Tallapoosa, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Tallapoosa · Haralson County, Georgia
Population 3,234 (est. 2026: ~3,200)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -0.22% annual growth projection

Tallapoosa, Georgia

Haralson County, Georgia · Population 3,227

Tallapoosa sits in the foothills of northwest Georgia, about 60 miles west of Atlanta and roughly 20 miles east of the Alabama state line. It is the largest municipality in Haralson County, though "largest" is relative — this is small-town Georgia, defined by red clay hills, a historic downtown, and the kind of place where a quarter of the workforce carpools to get to the job. The city carries the name of the Tallapoosa River watershed and has functioned as a commercial and civic anchor for the surrounding rural county for well over a century. Residents commute east toward Atlanta or west toward Anniston, Alabama, but many of the community's working relationships — schools, hospital, county services — stay local.

People & Demographics

Tallapoosa's population of 3,232 represents roughly 11 percent of Haralson County's 29,919 residents. The median age is 36.0, a relatively young community. Of 3,232 residents, 2,711 identify as white, 436 as Black, 21 as Asian, and 64 as Hispanic or Latino. The city holds 1,215 occupied households with an average household size of 2.64 people. Children under 18 account for 1,002 residents — nearly a third of the population — which puts significant demand on local schools and family services.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Tallapoosa is $58,008, and per capita income sits at $24,872. Of 1,250 residents counted in the labor force, only 1 was recorded as unemployed at the time of the survey — a figure that reflects a snapshot rather than a trend, but suggests tight local employment conditions. Poverty affects 517 residents, a meaningful share of a town this size.

Georgia's median household income runs considerably higher than Tallapoosa's figure, which reflects the broader pattern of rural northwest Georgia lagging behind the Atlanta metro in wages and opportunity. The regional economy leans on manufacturing, trucking, and distribution — industries that dot the I-20 corridor between Anniston and Atlanta.

Housing

Total housing stock stands at 1,293 units, with 1,215 occupied and 78 vacant — a vacancy rate of just over 6 percent, indicating a reasonably tight market. Ownership is split: 666 units are owner-occupied and 549 are renter-occupied, meaning about 45 percent of occupied households are renters. The median home value is $142,500. Median rent is $610 per month.

Both figures are well below Georgia state averages, making Tallapoosa genuinely affordable by comparison. For buyers priced out of metro markets or retirees on fixed incomes, the math here works. For renters, $610 median rent leaves room in a budget that $58,000 in household income can realistically support.

Schools

Students in Tallapoosa attend Haralson County Schools. The pipeline moves through:

The high school and middle school draw from the full county, not just the city. Combined enrollment across all five schools tops 2,600 students. There is no four-year college in Tallapoosa itself; students looking for higher education typically head toward Carrollton (University of West Georgia, roughly 30 miles east) or toward the Atlanta metro.

Getting Around

Tallapoosa is a car-required community. Of 1,207 workers, 884 drove alone to work and 248 carpooled — a carpooling rate of about 20 percent, notably high by any standard and reflective of the working-class, cost-conscious culture of rural northwest Georgia. Zero workers commute by public transit. Eleven walked to work. Sixty-four worked from home. The aggregate commute time of 37,705 minutes across all workers averages out to roughly 31 minutes per commuter — consistent with a town whose residents reach jobs in Carrollton, Rome, or metro Atlanta via US-78 and I-20.

Healthcare

Haralson County is served by Higgins General Hospital, located in Bremen. It is the closest inpatient facility for Tallapoosa residents. For a full directory of local providers — physicians, specialists, mental health practitioners, and other clinicians registered with Medicare — the CMS NPI Registry search for Tallapoosa, GA returns active listings.

Library

The Tallapoosa Public Library serves the community and can be reached at (770) 574-3124. It is part of the West Georgia Regional Library System, which provides physical collections, digital resources, and programming across the region.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service units fall within reasonable driving distance:

The Kennesaw Mountain visitor center sits 41.7 miles away. The Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce in Alabama, 33.6 miles west, serves as a regional visitor resource for the Alabama-side recreation corridor.

Natural Hazards

Haralson County has accumulated 15 federal disaster declarations since 1993, a count that reflects the region's genuine exposure to a wide range of hazards:

The winter storm pattern is particularly notable. Northwest Georgia sits in a zone where ice storms can accumulate quickly and persist, given the terrain and the frequency of arctic air intrusions from the north colliding with Gulf moisture. Any household in Tallapoosa should maintain supplies for multi-day power outages.

Government & Municipal Code

Tallapoosa's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/tallapoosa. The city does not have a local building code on file through that system — construction and permitting matters are governed by state and county standards.

Weather

Current forecasts and conditions for Tallapoosa are available through the National Weather Service at forecast.weather.gov. Active alerts for the area are indexed at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest official weather observation station is Tallapoosa 2 N, located 1.4 miles from the city center.

References

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