Conyers, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Conyers · Rockdale County, Georgia
Population 17,916 (est. 2026: ~20,000)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 3.33% annual growth projection

Conyers, Georgia

Rockdale County, Georgia · Population 17,305

Conyers sits about 25 miles east of Atlanta along I-20, making it one of the closer bedroom communities in the metro's eastern arc. Rockdale County is one of Georgia's smallest counties by land area, and Conyers is its county seat and only incorporated city — so the city and the county are, practically speaking, the same community. That tight geographic scale gives Conyers an unusually coherent identity: a working-class and middle-class Black-majority town with deep roots, a genuine downtown, and direct freeway access to Atlanta's job market. It hosted equestrian events for the 1996 Summer Olympics, a distinction that still shapes how longtime residents talk about the place.

People & Demographics

Conyers holds 17,305 residents, representing roughly 18.5% of Rockdale County's 93,570 people. The median age is 37.7 years. The racial composition is majority Black at 11,149 residents (approximately 64% of the total), with 5,184 white residents and 283 Asian residents. The Hispanic and Latino population stands at 1,829. There are 7,322 occupied households, with an average household size of 2.32. Family households number 4,001, and 4,062 residents are children under 18.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Conyers is $53,500, and per capita income runs $26,798. Georgia's statewide median household income is generally tracked above $60,000, placing Conyers below the state figure — a pattern common in smaller county-seat cities that absorb both the county's working population and its poverty concentration. Of 9,061 residents in the labor force, 952 are unemployed, an unemployment rate of roughly 10.5%. The poverty count stands at 2,471 residents.

Most workers commute to larger employment centers — Atlanta, Lithonia, and the broader I-20 corridor — for jobs in logistics, healthcare, retail, and government. Georgia Career Institute, reachable at 770-922-7653, provides local vocational and career training options for residents pursuing workforce credentials without relocating.

Housing

Conyers has 7,880 total housing units, of which 7,322 are occupied and 558 sit vacant — a vacancy rate of roughly 7%. The tenure split is notably renter-heavy: 4,609 renter-occupied units versus 2,713 owner-occupied units, meaning about 63% of occupied housing is rented. The median home value is $170,600, which is well below Atlanta metro norms and makes Conyers one of the more accessible ownership markets in the region for households that qualify for financing. Median gross rent is $1,163 per month.

Schools

Public schools in Conyers are operated by Rockdale County Public Schools. Three high schools serve the county: Rockdale County High School (grades 9–12, 2,369 students), Heritage High School (grades 9–12, 1,877 students), and Salem High School (grades 9–12, 1,120 students). At the middle level: Conyers Middle School (grades 6–8, 1,031 students), Edwards Middle School (grades 6–8, 943 students), and Memorial Middle School (grades 6–8, 771 students). Elementary schools include Hicks Elementary (1,025 students), Shoal Creek Elementary (674), Pine Street Elementary (659), House Elementary (599), Flat Shoals Elementary (578), Hightower Trail Elementary (533), Peek's Chapel Elementary (532), Barksdale Elementary (489), and Sims Elementary (486).

Of residents 25 and older (11,760 total), 2,660 hold a high school diploma as their highest credential, 1,820 hold a bachelor's degree, 802 a master's degree, and 290 a doctorate.

Getting Around

Conyers is a car-dependent community. Of 7,935 workers, 5,483 drove alone to work and 1,141 carpooled. Only 36 used public transit and 96 walked. A notable 995 worked from home. The aggregate commute time for all workers totals 199,460 minutes, averaging roughly 25 minutes per worker — consistent with a community that overwhelmingly drives into the Atlanta metro for employment. Meaningful transit infrastructure does not exist here; a car is functionally required.

Healthcare

Piedmont Rockdale Hospital serves as the county's primary acute care facility, located in Conyers. For a comprehensive list of individual healthcare providers with active NPI numbers practicing in Conyers, the CMS NPI Registry can be queried directly: NPI Registry — Conyers, GA. For specialty or advanced care, Piedmont's Atlanta-area hospital network and Emory Healthcare facilities are accessible via I-20.

Library

The Nancy Guinn Memorial Library is Conyers' public library, reachable at 770-388-5040. It serves as the Rockdale County public library system's primary branch, providing research, programming, and digital access resources for county residents.

Parks & Recreation

Three National Park Service units are within regional reach. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park is the closest major NPS site, with its visitor center approximately 22 miles away in Atlanta. Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area offers river access, hiking, and paddling along the Chattahoochee corridor to the northwest. Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, with its visitor center about 40 miles out, preserves a significant Civil War landscape west of Atlanta. All three are day-trip distance from Conyers.

Natural Hazards

Rockdale County carries a long FEMA declaration history. Flooding has been the most recurring threat — major flood events were declared in 1994 (Tropical Storm Alberto), 1998, and 2009. Hurricanes and tropical systems have triggered multiple declarations: Opal (1995), Irma (2017, two separate declarations), and Hurricane Helene (2024). Severe winter storms hit in 1993, 2000, 2014, and again in January 2026. The county also served as a hurricane evacuation staging area during Katrina in 2005. COVID-19 generated both emergency and major disaster declarations in March 2020. A drought declaration dates back to 1977. Residents should maintain flood awareness and winter storm preparedness plans, particularly given the frequency of ice and snow events that can paralyze I-20 and local roads.

Government & Municipal Code

Conyers maintains its municipal code through Municode, accessible at library.municode.com/ga/conyers. The code does not include a local building code — development and construction standards default to state and county requirements.

Weather

Current forecasts and conditions for Conyers are available through the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast for Conyers. Active weather alerts can be monitored at NWS Alerts. The nearest official weather observation station is Lithonia 3.2 SW, approximately 4.8 miles from the city.

References

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