Redan, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Redan · DeKalb County, Georgia
Population 30,426 (est. 2026: ~32,400)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 1.94% annual growth projection

Redan, Georgia

DeKalb County, Georgia · Population 31,749

Redan sits in the eastern stretch of DeKalb County, roughly ten miles east of downtown Atlanta. It is a census-designated place — no incorporated city hall, no mayor — occupying the suburban corridor where the city's sprawl gives way to older residential neighborhoods built largely in the postwar decades. Stone Mountain Freeway (US-78) runs through the area, and the community sits within commuting distance of Atlanta's job centers, which explains much of how daily life here is organized. Redan is not a tourist stop or a commercial hub. It is a place where people live, raise families, and commute — and for roughly 31,700 residents, it functions as a quiet, majority-Black suburb with a strong sense of established neighborhood identity.

People & Demographics

Redan's 31,326 residents skew toward a working-age community, with a median age of 37.0. The racial composition is sharply defined: 28,968 residents identify as Black, making up the overwhelming majority of the population. White residents number 942, Asian residents 152, and the Hispanic or Latino population stands at 441. Those numbers reflect a community that is among the most racially homogeneous in DeKalb County — though in the opposite direction from most of its suburban neighbors to the north and west.

The 10,854 occupied households average 2.88 people, and 6,570 of those are family households. Children under 18 account for 7,135 residents, pointing to a community with a meaningful share of families with school-age kids.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Redan is $60,306, and per capita income sits at $30,109. Neither figure is lavish for metro Atlanta, but they reflect a stable working-class and lower-middle-class economic base. Of the 17,561 residents in the labor force, 1,707 are unemployed — an unemployment rate of roughly 9.7%, which is elevated compared to DeKalb County's broader workforce. The poverty count stands at 4,747 residents, meaningful but not dominant in a community of this size.

Employment here is tied almost entirely to the broader Atlanta metro economy. There is no significant local industrial or commercial employment base within Redan itself — residents commute out.

Housing

Redan's housing stock is affordable by metro Atlanta standards. The median home value is $170,900, well below Atlanta's urban core and most of the county's northern suburbs. Median rent runs $1,378 per month. Of 11,989 total housing units, 10,854 are occupied and 1,135 sit vacant — a vacancy rate just under 9.5%.

Owner-occupied units number 6,318, compared to 4,536 renter-occupied — a homeownership rate of about 58%, suggesting a community where ownership is the norm but renting is common enough to support a significant tenant population. For buyers priced out of Decatur or the Druid Hills corridor, Redan offers genuine entry-level ownership opportunities within the county.

Schools

Redan falls within DeKalb County Schools. Nearby high schools serving the eastern DeKalb area include Tucker High School (1,579 students, grades 9–12) and Lithonia High School (1,483 students, grades 9–12). Families with students at the middle school level are served by Sequoyah Middle School (1,763 students, grades 6–8).

For families who prefer virtual instruction, Georgia Cyber Academy (grades K–12, 8,876 students statewide) is available as a full-time online option.

Other high schools within the broader DeKalb and Atlanta Public Schools systems include Westlake High School (2,461 students), North Atlanta High School (2,316), Lakeside High School (2,141), Dunwoody High School (2,040), Decatur High School (1,853), Chamblee High School (1,776), Riverwood International Charter School (1,737), Cross Keys High School (1,714), Midtown High School (1,602), Maynard Jackson High School (1,474), and Willis A. Sutton Middle School (1,548 students, grades 6–8).

Getting Around

Redan is car country. Of 15,486 total workers, 10,913 drive alone to work and 1,690 carpool. Public transit accounts for 825 commuters — roughly 5.3% of the workforce — a low but non-negligible number given MARTA's eastern rail and bus coverage in this part of DeKalb. An additional 1,858 residents work from home. Total aggregate commute time for the community runs to 481,055 minutes, averaging out to roughly 31 minutes per commuting worker — consistent with Atlanta-area norms.

Walking to work records zero workers in the data, which is expected: Redan's streetscape is suburban and pedestrian infrastructure is minimal.

Healthcare

Morehouse School of Medicine (phone: 404-752-1500) is a notable healthcare institution in the broader metro area, with a long history of training physicians who serve underserved communities — relevant context for residents seeking health services with that regional mission.

For a searchable directory of individual healthcare providers registered in Redan, the CMS NPI Registry provides a full list of credentialed practitioners operating in the city.

Library

The Flat Shoals Branch of the DeKalb County Public Library system is the closest branch to Redan, located approximately 1.0 mile away. Phone: 404-244-4370.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service units sit within reasonable reach of Redan.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park preserves the birth home, church, and burial site of Dr. King in Sweet Auburn — one of the most visited NPS sites in the Southeast. Its visitor center is approximately 1.9 miles away.

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area offers trails, kayaking, and river access along the Chattahoochee corridor north of the city.

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, roughly 20 miles out, provides Civil War history alongside one of the better hiking ridgelines in metro Atlanta. Its visitor center sits approximately 20.0 miles from Redan.

The Island Ford Visitor Center (Chattahoochee River NRA) is about 17.8 miles away and offers river access with minimal crowds compared to other metro greenspace.

Natural Hazards

DeKalb County has accumulated fifteen FEMA disaster declarations since 1993, a record that reflects both its proximity to Atlanta and its vulnerability to a range of weather events. Severe winter storms triggered declarations in January 1993, February 2000, February 2014, and January 2026. The county was struck by the effects of multiple hurricanes — Opal (1995), Ivan (2004), Irma (2017, with both an emergency and major disaster declaration), and Helene (2024). Severe storms and flooding produced declarations in March 1998, March 2008 (with tornadoes), and September 2009. The county also opened its emergency systems during Hurricane Katrina evacuations in 2005. COVID-19 generated both an emergency and major disaster declaration in March 2020.

For residents, the practical takeaway: winter ice storms are the most locally disruptive events. Flooding is a recurring risk in low-lying areas, and the occasional tropical remnant can bring significant wind and rain well inland.

Government & Municipal Code

Redan is a census-designated place, not an incorporated municipality, which means it operates without a city government. DeKalb County provides municipal-level services. The community's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/redan-cdp-georgia. No local building code is currently on record for Redan.

Weather

Current forecasts for Redan are available through the National Weather Service. Active weather alerts for the area are at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest weather observation station is Decatur 3.9 SE, located approximately 2.5 miles from the community center.

References

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