Forest Park, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Forest Park · Clayton County, Georgia
Population 19,619 (est. 2026: ~19,200)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -0.59% annual growth projection

Forest Park, Georgia

Clayton County, Georgia · Population 19,932

Forest Park sits roughly ten miles south of downtown Atlanta, tucked between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to the west and Interstate 675 to the east. It is a working-class city with deep roots in the logistics and distribution industry — the proximity to one of the world's busiest airports and the intersection of I-285 and I-75 nearby have shaped the local economy for decades. The city is majority Black and heavily Latino, with a median age of 31.3, making it a notably young community. Life here is practical and unpretentious: commercial corridors line Forest Parkway, neighborhoods are dense with renters, and the school system serves a multilingual student body large enough to support a dedicated dual-language campus.

People & Demographics

Forest Park's population of 19,932 makes it one of the mid-sized cities within Clayton County, which as a whole holds 297,595 residents. The racial and ethnic breakdown is straightforward: Black residents make up the largest group at 10,647, followed by Hispanic or Latino residents at 4,521, white residents at 3,956, and Asian residents at 1,105. Nearly 29% of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino — a proportion that has shaped everything from local businesses to the school curriculum.

The median age of 31.3 skews younger than Georgia as a whole, consistent with a city where children under 18 number 5,707 — roughly 29% of the population. Average household size runs 2.73 persons across 7,021 occupied households, with 3,992 of those classified as family households.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Forest Park is $41,837, and per capita income is $20,145. Both figures sit well below Georgia's statewide medians, reflecting a labor force concentrated in logistics, warehouse work, food processing, and service industries that cluster around the airport and the industrial corridors of Clayton County.

Of 8,651 residents in the labor force, 774 are unemployed. Poverty is a real presence: 3,441 residents fall below the federal poverty line, representing roughly 17.5% of the measured population — a rate that warrants attention when considering local services and school needs.

Housing

Forest Park's 7,619 total housing units leave 598 vacant — a relatively tight 7.8% vacancy rate. Of the 7,021 occupied units, only 2,528 are owner-occupied, meaning renters account for nearly 64% of households. This is a renter-majority city, and that fact shapes local politics, housing stability, and turnover in the school system.

The median home value of $95,900 is strikingly low by metro Atlanta standards, making Forest Park one of the more affordable entry points into homeownership in the region. Median rent, however, has climbed to $1,042 per month — a figure that consumes a substantial share of income for households near the median. The gap between a low purchase price and a four-figure monthly rent is notable, and it reinforces why so few residents have crossed into ownership.

Schools

Forest Park falls within the Clayton County Public Schools system. The schools serving the city include:

Unidos Dual Language School reflects the community's linguistic composition directly. The 7 Pillars Career Academy offers an alternative pathway for middle and early high school students focused on career preparation — an unusual resource at that grade level.

Among adults 25 and older (12,033 total), 3,567 hold a high school diploma as their highest credential, 943 hold a bachelor's degree, 207 a master's, and 39 a doctorate. Higher education access is nearby: Clayton State University (678-466-4000) is located in neighboring Morrow, just minutes from Forest Park.

Getting Around

Forest Park is car-dependent. Of 7,644 total workers, 5,550 drive alone — 72.6% of commuters. Carpooling accounts for another 1,112 workers, and 417 use public transit, primarily MARTA bus service connecting the city to the broader Atlanta network. Another 182 walk to work, and 289 work from home. Aggregate commute time across all workers totals 200,645 minutes, working out to roughly 26 minutes per commuter one-way — moderate for metro Atlanta but still a daily cost in time and fuel.

Healthcare

Southern Regional Medical Center serves as the primary hospital for Forest Park and surrounding Clayton County communities. Riverwoods Behavioral Health System provides psychiatric and behavioral health services in the area. For a searchable directory of individual licensed providers practicing in Forest Park, the CMS NPI Registry can be queried directly: NPI Provider Search.

Library

The Forest Park Branch Library serves the city as part of the Clayton County Library System. Contact: 770-347-0160.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service units sit within reasonable distance of Forest Park:

Natural Hazards

Clayton County has accumulated a long FEMA disaster declaration record going back to 1973. The full list includes tropical systems that tracked inland — Hurricane Opal (1995), Tropical Storm Alberto (1994), Hurricane Ivan (2004), Hurricane Irma (2017), and Hurricane Helene (2024) — as well as severe winter storms in 1993, 2014, and 2026. Flooding has been a recurring issue across multiple declarations. The county also served as a Hurricane Katrina evacuation destination in 2005, receiving an emergency declaration for that purpose. COVID-19 generated two separate federal declarations in March 2020. Residents should plan for wind events, heavy rain, and occasional ice storms.

Government & Municipal Code

Forest Park's municipal code is published through Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/forest_park. The city does not maintain a locally adopted building code in the Municode database — construction and building standards questions should be directed to the city directly or to Clayton County.

Weather

Current forecasts and conditions for Forest Park are available through the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast · Active Alerts. The nearest weather observation station is Morrow 1.3 N, approximately 2.2 miles from the city center.

References

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