Temple, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Temple · Carroll County, Georgia
Population 5,655 (est. 2026: ~6,500)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 4.35% annual growth projection

Temple, Georgia

Carroll County, Georgia · Population 5,089

Temple sits in the rolling Piedmont of west-central Georgia, roughly 45 miles west of Atlanta along US-78. It is a small city by population but punches above its weight in self-contained infrastructure — three public schools bear the Temple name, a dedicated library serves the community, and a median household income that clears the state average suggests a working population that has found its footing without depending on downtown Atlanta. Carroll County's county seat is Carrollton, about 12 miles south, and Villa Rica lies even closer to the east. Temple is neither suburb nor rural holdout — it occupies the productive middle ground between the two.

People & Demographics

Temple's ACS 2022 population of 5,395 is spread across 1,829 households, with an average household size of 2.95 — meaningfully larger than most Georgia averages, reflecting the city's strong family orientation. Family households account for 1,412 of those 1,829 total households. Children under 18 number 1,577, meaning roughly 29% of the population is school-age — a figure that explains why Temple supports three schools of its own within Carroll County Schools.

The median age of 31.8 is young, well below Georgia's median, which hovers near 37. The racial makeup is 4,321 white residents, 964 Black residents, and 194 Hispanic or Latino residents. No Asian population was recorded in the 2022 ACS data.

Carroll County as a whole holds 119,148 people, making Temple home to roughly 4.5% of the county's population — small enough to feel like a distinct community, large enough to sustain its own civic institutions.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Temple is $71,917 — competitive within Carroll County and comparable to Georgia's statewide median. Per capita income comes in at $29,345. Of the 2,653 residents counted in the labor force, zero were recorded as unemployed in the 2022 ACS — a figure worth noting as a snapshot, not a permanent condition. Poverty affects 93 residents by the survey's measure, a relatively low share of the population.

Temple's workforce is largely employed outside the city itself, given the commute patterns described below. The nearby presence of Carrollton and Villa Rica, plus interstate access toward Atlanta, gives residents a range of employment markets to draw from.

Housing

Temple has 1,967 total housing units, of which 1,829 are occupied and 138 sit vacant — a vacancy rate of just over 7%, indicating a reasonably tight market. The ownership picture is notably skewed toward owners: 1,606 units are owner-occupied versus 223 renter-occupied, putting the homeownership rate near 88% of occupied units. That is exceptionally high and reflects the city's family-heavy demographic profile.

Median home value sits at $159,700. For context, Georgia's statewide median is considerably higher, meaning Temple remains a genuinely affordable place to buy. Renters pay a median of $1,214 per month — not inexpensive for a small city of this size, though still below what comparable units command closer to Atlanta.

Schools

Temple is served by Carroll County Schools. Three schools carry the Temple name and serve students from kindergarten through twelfth grade entirely within the city:

Two additional elementary schools draw from the broader area:

Villa Rica Middle School (grades 6–8, 464 students) also serves the corridor between Temple and Villa Rica, reflecting the shared school infrastructure that connects these neighboring communities.

Getting Around

Temple is a car-required city. Of 2,653 workers, 1,934 drove alone to work and 393 carpooled. Zero workers used public transit and zero walked to work. Working from home accounts for 326 residents — about 12% of the labor force, consistent with national post-pandemic patterns. Aggregate travel time across all workers totals 76,890 minutes, putting average one-way commute time around 29 minutes — reasonable for a community this far from metro Atlanta but still implying that most employment lies outside Temple's borders.

Healthcare

Two Tanner Health System facilities serve the Temple area. Tanner Medical Center – Carrollton is the primary regional hospital, located approximately 12 miles south in Carroll County's seat. Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica provides a closer option to the east. Both are part of the same health system, offering coordinated care across the county.

For a directory of individual healthcare providers licensed in Temple, the CMS NPI Registry allows searches by city: NPI Registry – Temple, GA.

Library

The Ruth Holder Public Library serves Temple residents and can be reached at (678) 563-7590. It operates as part of the Carroll County public library system, providing access to broader system resources beyond its local collection.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service sites lie within reasonable driving distance of Temple:

Natural Hazards

Carroll County has a documented history of federally declared disasters going back decades. The record shows a wide range of event types:

The pattern is consistent with Georgia's broader vulnerability: winter ice events, remnants of Gulf and Atlantic tropical systems, and periodic severe convective weather. The 2024 Hurricane Helene declaration is recent enough to be relevant to anyone assessing current infrastructure resilience.

Government & Municipal Code

Temple's municipal code is published through Municode and is publicly accessible at library.municode.com/ga/temple. The city does not have a separate adopted building code on record through this publication.

Weather

Current forecasts for Temple are available through the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast – Temple, GA. Active weather alerts can be monitored at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest weather observation station is Temple 0.7 E, located 1.2 miles from the city center.

References

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