Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 64/100
C+
Median home value$701,400
Atlanta $367,600
Median rent$1,655/mo
Atlanta $1,672/mo
Cost-burdened households30%
Atlanta 33%
Decatur
DeKalb County24,518 residentsCity Schools of Decatur
74
B
Suburbgrade score
1st of 60 Atlanta suburbs. Strong on schools and amenities, held back by cost of living.
74
Atlanta median 57
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Decatur yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 74 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Decatur is like to live in, by category
Bars show Decatur against Atlanta. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 93/100
A+
Within-state proficiency97th pct
Atlanta median 80th pct
Student–teacher ratio12.6
Atlanta median 14.4
Graduation rate95%
Atlanta median 87%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 55/100
C−
Housing cost index147
Atlanta 100
Eff. tax rate1.28%
Atlanta 0.82%
Local sales tax7.49%
Atlanta median 7.49%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 68/100
B−
Mean commute25.9 min
Atlanta 31.0 min
Under 30 minutes59%
Atlanta 50%
Transit stops / sq mi4.3
Atlanta median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 87/100
A−
Restaurants & cafés145
Atlanta median 44 · within 2 miles
Groceries12
Atlanta median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks105
Atlanta median 18 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 72/100
B−
Median household income$139,397
Atlanta $89,724
Unemployment4.3%
Atlanta 5.0%
Professional occupations75%
Atlanta 46%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Decatur yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Decatur on cost of living
Decatur's weakest grade is C−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
College Park13 mi from DecaturA− 53 C− Lithia Springs20 mi from DecaturA− 46 D Conyers20 mi from DecaturA− 46 D Forest Park11 mi from DecaturB+ 38 D− Stockbridge17 mi from DecaturB+ 47 D East Point12 mi from DecaturB+ 55 C− Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Decatur
Is Decatur, GA a good place to live?
Decatur scores 74 out of 100, 1st of 60 Atlanta suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Decatur expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $701,400, 91% above the Atlanta median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.28%. $1,655/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Decatur?
Schools grade A+. The districts serving Decatur sit at the 97th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 95% graduation rate and a 12.6 student–teacher ratio. Decatur is served by City Schools of Decatur. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Decatur?
The mean commute is 25.9 min, with 59% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 38% working from home. Transit density is 4.3 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Decatur?
Within two miles there are 12 groceries, 145 restaurants and cafés and 105 parks, which grades A− on amenities.
Are the homes in Decatur old or new?
The median home in Decatur was built in 1975 — older than the Atlanta median of 1994. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 56% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.