Austell, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Austell · Cobb County, Georgia
Population 8,351 (est. 2026: ~8,700)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 1.15% annual growth projection

Austell, Georgia

Cobb County, Georgia · Population 7,713

Austell sits on the southwestern edge of Cobb County, roughly 15 miles from downtown Atlanta. It is a small, dense city — less than three square miles — hemmed in by Powder Springs to the west, Mableton to the east, and the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park corridor to the south along I-20. What makes Austell distinct is its position as a working-class anchor in an otherwise expensive metro. It is not a suburb in the polished sense: it is a community where people live close together, commute hard, and raise families on modest incomes while sitting in one of the fastest-growing counties in Georgia.

People & Demographics

Austell holds 8,109 residents by ACS 2022 estimates, in a county of 766,149. The city is majority Black at 5,103 residents (roughly 63%), with a White population of 2,330 and a Hispanic/Latino population of 565. The median age is 33.8 — a young community. There are 2,157 children under 18, which is substantial for a city this size: more than one in four residents is a minor. Average household size runs 2.85 people across 2,844 occupied households, with 2,129 of those being family households. The demographic profile here is markedly different from Cobb County overall, which skews considerably whiter and older in its northern and eastern precincts.

Economy & Employment

Median household income in Austell is $64,071, and per capita income is $28,245. Neither figure is exceptional for metro Atlanta, but they represent a working community that is not poor. Cobb County as a whole runs significantly higher on household income — Austell tracks below the county median. Of 4,459 residents in the labor force, 248 are unemployed. Poverty touches 677 residents. The economic picture is stable but tight: a dual-income household is likely the norm for families managing $1,443 median rents alongside $199,700 home prices.

Housing

Austell has 3,082 total housing units. Of those, 2,844 are occupied and 238 sit vacant — a vacancy rate just under 8%. Ownership is the dominant tenure: 1,714 units are owner-occupied versus 1,130 renter-occupied. That 60/40 split toward ownership is notable for a city of this income level and density. Median home value is $199,700, which remains accessible by Atlanta metro standards, where comparable suburban markets routinely exceed $350,000. Median gross rent of $1,443 is harder to absorb on local per-capita incomes and reflects broader metro pressure pushing west from I-285. Austell remains one of the more affordable incorporated cities with direct highway access in the Atlanta ring.

Schools

Austell falls within the Cobb County School District. Local schools serving the community include:

South Cobb High is one of the larger high schools in Cobb County, drawing students from across the southwestern section of the district.

Getting Around

Austell is a car-dependent city. Of 3,918 workers, 2,895 drive alone and 604 carpool — together accounting for nearly 89% of commuters. Public transit usage in the ACS data registers at zero, which is consistent with the reality that MARTA rail does not reach this far west into Cobb, and bus service is limited. 377 residents work from home. 34 walk to work. Aggregate commute time across all workers totals 106,120 minutes, implying an average one-way trip of roughly 27 minutes — consistent with Atlanta-area congestion on I-20 and US-278.

Healthcare

Austell is well-served by the WellStar health system. WellStar Cobb Medical Center has a location in Austell itself, providing local hospital access. WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center — the flagship hospital in Cobb County — is located in Marietta, roughly 10 miles northeast. WellStar Cobb Medical Center (the main Cobb campus) and Ridgeview Institute, a psychiatric facility, are also within the county. For a directory of individual providers practicing in Austell, the NPI Registry lists licensed healthcare professionals by city.

Library

The Sweetwater Valley Library serves Austell as the local branch of the Cobb County Public Library System. It can be reached at (770) 819-3290.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service units are accessible from Austell:

Six Flags Over Georgia, located just south on I-20, is the commercial recreation anchor for the immediate area.

Natural Hazards

Cobb County has accumulated a significant FEMA declaration history that Austell residents share. Declared disasters and emergencies affecting the county include:

The pattern is consistent with Georgia's exposure to both Atlantic hurricane remnants tracking inland and periodic ice and snow events that paralyze metro Atlanta infrastructure. The 2014 and 1993 winter storms are particularly notable — both triggered widespread road failures across the metro.

Government & Municipal Code

Austell's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/austell. No locally-adopted building code is reflected in the available data; construction and building standards in the absence of a local code typically default to state-level requirements.

Weather

Current forecasts for Austell are available through the National Weather Service at forecast.weather.gov. Active weather alerts can be tracked at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest weather observation station is Powder Springs 1.9 ESE, located approximately 1.6 miles from the city.

References

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