 | B | D | — | C− | A |
North Decatur, Belvedere Park, Druid Hills, Scottdale and Avondale Estates report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Decatur with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Decatur grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #17 of 258 in Georgia. It grades A+ for health, C for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Georgia, it does better than 56% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
57 notable people were born here, including Keri Hilson and Michael Stipe.
