Mableton, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Mableton · Cobb County, Georgia
Population 42,403 (est. 2026: ~319,000)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 83.19% annual growth projection

Mableton, Georgia

Cobb County, Georgia · Population 40,834

Mableton sits in the southwestern corner of Cobb County, roughly 14 miles west of downtown Atlanta. For most of its existence it operated as an unincorporated community — one of the largest in Georgia — until voters approved cityhood in November 2022. That transition is still unfolding. The new city inherits a densely populated, diverse, working-class-to-middle-class suburb that functions as a bedroom community for Atlanta but has its own distinct gravity. The South Cobb corridor is not Marietta, not Smyrna — it has a grittier, more lived-in character, with longtime Black and Hispanic communities, aging strip commercial along Veterans Memorial Highway, and neighborhoods that range from modest ranch homes to newer subdivisions.

People & Demographics

Mableton's population of 41,647 makes it one of the larger municipalities in Cobb County, though that county overall holds 766,149 residents. The median age is 38.2 years, slightly younger than the county as a whole. The community is genuinely multiracial: 43.3% Black, 42.1% White, 22.3% Hispanic or Latino, and 2.0% Asian — percentages that reflect South Cobb's demographic divergence from the wealthier, whiter northern end of the county.

There are 15,054 occupied households, with an average household size of 2.76 persons. Family households account for 10,480 of that total. Children under 18 number 10,277 — a meaningful share of the population that explains the density of elementary schools in the area.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Mableton is $79,069, and per capita income is $39,584. Those figures sit below Cobb County's overall median, which has been historically elevated by the affluent northern tier of communities like East Cobb and Kennesaw. Georgia's statewide median household income runs in the low-to-mid $60,000s, so Mableton households are above the state average despite falling mid-pack within the county.

Of the 23,458 residents in the labor force, 1,562 are unemployed — an unemployment rate of roughly 6.7%. Most workers commute out to jobs across the Atlanta metro. The local commercial base along Veterans Memorial Highway and the South Cobb Drive corridor provides retail, food service, and service sector employment, but Mableton is not a major job center. An estimated 3,816 residents fall below the poverty line.

Housing

Mableton has 16,355 total housing units. Of those, 15,054 are occupied and 1,301 sit vacant — a vacancy rate of about 8%. Owner-occupancy is the clear norm: 11,222 units are owner-occupied versus 3,832 renter-occupied, giving an ownership rate of nearly 75%.

The median home value is $278,300. That number reflects significant appreciation over the past decade but remains substantially more affordable than northern Cobb communities. Median gross rent runs $1,339 per month. For a region where Atlanta proper and many inner suburbs have seen rents climb steeply, Mableton still offers relative value — particularly for buyers, where the ownership rate suggests most households have moved toward equity-building rather than renting.

Schools

Mableton falls within the Cobb County School District. The school footprint in this part of the county is substantial.

High School - Pebblebrook High School — Grades 9–12, 2,511 students

Middle Schools - Lindley Middle School — Grades 6–8, 1,096 students - Floyd Middle School — Grades 6–8, 845 students - Lindley 6th Grade Academy — Grade 6, 521 students

Elementary Schools - Clay-Harmony Leland Elementary — PreK–5, 939 students - Mableton Elementary School — PreK–5, 898 students - City View Elementary School — PreK–5, 883 students - Bryant Elementary School — PreK–5, 865 students - Riverside Elementary School — PreK–5, 559 students

Charter - Amana Academy West Atlanta — Grades K–3, 166 students

Pebblebrook is one of the larger high schools in Cobb County by enrollment. The number of elementary schools reflects the large population of children under 18 in the area.

Getting Around

Mableton is car-dependent. Of 21,178 workers, 14,720 drive alone — nearly 70%. Another 2,534 carpool. Only 204 use public transit and 141 walk to work, numbers that confirm there is no meaningful alternative to a car for daily commuting. The aggregate commute time for all workers is 568,975 minutes, averaging roughly 26.9 minutes per worker per trip — typical for a suburban Atlanta community where most employment is scattered across the metro.

Working from home accounts for 3,240 workers, a share that has likely reshaped peak-hour traffic compared to pre-2020 patterns.

I-285 runs along the northern edge of the community. US-78 and Veterans Memorial Highway (US-41 corridor) are the primary surface arteries. The Silver Comet Trail, a paved multi-use path running from the Cobb County line westward toward Alabama, provides non-motorized connectivity for recreation and some utilitarian trips.

Healthcare

Three hospital systems serve the broader Cobb County area. WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta is the county's largest hospital and trauma center. WellStar Cobb Medical Center in Austell sits closer to Mableton's western edge. Ridgeview Institute, a behavioral health facility, also operates in the county.

For a full list of licensed healthcare providers practicing in Mableton, the NPI Registry maintains a searchable directory at npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov.

Library

The South Cobb Regional Library serves Mableton as part of the Cobb County Public Library System. Phone: (678) 398-5828. The branch provides physical collections, computer access, and programming for children and adults.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service units are accessible from Mableton.

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park — approximately 12 miles north — preserves the site of an 1864 Civil War battle during Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. Its visitor center is 12.1 miles from Mableton. The park is one of the most-visited NPS sites in Georgia and a popular hiking destination.

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area — the Island Ford Visitor Center is 18.4 miles away. The Chattahoochee units closest to South Cobb offer river access, fishing, and trail hiking.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park — the visitor center is 11.5 miles east, in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn neighborhood. The park encompasses MLK's birth home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the King Center.

Natural Hazards

Cobb County has accumulated 15 FEMA disaster declarations since 1993, a record that reflects the full range of Southeast weather threats.

Tropical systems have been a recurring driver: Hurricane Opal (1995), Hurricane Ivan (2004), Hurricane Katrina evacuation support (2005), Hurricane Irma (2017, declared twice), and Hurricane Helene (2024). The county is far enough inland to avoid direct storm surge but routinely receives tropical rainfall, wind damage, and flooding from these systems.

Winter storms have triggered declarations in 1993, 2000, 2014, and January 2026. Atlanta's ice storm vulnerability is well-documented, and South Cobb's elevation and road grid are susceptible to the same black-ice events that have paralyzed the metro in the past.

Flooding declarations came in 1998, 2009, and alongside the 1993 tornado/high wind event. The Chattahoochee River watershed and local creek systems can rise rapidly during heavy rain.

COVID-19 produced two separate federal declarations in March 2020.

Government & Municipal Code

Mableton incorporated as a city in December 2023 following the 2022 referendum. The municipal code is published through Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/mableton. No local building code is currently adopted — building permits and inspections operate under state and county standards.

Weather

The National Weather Service forecast for Mableton is available at forecast.weather.gov. Active weather alerts can be checked at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest weather observation station is Mableton 0.6 NNW, located 1.2 miles from the community center.

Mableton sits in the humid subtropical zone. Summers are hot and humid, winters are mild with periodic ice events, and the spring severe weather season brings tornado and flooding risk across the metro Atlanta area.

References

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