DeKalb County is included in theAtlanta metropolitan area. It contains roughly 10% of the city ofAtlanta (the other 90% lies inFulton County).[3]Stonecrest is the largest city that is entirely within the county. DeKalb is primarily a suburban county.
In recent years, some communities in North DeKalb have incorporated, following a trend in other suburban areas around Metro Atlanta.Stonecrest,Dunwoody andBrookhaven are now the largest cities that are entirely contained within the county.
In 1853, Fulton County formed from the western half of DeKalb, divided along a perfectly straight and due north–south line down the middle (along which Moreland Avenue now runs). Until this time, the growing city of Atlanta had been inside DeKalb. Atlanta grew because the city of Decatur did not want to become therailroadterminus in the 1830s, thus a spot at the Thrasherville encampment in western DeKalb was picked to become Terminus and then Marthasville, before becoming Atlanta a few years after its founding. North and southwest Fulton came from two other counties:Milton and southeastCampbell, respectively. DeKalb once extended slightly further north to theChattahoochee River, but this strip was later given to Milton, and is now thepanhandle of Sandy Springs.
Until the 1960s, DeKalb was a mainlyagricultural county, but as thesprawl of the metropolitan Atlanta region expanded, DeKalb became increasinglyurbanized. Finished in 1969, the eastern half of theInterstate 285beltway, called "the Perimeter", ringed the northeastern and southern edges of the county, placing most of it "inside the Perimeter" along with nearly all of Atlanta.Interstate 675 andGeorgia 400 were originally planned to connect inside the Perimeter, along with the Stone Mountain Freeway (U.S. Highway 78) connecting with theDowntown Connector (a co-signment of I-75/I-85) near Moreland Avenue, destroying many neighborhoods in western DeKalb, but community opposition in the early 1970s spared them this fate ofurbanization, although part of the proposed Stone Mountain Tollway later became theFreedom Parkway. OnlyInterstate 20 andInterstate 85 were successfully built through the county. DeKalb also became one of only two counties to approveMARTArapid transit in the 1970s; the county now contains the east and northeast heavy rail lines.
In April 2018, more than 350 bus drivers forDeKalb County School District went onstrike over low pay and poor working conditions, resulting in seven bus drivers being fired.[5]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 271 square miles (700 km2), of which 268 square miles (690 km2) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2) (1.3%) is water.[6] The county is located within the upperPiedmont region of the state. The shape of DeKalb county in a way resembles a miniature Georgia itself, with similar river borders and straight lines.
In 2021, the non-profit American Rivers named DeKalb'sSouth River the fourth-most endangered river in theUnited States, citing "the egregious threat that ongoing sewage pollution poses to clean water and public health."[7]
The southern two-thirds of DeKalb County, in a line fromDruid Hills northeast toTucker, is located in the UpperOcmulgee River sub-basin of theAltamaha River basin, while the portion of the county north of that line is located in the UpperChattahoochee River sub-basin of theACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin).[8]
Stone Mountain lies near the eastern border of the county.Soapstone Ridge, parallel to the southern border, was heavily quarried between 1400 and 100BC and objects made from the soapstone have been found as far away as theGreat Lakes.
DeKalb County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the U.S. census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2020 United States census, there were 764,382 people, 289,829 households, and 157,737 families residing in the county. It is the 86th most populous county in the United States. This is up from a 2000 population of 665,865. Although Fulton County is more populous, DeKalb has the highest population density of any county in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
In 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $51,349 and the median income for a family was $60,718. Males had a median income of $43,663 versus $40,288 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,412. About 12.4% of families and 16.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.[21]
In 2020 this was the case, except that theEmory University/Centers for Disease Control area at the time was still in DeKalb County schools.[33] In 2018 the City of Atlanta had annexed the region,[34] but initially it was still covered by DeKalb County schools. There were plans to move the area into APS, and this was scheduled for 2024.[35]
Mercer University is a private, coeducational, faith-based university with aBaptist heritage. Its main campus is inMacon. TheCecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus is in DeKalb County; it houses the College of Nursing, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology along with programs of the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics, the School of Medicine, and the Tift College of Education.
Georgia Piedmont Technical College[42] (formerly DeKalb Technical College) is the largest vocational institution inGeorgia. Georgia Piedmont Technical College trains students in business, engineering, technologies, health, human services, industrial arts, information systems, and transportation.
DeVry University offers bachelor's and master's degrees in healthcare, accounting, business, and management technology.
Columbia Theological Seminary is a theological institution of thePresbyterian Church (USA) in Decatur. More than 640 students are enrolled at Columbia in one of five degree programs: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Theological Studies, Master of Theology, Doctor of Ministry, and Doctor of Theology.
Luther Rice College and Seminary is a private Christian college and seminary in Lithonia. It offers bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs in ministry and ministry-related programs.
In 2022, DeKalb County had the second highest crime rate in Georgia. The county saw 40.3 crimes per 1,000 residents. The county also had the second highest rate of robberies and motor vehicle theft, as well as the third highest rates of burglary and larceny theft. The crime is highly concentrated in the southern half of the county. DeKalb was only behindBibb County for highest crime rate.[43]
In recent years, along with many other counties in the Atlanta area, DeKalb County has voted strongly Democratic in presidential elections, while in the past it was more of a swing county, voting Democratic andRepublican an equal number of times from1960 until1988. DeKalb is also one of the few counties in Georgia whereGeorge Wallace came in third in1968. Following the2020 Georgia state elections, there are no elected Republicans in the county.
The DeKalb County seal was created in 1967, by artist Jackson Bailey. The design is based on a passage fromAristotle in which a comparison is made between human progress and the relay race. The background landscape shows planted fields, which is a tribute to DeKalb's heritage as anagrarian community. The date of the county's founding, 1822, is at the bottom of the seal.[46]
Unincorporated DeKalb County is policed by theDeKalb County Police Department; the DeKalb Sheriff's Office,[47] which is responsible for serving criminal warrants and securing the courts and county jail; and the DeKalb Marshal's Office, which serves civil processes issued through state court, such as evictions.
Fire services are provided throughout the county by DeKalb County Fire and Rescue.[48] Previously, DeKalb County Fire and Rescue also provided emergency medical services throughout the county; however, in 2013, the county signed a contract withAmerican Medical Response to provide emergency medical services to the county.[49]
TheMetro State Prison of theGeorgia Department of Corrections was formerly located in an unincorporated area in DeKalb County.[57] Female death row inmates (UDS, "under death sentence") resided in the Metro State Prison.[58] The prison was closed in 2011.[59]
Currently, there are plans for the construction of a multi-use trail, known as thePeachtree Creek Greenway. The goal of the greenway is to provide residents with close-to-home and close-to-work access to bicycle and pedestrian trails, serve transportation and recreation needs, and help encourage quality of life and sustainable economic growth. The trail will connect the cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Chamblee and Doraville.
^Home.Atlanta Jewish Academy. Retrieved on June 1, 2017. "Lower School 5200 Northland Drive Atlanta, GA 30342" and "Upper School 3130 Raymond Drive Atlanta, GA 30340"
