Waleska, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Waleska · Cherokee County, Georgia
Population 767 (est. 2026: ~900)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 5.35% annual growth projection

Waleska, Georgia

Cherokee County, Georgia · Population 921

Waleska sits in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northeastern Cherokee County, roughly 40 miles north of Atlanta. The town is small by any measure — fewer than a thousand residents — but it punches above its weight because of one thing: Reinhardt University. The private university (phone: 770-720-5600) anchors the community, shapes its demographics, and explains nearly every unusual data point this place produces. Without understanding that context, the numbers here make little sense.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 survey recorded 764 residents in Waleska, organized into 136 households. The median age of 21.1 years is the most telling number on the page — it sits roughly 15 years below the Cherokee County median and reflects a population dominated by college students. Average household size is 1.96, and only 75 residents are children under 18, consistent with a community that skews toward young adults rather than families.

The racial breakdown: 555 white residents, 113 Black residents, 28 Asian residents, and 100 Hispanic or Latino residents. Family households number 87 out of 136 total.

Cherokee County as a whole holds 266,620 residents, making Waleska a fraction of a fraction — a small college town embedded within one of the fastest-growing suburban counties in Georgia.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Waleska is $50,000, and per capita income is $13,768. That per capita figure looks striking until the age structure explains it: students with little or no employment income pull the average down sharply. Of 361 residents counted in the labor force, 49 were unemployed. Only 9 residents were recorded below the poverty line in the ACS data.

The local economy is not diverse in the traditional sense. Reinhardt University is the dominant institutional presence. Residents who work elsewhere largely commute out into Cherokee County or toward the Atlanta metro.

Housing

Waleska has 153 total housing units, of which 136 are occupied and 17 are vacant — a vacancy rate of about 11%. In a notable inversion of the typical suburban pattern, renters slightly outnumber owners: 71 renter-occupied units versus 65 owner-occupied. That split reflects student housing demand.

Median home value is $295,800 — substantial for a town this size, and consistent with Cherokee County's broader appreciation driven by Atlanta metro spillover. Median rent is $860 per month.

Schools

R. M. Moore Elementary School serves grades K–5 with 1,021 students (NCES CCD 2022). That enrollment figure — more than the entire town's population — confirms that the school draws from a wider area beyond Waleska's city limits. Middle and high school students attend Cherokee County public schools, which connect Waleska to the broader county school system centered in Canton.

Reinhardt University provides four-year and graduate education directly within town.

Getting Around

Of 309 total workers, 152 drove alone to work, 14 carpooled, and zero used public transit. Waleska has no bus service or commuter rail access — a car is essential for anything beyond the university campus. Fifty-one residents walked to work, a high number that almost certainly reflects students walking to Reinhardt. Eighty-nine workers worked from home. Aggregate travel time across all workers totals 4,055 minutes, suggesting average commutes for those who drive out are moderate rather than extreme — though the Atlanta metro's northern sprawl means Canton, Woodstock, and Marietta are the practical employment anchors for non-university workers.

Healthcare

Northside Hospital Cherokee is the primary hospital serving Cherokee County. The Cherokee County Law Library, reachable at 678-493-6175, is located 7.4 miles away. For a full list of healthcare providers registered in Waleska with the CMS National Provider Registry, the NPI search returns current results at the NPI Registry.

Library

The Cherokee County Law Library is the nearest library resource, located 7.4 miles from Waleska (phone: 678-493-6175). Cherokee County's public library system, based in Canton, serves the broader region. Reinhardt University maintains its own academic library on campus for enrolled students and faculty.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service units are within reasonable reach of Waleska:

The Blue Ridge foothills surrounding Waleska itself offer trail access and lake recreation. Lake Allatoona and the Etowah River corridor are within easy driving distance for Cherokee County residents.

Natural Hazards

Cherokee County carries a significant federal disaster history. FEMA has issued declarations tied to the county going back to 1995:

The pattern is consistent with North Georgia's vulnerability: remnants of Gulf and Atlantic hurricanes bring flooding and wind damage; ice storms periodically shut down the foothills in winter; and the occasional severe outbreak produces tornadoes. Waleska's elevation in the Cherokee County foothills means ice events can be more disruptive here than in the flatlands further south.

Government & Municipal Code

Waleska's municipal code is published through Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/waleska. The municipality does not have a locally adopted building code on file with Municode. Construction and development standards default to state and county requirements.

Weather

Current National Weather Service forecasts for Waleska are available at forecast.weather.gov. Active weather alerts can be checked at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest weather observation station is the Waleska station, located 2.0 miles from town.

References

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