Pendergrass, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Pendergrass · Jackson County, Georgia
Population 2,261 (est. 2026: ~9,100)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 51.92% annual growth projection

Pendergrass, Georgia

Jackson County, Georgia · Population 1,692

Pendergrass sits along U.S. Highway 129 in the northeastern corner of Jackson County, roughly 60 miles northeast of Atlanta and about 8 miles south of Commerce. It is a small, fast-growing exurban town that has absorbed the residential pressure radiating outward from the Atlanta metro corridor — new subdivisions pushing up against older rural lots, a young population, and households substantially larger than the Georgia average. With just over 1,700 residents packed into 539 housing units, Pendergrass feels more like a neighborhood than a town, yet it carries its own municipal identity, its own code, and the daily rhythms of a working-class community that commutes hard and owns its homes.

People & Demographics

The 2022 ACS counted 1,705 residents in Pendergrass, with a median age of 31.8 — notably younger than the Jackson County median and well below the Georgia statewide figure. The town skews young in a meaningful way: 595 residents are under 18, representing roughly 35% of the population. That is an unusually high share and reflects the household composition — 425 of 524 total households are family households, and the average household size is 3.25 persons.

Racially and ethnically, the town is majority white (1,118), with a Hispanic or Latino population of 342 — about 20% of residents — a Black population of 261, and an Asian population of 54. That Hispanic share is substantially higher than Jackson County as a whole, and it shapes the cultural texture of the community in ways the raw numbers alone don't capture.

Economy & Employment

Median household income in Pendergrass is $73,947. That figure sits above many rural Georgia communities and reflects the dual reality of the town: many residents are tied economically to the broader Atlanta-Gainesville employment corridor, not to any local job center. Per capita income is $23,879 — a figure pulled down by the large household sizes and the younger age structure of the population.

Of 910 residents in the labor force, 26 are unemployed. About 158 residents fall below the poverty line, representing roughly 9% of the population — a modest rate by Georgia standards.

Housing

Pendergrass has 539 total housing units. Only 15 are vacant — a vacancy rate of under 3%, which signals a tight market. Of the 524 occupied units, 391 are owner-occupied and 133 are renter-occupied, putting the homeownership rate at roughly 75%. That is high, and it reflects the town's character as a place where families buy rather than rent.

Median home value is $274,400. Median rent is $1,162 per month. Both figures are consistent with the pressure of Atlanta-adjacent markets pushing northeast along the I-85 and Highway 129 corridors. Renters here are not getting a bargain compared to smaller, more isolated Georgia towns.

The municipal code is published through Municode at library.municode.com/ga/pendergrass-town-georgia. Pendergrass does not have a local building code on file.

Schools

Pendergrass falls within the Jackson County School System, which operates one of the larger rural school networks in northeast Georgia. Schools serving students in and around Pendergrass include:

High Schools - Mill Creek High School — Grades 9–12, 2,839 students - Jackson County High School — Grades 9–12, 1,833 students - East Jackson Comprehensive High School — Grades 8–12, 1,343 students - Jefferson High School — Grades 9–12, 1,214 students

Middle Schools - Osborne Middle School — Grades 6–8, 1,667 students - West Jackson Middle School — Grades 6–8, 1,502 students - Jefferson Middle School — Grades 6–8, 1,014 students - East Jackson Middle School — Grades 6–7, 544 students

Elementary Schools - Duncan Creek Elementary — 1,397 students - West Jackson Elementary — 1,184 students - Gum Springs Elementary — 1,122 students - Jefferson Elementary — 1,007 students - Jefferson Academy (Grades 3–5) — 931 students - North Jackson Elementary — 687 students - East Jackson Elementary — 594 students

The school system is spread across a large geographic county. Enrollment numbers across the high schools reflect significant capacity — Mill Creek alone enrolls nearly 2,900 students.

Getting Around

Pendergrass is a car-required town. Of 810 total workers, 663 drive alone to work and 89 carpool. Zero residents use public transit. Nine walk to work. Just 38 work from home.

The aggregate commute time across all workers is 23,020 minutes, which works out to an average one-way commute of roughly 28 minutes. That number is consistent with a population commuting into Gainesville, Braselton, or the northern Atlanta suburbs rather than working locally. There is no bus service, no rail, and no meaningful alternative to a personal vehicle.

Healthcare

No hospitals are located within Pendergrass. The nearest regional facilities are in Commerce and Gainesville. Residents requiring emergency care or specialty services typically travel to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, approximately 20 miles southwest. Local and nearby providers in Pendergrass can be searched through the CMS NPI Registry: npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov.

Library

The nearest public library is the Commerce Public Library, located 0.7 miles from Pendergrass. Phone: (706) 335-5946. It is part of the Northeast Georgia Regional Library System and serves as the practical library resource for Pendergrass residents.

Parks & Recreation

The closest National Park Service unit is the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, which stretches along the Chattahoochee River south of Pendergrass. The Island Ford Visitor Center is approximately 41.6 miles away. The recreation area offers river access, hiking, and paddling — a meaningful outdoor resource for a town with no significant local parkland of its own.

Natural Hazards

Jackson County has a long FEMA declaration record. Since 1976, the county has been included in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations:

The pattern is clear: ice storms and winter precipitation are the most frequent threat, but tropical systems tracking north through Georgia have repeatedly caused enough damage to trigger federal declarations. The 2024 Hurricane Helene declaration is the most recent major weather event on record.

Weather

Current forecasts for Pendergrass are available from the National Weather Service: forecast.weather.gov. Active alerts can be checked at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest weather observation station is Commerce 1.1 SSW, located 0.3 miles from town.

Government & Municipal Code

Pendergrass maintains its own municipal government and publishes its town code through Municode. The full code is available at library.municode.com/ga/pendergrass-town-georgia. No local building code is currently on file through that system.

References

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