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Demographics



  • According to the 2000 Census, 35.8% of DeKalb County residents were white and 54.2% were black. Hispanics, who can be identified as either white or black in the Census data, made up 7.9% of the county's population. Statewide, 65.1% of residents were white, 28.7% were black and 5.3% were Hispanic.
  • In DeKalb County, 24.6% of the county’s residents were age 18 or younger, while 8.0% were age 65 or older. Statewide, 26.5% were age 18 or younger and 9.6% were age 65 or older.
  • The 2000 Census reports 10.2% of DeKalb County's households were headed by females with children under 18 years of age, compared with 9.0% statewide. Total households with children under 18 represented 31.0% of all households in the county, compared to 35.0% statewide.
  • Between 2001 and 2005, DeKalb County school system reported an average high school dropout rate of 5.4% for students in grades 9 to 12. Statewide, this rate is 5.6% for the same period of time.
  • DeKalb County spent an average of $7,222 per student for public education each year between 2001 and 2005, while the statewide average was $6,603.
  • Based on the 2004 graduating class for that county school system, 61.3% of the students were eligible for the HOPE Scholarship Program. The scholarship is available to eligible students to attend a post-secondary school in Georgia. Statewide, 62.0% of the graduating students were eligible for the HOPE scholarship.
  • Between 2000 and 2004, the infant mortality rate (infant deaths per 1,000 live births) was 9.2 for the county. The statewide rate was 8.6 during the same period.
  • In 2002, the number of physicians in the county per 100,000 population was 321.0, compared to the 192.6 statewide average. DeKalb County had 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000 population in 2004, which was greater than the statewide average of 2.7 hospital beds per 1,000 population.
  • The 2004 index crime rate (crimes per 1,000) for DeKalb County was 37.8. Statewide, in 2004, the rate was 40.8. Of the total index crimes reported for that county, 8.0% were violent crimes, while 92.0% were property crimes.
  • In 2004, 68.6% of the adult population in the county was registered to vote. 55.3% of the voting-age adult population for DeKalb County voted in the 2004 general election. Statewide, 70.6% of eligible Georgians were registered to vote, while 55.1% of those eligible voted in the general election that year.
Community Population Growth (%)
1980 1990 2000 1980-1990 1990-2000
Avondale Estates 1,313 2,209 2,609 68.2 % 18.1 %
Chamblee 7,137 7,668 9,552 7.4 % 24.6 %
Clarkston 4,539 5,385 7,231 18.6 % 34.3 %
Decatur 18,404 17,304 18,147 -6.0 % 4.9 %
Doraville 7,414 7,626 9,862 2.9 % 29.3 %
Lithonia 2,637 2,448 2,187 -7.2 % -10.7 %
Pinelake 901 810 621 -10.1 % -23.3 %
Stone Mountain 4,867 6,544 7,145 34.5 % 9.2 %
DeKalb 483,024 546,171 665,865 13.1 % 21.9 %

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