Fair Oaks, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Fair Oaks · Cobb County, Georgia
Population 10,392 (est. 2026: ~6,500)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -13.26% annual growth projection

Fair Oaks, Georgia

Cobb County, Georgia · Population 9,028

Fair Oaks is a census-designated place tucked into the southwestern edge of Cobb County, sitting between Marietta and the Fulton County line. It's not an incorporated city — no mayor, no city hall — but it functions as a real community with its own identity: dense, young, heavily Latino, and working-class in the honest sense of that phrase. This is a place where extended families share homes, where carpool lines at elementary schools overflow with kids, and where median age sits at 29.6 years — among the youngest communities in a county of 766,149 people. Fair Oaks is, in many ways, the immigrant suburb that Cobb County doesn't always advertise but absolutely depends on.

People & Demographics

Fair Oaks carries a population of 9,614 across a compact footprint. The demographic profile is unusually concentrated: 5,330 residents identify as Hispanic or Latino — more than 55% of the total population. The white non-Hispanic population stands at 2,624, Black residents at 1,944, and Asian residents at 140. There are 2,703 children under 18, which represents roughly 28% of the population — a figure that shapes everything from school enrollment to housing demand.

Average household size is 3.01, and there are 3,189 occupied households, of which 1,990 are family households. This is not a community of singles and young professionals bouncing between apartments. It is a community of families.

Economy & Employment

Median household income in Fair Oaks is $57,582. That figure sits noticeably below the Cobb County median, which tracks much higher given the county's wealthier northern suburbs. Per capita income is $24,626, reflecting the large household sizes and a workforce concentrated in lower-wage sectors. Some 1,834 residents fall below the federal poverty line.

Of the 5,430 residents in the labor force, 365 are unemployed — an unemployment rate of roughly 6.7%. The workforce here skews toward manual, service, and trade occupations. The proximity to Marietta, Cumberland, and the broader Atlanta metro gives residents access to a wide employment market even if local job density is limited.

Housing

Fair Oaks is a renter-majority community. Of 3,189 occupied units, 1,963 are renter-occupied and 1,226 are owner-occupied — a 62/38 renter-to-owner split. Median home value is $193,800, which remains accessible by Cobb County standards. Median gross rent is $1,101 per month.

Total housing units number 3,375, with 186 vacant — a vacancy rate of about 5.5%, indicating a reasonably tight market. The combination of low vacancy, renter dominance, and a large household size suggests housing pressure is real here, even if price points are modest by metro Atlanta standards.

Schools

Fair Oaks falls within the Fulton County Schools district for several institutions, with attendance zones pulling from this part of Cobb into adjacent areas. The schools serving this community include:

High Schools - Langston Hughes High School — Grades 9–12, 1,964 students - Creekside High School — Grades 9–12, 1,768 students - Global Impact Academy — Grades 9–11, 430 students

Middle Schools - Renaissance Middle School — Grades 6–8, 1,166 students - Bear Creek Middle School — Grades 6–8, 1,108 students

Elementary Schools - E. C. West Elementary School — Grades PK–5, 853 students - Renaissance Elementary School — Grades PK–5, 601 students - Campbell Elementary School — Grades PK–5, 568 students - Fairmount Elementary School — Grades PK–5, 395 students - Chattahoochee Hills Charter School — Grades K–8, 529 students

The enrollment numbers at each school are substantial. This is a high-density student population drawn from communities with high percentages of English language learners and Title I-eligible households.

Getting Around

Fair Oaks is car-dependent. Of 4,751 total workers, 3,162 drove alone to work and 939 carpooled — together accounting for nearly 86% of commuters. Only 65 used public transit, 140 walked, and 310 worked from home. Aggregate travel time across the workforce totals 104,185 minutes, averaging roughly 22 minutes per commute — reasonable by Atlanta metro standards but still entirely car-centric.

The carpool rate of nearly 20% is worth noting; it's well above typical American suburban norms and reflects both the economics of the community and its tight social networks.

Healthcare

Three WellStar facilities serve the broader area: WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta is the primary regional hospital and one of the largest in the Atlanta metro. WellStar Cobb Medical Center provides additional capacity in the county. Ridgeview Institute specializes in psychiatric and behavioral health services. All three operate within a short drive of Fair Oaks.

For individual provider lookups, the NPI Registry lists licensed healthcare providers operating in Fair Oaks.

Library

Stratton Library sits 0.3 miles from the community center of Fair Oaks — essentially walkable, which matters in a community where not every household owns a car. Phone: (770) 528-2522. The Cobb County Public Library System operates Stratton as part of its countywide network.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service units are within reasonable driving distance:

For a community without its own incorporated parks and recreation department, access to federal land is the primary outdoor amenity.

Natural Hazards

Cobb County has a documented history of declared disasters going back decades. The county has been included in the following FEMA declarations:

The pattern is clear: Cobb County gets hit by winter ice events, tropical systems tracking inland, and flash flooding. Residents should carry flood awareness and have plans for winter road closures. The county's flat to rolling terrain funnels runoff quickly during heavy rain events.

Government & Municipal Code

Fair Oaks is a census-designated place, not an incorporated municipality. Governance falls under Cobb County. The municipal code is published by Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/fair-oaks-cdp-georgia. No local building code is on file for the CDP; building and zoning matters are handled at the county level.

Weather

Current forecasts are available from the National Weather Service at forecast.weather.gov. Active weather alerts for the area can be monitored at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest observing station is Marietta 4.2 SW, located 0.9 miles from Fair Oaks.

References

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