Population 17,414 (est. 2026: ~19,500)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 3.42% annual growth projection
Powder Springs, Georgia
Cobb County, Georgia · Population 16,887
Powder Springs sits in the western corner of Cobb County, roughly 20 miles northwest of Atlanta. It occupies a particular niche in the metro: suburban enough to offer stable neighborhoods and strong schools, close enough to the city that commuters accept the trade-off without much complaint. The town grew fast during the suburban expansion of the 1990s and 2000s and has settled into a majority-Black, middle-class community with a median household income well above the Georgia average. It's the kind of place where most households own their home, the elementary schools are full, and the nearest real wilderness is Kennesaw Mountain—visible on clear days from higher ground in the county.
People & Demographics
Powder Springs has 16,930 residents. The median age is 38.7. The racial breakdown reflects a community that shifted substantially over the past generation: 8,831 residents identify as Black, 5,117 as white, and 278 as Asian. Hispanic and Latino residents number 3,238. The town is meaningfully more diverse than Cobb County as a whole, which at 766,149 people remains majority white.
Households total 6,082, with 4,415 of those being family households. The average household size is 2.74. There are 4,095 children under 18—a significant share of the population that explains the density of school infrastructure in and around the city.
Economy & Employment
The median household income in Powder Springs is $88,311, and per capita income is $39,078. For context, Georgia's statewide median household income runs closer to $65,000, putting Powder Springs solidly above the state average. The labor force numbers 9,383 people, with 422 unemployed—an unemployment rate of roughly 4.5%. Around 1,244 residents fall below the poverty line.
The local economy is primarily residential and service-oriented. Most workers commute out to jobs in Atlanta and the broader Cobb-Marietta corridor rather than working inside Powder Springs itself.
Housing
The housing stock is 6,199 units. Of those, 6,082 are occupied, leaving only 117 vacant—a vacancy rate under 2%, which reflects tight supply. Owner-occupied units account for 4,796 households; 1,286 households rent. That ownership rate of nearly 79% is high, pointing to a community of established residents rather than transient renters.
The median home value is $241,800. Median rent runs $1,673 per month. Neither figure is cheap by Georgia standards, but both remain below Atlanta intown prices. Someone relocating from the city proper will find more space for the money, at the cost of a longer commute.
Schools
Powder Springs is served by Cobb County School District, and the school footprint here is large. Two high schools draw students from the area:
- Hillgrove High School — Grades 9–12 · 2,363 students
- McEachern High School — Grades 9–12 · 2,327 students
Middle schools: - Lovinggood Middle School — Grades 6–8 · 1,235 students - Tapp Middle School — Grades 6–8 · 873 students - J. A. Dobbins Middle School — Grades 6–8 · 532 students
Elementary schools: - Kemp Elementary — 886 students - Powder Springs Elementary — 823 students - Still Elementary — 782 students - Varner Elementary — 766 students - Vaughan Elementary — 634 students - Compton Elementary — 591 students - Bessie L. Baggett Elementary — 589 students - Hendricks Elementary — 502 students
The combined enrollment across these 13 schools exceeds 13,000 students, which is a substantial institutional presence for a city of under 17,000 people—a sign that the attendance zones extend well beyond city limits into surrounding unincorporated Cobb County.
Getting Around
Of 8,797 workers, 6,454 drive alone to work. Another 726 carpool. Public transit use is minimal—just 28 workers commute by transit, reflecting the absence of meaningful MARTA service in western Cobb County. A notable 1,269 residents work from home. The aggregate commute time across all workers is 280,835 minutes, working out to roughly 32 minutes per commuter—consistent with exurban Atlanta commute patterns.
Powder Springs is a car-required community. Someone without a vehicle will find daily life difficult.
Healthcare
Three WellStar facilities serve Cobb County residents:
- WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center — one of the largest hospitals in Georgia, located in Marietta
- WellStar Cobb Medical Center — also in the Marietta/Austell corridor
- Ridgeview Institute — psychiatric and behavioral health services
For local providers—physicians, specialists, therapists, and clinics operating in Powder Springs specifically—the CMS NPI Registry returns current credentialed providers.
Library
The Powder Springs Library is the local branch of the Cobb County Public Library System. Phone: (770) 439-3600. It provides standard public library services including physical collections, digital resources, and community programming.
Parks & Recreation
Three National Park Service units are accessible from Powder Springs:
- Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park — the closest major green space, preserving Civil War earthworks and offering miles of hiking trails. The visitor center is 9.2 miles away.
- Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area — a series of park units along the Chattahoochee, with the Island Ford Visitor Center 22.1 miles out.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park — in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn neighborhood, 20.5 miles from Powder Springs. The visitor center is approximately the same distance.
Natural Hazards
Cobb County has accumulated fifteen FEMA disaster declarations since 1993, which gives a clear picture of what actually threatens this part of Georgia:
Severe weather is the recurring threat. Winter storms triggered declarations in 1993, 2000, 2014, and 2026—the 2014 event was the ice storm that paralyzed metro Atlanta. Tornadoes, high winds, and heavy rains produced a declaration in March 1993. Severe flooding hit in 1998 and again in 2009.
Tropical systems reach this far inland with enough force to matter. Hurricane Opal (1995), Ivan (2004), Katrina-related evacuations (2005), Irma (2017), and Helene (2024) all generated county-level declarations. Powder Springs is roughly 300 miles from the Gulf Coast, but storm remnants carrying heavy rain and wind regularly make it this far.
COVID-19 produced two separate federal declarations in March 2020.
Anyone buying property here should treat flooding, ice storms, and tropical remnants as routine planning considerations, not remote possibilities.
Government & Municipal Code
Powder Springs operates under a city government with its full municipal code published through Municode: library.municode.com/ga/powder_springs
No separate local building code is in effect—construction permitting operates under state and county standards.
Weather
Current forecasts and conditions are available from the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast for Powder Springs · Active Weather Alerts
The nearest official weather observation station is Marietta 5.8 W, located 1.6 miles from Powder Springs.
References
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 (5-Year Estimates): Tables B01001, B01002, B02001, B03001, B09001, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25001, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25064, B25077, B08006, B08013
- National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD) 2022
- FEMA Disaster Declarations Summary, Cobb County, Georgia
- CMS Hospital Compare / NPI Registry, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- National Park Service, NPS.gov
- Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
- National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)