Fayetteville, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Fayetteville · Fayette County, Georgia
Population 19,364 (est. 2026: ~20,600)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 1.83% annual growth projection

Fayetteville, Georgia

Fayette County, Georgia · Population 18,957

Fayetteville sits at the heart of Fayette County, about 25 miles south of Atlanta along the US-19 corridor. It functions as the county seat and commercial center for one of metro Atlanta's consistently well-regarded suburban counties. The town is neither a bedroom community afterthought nor an urban center — it occupies a middle ground that many families find practical: close enough to Atlanta for work and culture, far enough to avoid the traffic and density of the city proper. The median age of 43.4 tells you something about who ends up here: people who have made deliberate choices about where to raise children and put down roots, not transients passing through.

People & Demographics

Fayetteville's population of 19,010 represents roughly 16% of Fayette County's 119,194 residents. The town is more racially mixed than the county as a whole. Of the total population, 8,056 identify as White, 7,615 as Black, and 1,009 as Asian, with 1,253 residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino. That balance — White and Black populations within roughly 400 residents of each other — is notable in a county historically associated with affluent white suburban growth.

There are 7,402 households, of which 5,116 are family households. Average household size is 2.51. Children under 18 number 4,030, consistent with a community where school quality is a primary driver of residential decisions.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Fayetteville is $79,865. Per capita income sits at $38,901. Georgia's statewide median household income for the same period runs lower, making Fayetteville a comfortable notch above average — though not dramatically so relative to the broader Fayette County profile, which skews wealthy.

Of 8,972 residents in the labor force, 530 are unemployed, producing an unemployment rate of approximately 5.9%. Most workers commute out — Fayetteville itself does not have a large employment base relative to its residential population. Piedmont Fayette Hospital represents one of the area's more significant local employers. The poverty count of 1,293 residents represents roughly 6.8% of the population, which is lower than Georgia's state average.

Housing

Total housing units number 7,576, with an occupancy rate of 97.7% — only 174 units vacant. Owner-occupied units account for 5,243, with 2,159 renter-occupied, producing a homeownership rate of approximately 70.8%.

The median home value is $299,500. Median rent is $1,418 per month. Both figures reflect the broader Fayette County premium — this is not the cheapest end of metro Atlanta's suburban market, but it remains accessible relative to Atlanta's northern suburbs. The low vacancy rate signals sustained demand with limited slack in housing supply.

Schools

Fayetteville and the surrounding Fayette County area are served by the Fayette County School System, which operates multiple schools accessible from the city.

High Schools: - Whitewater High School — Grades 9–12, 1,387 students - Fayette County High School — Grades 9–12, 1,368 students - Starrs Mill High School — Grades 9–12, 1,360 students

Middle Schools: - Rising Starr Middle School — Grades 6–8, 926 students - Bennett's Mill Middle School — Grades 6–8, 891 students - Whitewater Middle School — Grades 6–8, 864 students

Elementary Schools: - Sara Harp Minter Elementary School — 783 students - Peeples Elementary School — 723 students - River's Edge Elementary School — 666 students - Inman Elementary — 663 students - Spring Hill Elementary School — 655 students - North Fayette Elementary School — 603 students - Fayetteville Elementary School — 485 students - Cleveland Elementary School — 419 students

School quality is a primary reason families choose Fayette County over adjacent counties, and enrollment figures across the system reflect a genuinely active school-age population.

Getting Around

Fayetteville is a car-required community. Of 8,269 total workers, 6,718 drive alone. Another 600 carpool. Public transit accounts for just 7 commuters — essentially zero. Seventy-seven workers walk. Work-from-home has made meaningful inroads: 768 residents — about 9.3% of workers — do not commute at all.

Aggregate commute time across all workers totals 239,995 minutes, which works out to an average of roughly 29 minutes per commuter. That's consistent with the Atlanta metro reality: manageable if you time it right, grinding if you don't.

Healthcare

Piedmont Fayette Hospital operates in Fayetteville and serves as the primary acute care facility for Fayette County and surrounding areas. For a community this size and income level, having a hospital within the city limits is a practical advantage that residents of neighboring counties lack.

For individual provider lookup, the CMS NPI Registry can be searched for Fayetteville, GA providers directly: NPI Registry – Fayetteville, GA.

Library

The Fayette County Public Library serves Fayetteville and the county. Contact: (770) 461-8841. The library system provides the expected complement of physical collections, digital resources, and community programming for a county of this size and demographic profile.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service units are accessible within a reasonable drive from Fayetteville:

The Chattahoochee corridor in particular offers hiking, paddling, and fishing along one of metro Atlanta's most heavily used outdoor recreation resources.

Natural Hazards

Fayette County has a substantive FEMA declaration history covering multiple hazard types:

The pattern is clear: winter ice events and tropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico are the recurring threats. Irma's 2017 impact — which generated both an emergency and a major disaster declaration — was significant enough to reach well inland. Helene's 2024 declaration continues that pattern.

Government & Municipal Code

Fayetteville's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/fayetteville. The available records do not include a locally adopted building code — residents and contractors should confirm current construction requirements directly with the city.

Weather

Current National Weather Service forecast for Fayetteville: NWS Forecast

Active weather alerts: NWS Alerts

The nearest weather observation station is FAYETTEVILLE 3.3 SSE, located approximately 2.8 miles from town.

References

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