Cedartown, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Cedartown · Polk County, Georgia
Population 10,211 (est. 2026: ~10,300)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 0.16% annual growth projection

Cedartown, Georgia

Polk County, Georgia · Population 10,190

Cedartown sits in the Ridge and Valley country of northwest Georgia, tucked between Taylorsville Road ridges and the Etowah River watershed about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta. It is the county seat of Polk County — a mid-size rural county of roughly 42,853 people — and it functions as the commercial and civic hub for the surrounding communities of Rockmart, Aragon, and Van Wert. The town carries the markers of a working-class Georgia mill town: modest housing prices, a young population, a significant Hispanic community, and tight economic margins. It is not a suburb. It is its own place.

People & Demographics

Cedartown's 10,166 residents skew young — median age of 31.1, which is noticeably below Georgia's overall median. That youth shows up in the schools, where enrollment across the district's six traditional campuses exceeds 4,700 students.

The population is diverse by northwest Georgia standards. White residents number 6,411. Black residents make up 2,403 of the population. The Hispanic and Latino community is 3,198 — roughly 31% of the total — reflecting decades of regional growth in agricultural and manufacturing labor. The Census does not record an Asian population for Cedartown in this dataset.

There are 3,793 occupied households, with an average size of 2.60 people. Family households account for 2,334 of those. Children under 18 total 2,797 — a meaningful share of the population that shapes demand for schools, parks, and family services.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Cedartown is $30,655 — substantially below Georgia's statewide median, which runs in the mid-$60,000 range. Per capita income sits at $26,262. Poverty is a significant factor in daily life here: 3,348 residents fall below the federal poverty line, representing roughly a third of the population.

The labor force numbers 4,382 people, with 323 unemployed at the time of the survey — an unemployment rate of about 7.4% within the labor force. Manufacturing, logistics, and service-sector work dominate the local economy. Polk County's industrial base has historically included textile production and food processing, though that landscape has shifted over the decades.

Housing

Housing in Cedartown is affordable by any Georgia measure. The median home value is $122,000 — a fraction of Atlanta-metro prices — and median gross rent runs $801 per month. Of 3,973 total housing units, 3,793 are occupied and 180 sit vacant, a vacancy rate of about 4.5%.

The town is majority-renter: 2,004 households rent versus 1,789 that own, flipping the typical rural Georgia pattern where ownership dominates. That renter majority, combined with low incomes, makes housing affordability and rental quality a persistent community concern.

Schools

Cedartown operates a full K–12 system within Polk County Schools:

Total K–12 enrollment across these campuses exceeds 4,700 students, which is a substantial load for a city of 10,000. Harpst Academy serves a separate population, likely students with behavioral or residential needs, operating through grade 12 with a small enrollment.

Getting Around

Cedartown is car-dependent. Of 3,955 total workers, 3,236 drive alone — about 82%. Another 407 carpool. Just 60 use public transit, 76 walk, and 134 work from home. The aggregate travel time across all commuters is 114,910 minutes, which works out to roughly 29 minutes per worker on average — consistent with a town where many residents commute out to Rome, Cartersville, or toward the Atlanta metro for work.

Healthcare

Cedartown is served by Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center, which provides the primary hospital access for Polk County residents. The facility is located within or near Cedartown and operates under the Atrium Health Floyd regional system based in Rome, Georgia, approximately 20 miles to the north. Rome's Floyd Medical Center is the major regional referral center for more complex care.

For a full directory of individual healthcare providers licensed in Cedartown, the CMS NPI Registry can be searched directly: NPI Registry – Cedartown, GA

Library

The Cedartown Library serves the community and can be reached at (770) 748-5644. It is part of the Sara Hightower Regional Library System, which also serves Rome and the broader northwest Georgia region.

Parks & Recreation

Cedartown's outdoor recreation ties extend beyond the immediate area. National Park Service sites within reasonable driving distance include:

The Ridge and Valley landscape around Polk County also offers access to state-managed lands, river corridors, and the Etowah River, which runs through the broader county.

Natural Hazards

Polk County has a long federal disaster declaration record — 15 declarations stretching back to 1979. The hazard profile is varied and serious:

Tornadoes and severe storms are the most recurring threat. Declarations tied to tornado events or severe straight-line winds hit in 1990, 1993, 2008, and 2011. The April 2011 tornado outbreak (DR-1973) was part of one of the deadliest storm systems in modern Southern history.

Winter storms have triggered emergency declarations in 1993 and 2014, and most recently in January 2026 (EM-3642). Northwest Georgia sits in a zone where ice and snow events can shut down infrastructure quickly.

Hurricanes have reached Polk County as weakened but still damaging systems. Irma (2017) generated two separate federal declarations, as did the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Hurricane Helene triggered an emergency declaration in September 2024 (EM-3616), demonstrating that Gulf storms tracking northeast remain a real hazard even 300 miles inland.

Flooding has appeared across multiple declarations, including a 1979 rain-and-mudslide event and various flood components of larger storm declarations.

Residents should maintain awareness of both tornado and winter storm preparedness, as those represent the two most consistent local risks.

Government & Municipal Code

Cedartown's municipal code is published through Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/cedartown.

Note: Cedartown does not have a locally adopted building code on record in the available data. Residents undertaking construction or renovation work should verify current permitting requirements directly with the city.

Weather

Current National Weather Service forecasts and active alerts for Cedartown:

The nearest official weather observation station is CEDARTOWN 1.3 NE, located 0.9 miles from the town center.

References

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