Adairsville, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Adairsville · Bartow County, Georgia
Population 4,960 (est. 2026: ~5,100)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 0.79% annual growth projection

Adairsville, Georgia

Bartow County, Georgia · Population 4,878

Adairsville sits along U.S. Highway 41 in the northwestern corner of Georgia's Piedmont, roughly 60 miles north of Atlanta and about 15 miles north of Cartersville, the Bartow County seat. The Western & Atlantic Railroad runs through town — a line that shaped this community in the 19th century and still defines its geography today. It is a small city with a genuinely local identity: full-service schools, a median household income well above the state average, and a housing market that remains affordable by Georgia standards. Adairsville is not a suburb in the conventional sense, but Atlanta's economic pull is real — the commute patterns prove it.

People & Demographics

Adairsville's ACS-estimated population of 4,911 makes it a small but complete city within Bartow County's 108,901 residents. The median age is 40.1. The racial breakdown is 3,534 white, 270 Black, and 324 Hispanic or Latino residents. No Asian population is recorded in the ACS estimate.

With 1,414 occupied households and an average household size of 3.47 — notably higher than most Georgia cities — Adairsville skews toward families. Of those households, 1,082 are family households. Children under 18 number 1,436, representing roughly 29% of the population. That family-heavy composition shapes everything from school enrollment to housing demand.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Adairsville is $90,062 — a figure that stands out for a town of this size and likely reflects the significant number of residents who commute to Cartersville or metro Atlanta for work. Per capita income is $24,407, a gap that reflects large household sizes rather than low wages. Of 4,911 residents, 2,163 are in the labor force, and only 8 are recorded as unemployed — an unemployment rate under 1%, which is unusually low and worth treating as a snapshot rather than a guarantee.

451 residents fall below the federal poverty line, or roughly 9% of the population.

Housing

Total housing units number 1,771, of which 1,414 are occupied and 357 sit vacant — a vacancy rate of about 20%, higher than typical for a growing county. Of occupied units, 1,012 are owner-occupied and 402 are renter-occupied, putting the homeownership rate at roughly 72%.

The median home value is $186,900. Median rent runs $1,190 per month. Both figures are meaningful: the home value is accessible compared to metro Atlanta, while the rent figure reflects demand from workers who need proximity to the corridor without buying in. Bartow County overall has seen population growth that puts upward pressure on housing; Adairsville's numbers reflect that trend at the smaller-city scale.

Schools

Adairsville operates its own set of Bartow County schools under a common identity:

The high school enrollment of 1,170 is notably large relative to the city's population, indicating the school serves a catchment area that extends beyond city limits into surrounding unincorporated Bartow County.

Among adults 25 and older (3,278 total), 1,093 hold a high school diploma as their highest credential, 815 hold a bachelor's degree, 42 hold a master's degree, and 35 hold a doctorate.

Getting Around

Adairsville is a car-required community. Of 2,155 total workers, 1,228 drove alone and 621 carpooled — together accounting for nearly 86% of commuters. Zero workers used public transit. 32 walked to work. 235 worked from home.

The aggregate travel time across all workers is 49,135 minutes, which works out to an average one-way commute of roughly 23 minutes. That average suggests a mix: some workers staying local in Bartow County, others making the longer haul south toward the Atlanta metro.

Healthcare

The nearest hospital is Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center in Cartersville, approximately 15 miles south. Local and nearby healthcare providers can be searched through the CMS NPI Registry for Adairsville, GA.

Library

The Adairsville Public Library serves the community and can be reached at (770) 769-9200. It is part of the Cherokee Regional Library System that serves northwest Georgia.

Parks & Recreation

Several significant National Park Service units lie within regional reach of Adairsville:

The Adairsville area itself sits near the route of the 1862 Great Locomotive Chase, a Civil War episode that unfolded along the Western & Atlantic Railroad directly through town.

Natural Hazards

Bartow County has a long FEMA declaration history that reflects the genuine weather and disaster exposure of northwest Georgia:

The pattern is clear — this part of Georgia faces recurring threats from winter ice storms, spring tornado outbreaks, and the remnants of Gulf and Atlantic hurricanes that push inland. Flooding events are a consistent secondary hazard.

Government & Municipal Code

Adairsville's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/adairsville. The city does not have a locally adopted building code on file with Municode.

Weather

Current forecasts and conditions for Adairsville are available through the National Weather Service forecast page. Active weather alerts for the area can be monitored at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest official weather observation station is Adairsville, located 0.3 miles from the city center.

References

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)