Chamblee, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Chamblee · DeKalb County, Georgia
Population 30,369 (est. 2026: ~32,200)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 1.73% annual growth projection

Chamblee, Georgia

DeKalb County, Georgia · Population 30,164

Chamblee sits in the northeastern corner of DeKalb County, about 12 miles from downtown Atlanta, tucked between Doraville to the northeast and Brookhaven to the southwest. MARTA's Gold Line runs through it. A rail yard once defined the city; immigrants define it now. Chamblee's Buford Highway corridor is one of the most ethnically dense commercial strips in the American South — Vietnamese, Korean, Mexican, Salvadoran, and dozens of other communities layered across a stretch of strip malls that serious food writers have been making pilgrimages to for decades. This is not a suburb that accidentally became diverse. It is a city whose diversity is its primary economic and cultural engine.

People & Demographics

Chamblee holds 30,164 residents — a small fraction of DeKalb County's 764,382, but punching well above its weight in cultural complexity. The median age is 33.3, younger than most of the Atlanta metro. Of the 29,980 counted in ACS 2022 data, 13,887 identify as white, 5,487 as Black, and 2,916 as Asian. The Hispanic and Latino population — 10,373 people — represents roughly 35% of the city, one of the highest concentrations in Georgia.

There are 12,259 households, with family households making up 5,833 of them. Average household size is 2.43. Children under 18 number 6,751 — a meaningful share for a city this size, which shows up in school enrollment figures.

Economy & Employment

The city's median household income is $76,682, comfortably above Georgia's statewide median, though per capita income of $45,713 reflects the mix of household sizes and wage levels across a genuinely stratified workforce. About 5,147 residents fall below the poverty line.

Of 18,410 residents in the labor force, just 350 are counted as unemployed — an unemployment rate hovering just under 2%, well below state and national averages. The economy here is diverse: the Buford Highway commercial corridor supports an enormous number of small businesses, restaurants, and retail. Meanwhile, Chamblee is also adjacent to major employment centers in Buckhead and Midtown Atlanta, drawing white-collar commuters who want urban proximity without urban prices — though those prices are climbing.

Healthcare providers and educators are findable through the CMS NPI Registry for Chamblee, GA.

Two post-secondary institutions operate in Chamblee: Interactive College of Technology–Chamblee (770-216-2960) and Strayer University–Georgia (877-445-7180), serving working adults and career-changers who form a significant portion of the local population.

Housing

Chamblee's 13,555 total housing units include 12,259 occupied and 1,296 vacant. The homeownership picture skews heavily toward renters: 7,380 renter-occupied units versus 4,879 owner-occupied — meaning roughly 60% of households rent. This is characteristic of dense, transit-accessible inner-ring communities near Atlanta.

Median home value sits at $395,900 — significant for DeKalb County, reflecting Chamblee's desirability and proximity to MARTA. Median rent of $1,693 per month is high by Georgia standards. For lower-wage workers — and Chamblee has many — these figures represent a real affordability squeeze.

Schools

Chamblee's public schools fall under DeKalb County School District.

Chamblee High is notable in Georgia for its International Baccalaureate program, which draws students from across DeKalb County. The two middle schools together serve over 2,300 students — a reflection of the city's substantial under-18 population.

Getting Around

Of 17,385 workers, 10,201 drove alone. Carpooling accounts for 2,744 commuters. Public transit — primarily MARTA rail and bus — carries 1,253 workers, a meaningful share by Georgia standards and a direct consequence of Gold Line access. Just 96 residents walk to work. Work-from-home totals 2,926.

Aggregate commute time across all workers is 381,980 minutes — averaging roughly 22 minutes per worker. For Atlanta-area standards, that's efficient. MARTA's Chamblee and Doraville stations make car-free commuting to Buckhead, Midtown, and downtown Atlanta genuinely practical.

Healthcare

Chamblee itself is not home to a major hospital, but sits within a dense healthcare corridor. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite is approximately 4 miles southwest; Northside Hospital is similarly close. A full directory of licensed providers practicing in Chamblee is searchable through the CMS NPI Registry.

Library

The Chamblee Branch of the DeKalb County Public Library system serves the city directly. Phone: 770-936-1380. Multilingual collections are a practical necessity here, not an afterthought.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service units are accessible from Chamblee:

Natural Hazards

DeKalb County has accumulated 15 FEMA disaster declarations since 1993, covering a range of event types relevant to anyone buying property or planning emergency preparedness in Chamblee:

The pattern is clear: this area faces credible risk from winter ice storms, heavy rain and flooding, and the residual effects of Gulf Coast hurricanes tracking inland. Hurricane Helene's 2024 declaration is a recent reminder that tropical systems remain a realistic threat well into Georgia's interior.

Government & Municipal Code

Chamblee's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/chamblee. No separate building code is published through that portal.

Weather

Current forecasts and conditions are available through the National Weather Service:

The nearest weather observation station is Atlanta NAS, approximately 0.5 miles from the city center.

References

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