I’m posting this from a Panera Bread in Albany NY, the closest place to where I am staying at the moment that I can get internet access.
I’ve been called away to work out a path for a relative fifteen years younger than me who has developed what will probably be diagnosed as early onset Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a terrible situation, and I’m not certain how long I’ll be here.
In the meantime, some of the things I’ll be posting will look considerably more like blog posts than hard news items. In fact I have a backlog of information about Cobb County that I’ve never found a place for in news articles, but which I think will be interesting to readers, and I’ll work them up into a series of articles.
The first one comes from some preliminary data I ran about housing prices in Cobb County, that I put together in preparation for the release of the decennial census on April 31, and the latest American Community Survey in September.
This article, after an explanation of where the numbers come from, will present you with an interactive Cobb County map of median home values by census tract. I also explain how to quickly determine your census tract so you can see how home values in your tract compare with other parts of the county.
If you want to skip the explanation, and dive straight into the numbers for Cobb County, scroll down to the section beginning with the header “Cobb County average home value by census tract”. The values come from surveys completed in 2019. Those figures will be updated again in September.
The 2020 decennial census will be released on April 31 by the United States Census Bureau.
But the much-publicized decennial census, containing just nine questions and distributed to all households in the U.S., is not the only survey the Census Bureau conducts.
The American Community Survey, while it doesn’t survey the entire population, has a much more extensive questionnaire, and is conducted throughout each year, with the results released at one and five-year intervals..
In preparation for reporting on the decennial census, I began learning a statistical programming language called “R,” did a lot of reading on the Census Bureau website, and gathered data on home values from the American Community Survey.
What is the American Community Survey?
The American Community Survey is both more frequent and more comprehensive than the decennial census. Here’s a description of the ACS from the U.S. Census website. The ACS is:
- Conducted every month, every year
- Sent to a sample of addresses (about 3.5 million) in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico
- Asks about topics not on the 2020 Census, such as education, employment, internet access, and transportation
- Provides current information to communities every year. It also provides local and national leaders with the information they need for programs, economic development, emergency management, and understanding local issues and conditions.
The decennial census, on the other hand, is:
- Conducted every ten years
- Counts every person living in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories
- Asks a shorter set of questions, such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, and owner/renter status
- Provides an official count of the population, which determines congressional representation. Also provides critical data that lawmakers and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for communities.
Cobb County average home value by census tract
The map and tables below show the housing figures for the five-year American Community Survey ending in 2019, displayed as both an interactive map and as two tables, one sorted by census tract, and another sorted by home prices.
Realty websites often give home prices based on zip code. Zip codes have limitations as an accurate picture of area housing. First, they span too large an area, often covering multiple neighborhoods with diverse characteristics that make drawing any conclusion about the community difficult. Second they often overlap county boundaries.
You can zoom in on the map to figure out the streets associated with different tracts, and click on a tract to get the name and average home prices.
You’ll notice that one census tract, 304.14, has N/A listed as the average value. The reason for this is the median home value statistics I used are for owner-occupied homes on less than ten acre lots. If you zoom in on that census tract, which is northeast of Smyrna and east of Cobb Parkway, with Franklin Gateway as its central road and Delk Road as its northern boundary, you’ll notice that the buildings are mostly a mix of multifamily apartment buildings and commercial structures.
There aren’t many surprises. The most expensive homes are in the part of Vinings near Paces Ferry Road adjacent to the Chattahoochee River. The census tract is 312.12 and the median home price there is $747,100.00.
The least expensive housing in Cobb is in census tract 310.01, which includes Fair Oaks along South Cobb Drive, eastward to Cobb Parkway. Houses there have a median value of $95,400, the only census tract in Cobb where the median falls below $100,000.
Here is the interactive map, with the two tables posted below it:
| Median Home Values sorted by cost | |
| Census Tract | Median Home Price |
| 304.14 | NA |
| 312.12 | $747,100.00 |
| 303.18 | $584,100.00 |
| 303.36 | $561,800.00 |
| 303.37 | $477,400.00 |
| 303.26 | $460,900.00 |
| 312.09 | $451,600.00 |
| 303.34 | $441,500.00 |
| 303.43 | $422,900.00 |
| 303.32 | $421,500.00 |
| 303.35 | $410,100.00 |
| 303.33 | $408,600.00 |
| 303.2 | $406,500.00 |
| 302.18 | $403,700.00 |
| 302.39 | $396,700.00 |
| 303.4 | $391,600.00 |
| 303.28 | $388,300.00 |
| 302.36 | $386,100.00 |
| 306.02 | $375,400.00 |
| 312.07 | $372,300.00 |
| 303.42 | $370,700.00 |
| 303.3 | $365,700.00 |
| 303.31 | $359,400.00 |
| 311.12 | $358,300.00 |
| 303.19 | $349,600.00 |
| 304.09 | $343,900.00 |
| 302.3 | $338,300.00 |
| 302.19 | $337,800.00 |
| 302.31 | $337,100.00 |
| 312.06 | $336,900.00 |
| 312.08 | $323,200.00 |
| 304.08 | $316,000.00 |
| 311.18 | $313,600.00 |
| 309.01 | $310,100.00 |
| 303.27 | $309,100.00 |
| 302.38 | $307,000.00 |
| 307 | $305,600.00 |
| 303.45 | $304,800.00 |
| 303.22 | $302,200.00 |
| 302.35 | $300,400.00 |
| 304.1 | $298,000.00 |
| 313.13 | $296,200.00 |
| 302.34 | $290,600.00 |
| 303.14 | $290,500.00 |
| 312.05 | $290,000.00 |
| 303.29 | $282,100.00 |
| 311.13 | $276,000.00 |
| 303.41 | $273,700.00 |
| 311.17 | $272,500.00 |
| 302.09 | $269,600.00 |
| 302.33 | $265,800.00 |
| 312.11 | $265,200.00 |
| 311.1 | $261,500.00 |
| 302.29 | $259,600.00 |
| 309.02 | $258,000.00 |
| 302.32 | $256,600.00 |
| 304.07 | $254,400.00 |
| 305.02 | $252,400.00 |
| 303.11 | $250,400.00 |
| 308 | $249,500.00 |
| 302.22 | $248,200.00 |
| 303.39 | $238,500.00 |
| 302.14 | $231,500.00 |
| 302.24 | $231,400.00 |
| 305.04 | $230,400.00 |
| 301.01 | $230,000.00 |
| 303.12 | $228,600.00 |
| 301.07 | $228,000.00 |
| 311.01 | $227,500.00 |
| 313.12 | $227,500.00 |
| 302.15 | $224,300.00 |
| 303.13 | $223,800.00 |
| 305.07 | $223,000.00 |
| 313.07 | $221,400.00 |
| 315.08 | $220,500.00 |
| 303.24 | $220,000.00 |
| 302.28 | $213,600.00 |
| 301.03 | $213,400.00 |
| 306.01 | $212,900.00 |
| 302.26 | $211,300.00 |
| 302.2 | $204,700.00 |
| 305.06 | $194,000.00 |
| 311.06 | $193,100.00 |
| 311.11 | $192,800.00 |
| 302.23 | $191,200.00 |
| 311.14 | $189,400.00 |
| 303.1 | $185,700.00 |
| 311.15 | $183,200.00 |
| 314.05 | $179,700.00 |
| 315.09 | $179,100.00 |
| 305.05 | $177,000.00 |
| 314.04 | $176,900.00 |
| 315.05 | $169,700.00 |
| 301.04 | $167,100.00 |
| 309.05 | $164,900.00 |
| 315.03 | $164,300.00 |
| 302.27 | $163,400.00 |
| 304.05 | $162,600.00 |
| 313.06 | $162,500.00 |
| 311.08 | $162,200.00 |
| 315.06 | $161,400.00 |
| 301.06 | $161,200.00 |
| 310.02 | $159,600.00 |
| 310.05 | $155,900.00 |
| 313.11 | $153,500.00 |
| 314.08 | $151,600.00 |
| 315.07 | $150,200.00 |
| 309.04 | $149,000.00 |
| 314.06 | $147,900.00 |
| 304.13 | $146,900.00 |
| 311.16 | $145,100.00 |
| 314.09 | $142,800.00 |
| 313.09 | $129,700.00 |
| 310.04 | $124,300.00 |
| 313.08 | $122,200.00 |
| 304.11 | $118,100.00 |
| 313.1 | $110,700.00 |
| 303.44 | $109,100.00 |
| 304.12 | $103,900.00 |
| 310.01 | $95,400.00 |
| Median Home Values sorted by census tract | |
| Census Tract | Median Home Price |
| 301.01 | $230,000.00 |
| 301.03 | $213,400.00 |
| 301.04 | $167,100.00 |
| 301.06 | $161,200.00 |
| 301.07 | $228,000.00 |
| 302.09 | $269,600.00 |
| 302.14 | $231,500.00 |
| 302.15 | $224,300.00 |
| 302.18 | $403,700.00 |
| 302.19 | $337,800.00 |
| 302.2 | $204,700.00 |
| 302.22 | $248,200.00 |
| 302.23 | $191,200.00 |
| 302.24 | $231,400.00 |
| 302.26 | $211,300.00 |
| 302.27 | $163,400.00 |
| 302.28 | $213,600.00 |
| 302.29 | $259,600.00 |
| 302.3 | $338,300.00 |
| 302.31 | $337,100.00 |
| 302.32 | $256,600.00 |
| 302.33 | $265,800.00 |
| 302.34 | $290,600.00 |
| 302.35 | $300,400.00 |
| 302.36 | $386,100.00 |
| 302.38 | $307,000.00 |
| 302.39 | $396,700.00 |
| 303.1 | $185,700.00 |
| 303.11 | $250,400.00 |
| 303.12 | $228,600.00 |
| 303.13 | $223,800.00 |
| 303.14 | $290,500.00 |
| 303.18 | $584,100.00 |
| 303.19 | $349,600.00 |
| 303.2 | $406,500.00 |
| 303.22 | $302,200.00 |
| 303.24 | $220,000.00 |
| 303.26 | $460,900.00 |
| 303.27 | $309,100.00 |
| 303.28 | $388,300.00 |
| 303.29 | $282,100.00 |
| 303.3 | $365,700.00 |
| 303.31 | $359,400.00 |
| 303.32 | $421,500.00 |
| 303.33 | $408,600.00 |
| 303.34 | $441,500.00 |
| 303.35 | $410,100.00 |
| 303.36 | $561,800.00 |
| 303.37 | $477,400.00 |
| 303.39 | $238,500.00 |
| 303.4 | $391,600.00 |
| 303.41 | $273,700.00 |
| 303.42 | $370,700.00 |
| 303.43 | $422,900.00 |
| 303.44 | $109,100.00 |
| 303.45 | $304,800.00 |
| 304.05 | $162,600.00 |
| 304.07 | $254,400.00 |
| 304.08 | $316,000.00 |
| 304.09 | $343,900.00 |
| 304.1 | $298,000.00 |
| 304.11 | $118,100.00 |
| 304.12 | $103,900.00 |
| 304.13 | $146,900.00 |
| 304.14 | NA |
| 305.02 | $252,400.00 |
| 305.04 | $230,400.00 |
| 305.05 | $177,000.00 |
| 305.06 | $194,000.00 |
| 305.07 | $223,000.00 |
| 306.01 | $212,900.00 |
| 306.02 | $375,400.00 |
| 307 | $305,600.00 |
| 308 | $249,500.00 |
| 309.01 | $310,100.00 |
| 309.02 | $258,000.00 |
| 309.04 | $149,000.00 |
| 309.05 | $164,900.00 |
| 310.01 | $95,400.00 |
| 310.02 | $159,600.00 |
| 310.04 | $124,300.00 |
| 310.05 | $155,900.00 |
| 311.01 | $227,500.00 |
| 311.06 | $193,100.00 |
| 311.08 | $162,200.00 |
| 311.1 | $261,500.00 |
| 311.11 | $192,800.00 |
| 311.12 | $358,300.00 |
| 311.13 | $276,000.00 |
| 311.14 | $189,400.00 |
| 311.15 | $183,200.00 |
| 311.16 | $145,100.00 |
| 311.17 | $272,500.00 |
| 311.18 | $313,600.00 |
| 312.05 | $290,000.00 |
| 312.06 | $336,900.00 |
| 312.07 | $372,300.00 |
| 312.08 | $323,200.00 |
| 312.09 | $451,600.00 |
| 312.11 | $265,200.00 |
| 312.12 | $747,100.00 |
| 313.06 | $162,500.00 |
| 313.07 | $221,400.00 |
| 313.08 | $122,200.00 |
| 313.09 | $129,700.00 |
| 313.1 | $110,700.00 |
| 313.11 | $153,500.00 |
| 313.12 | $227,500.00 |
| 313.13 | $296,200.00 |
| 314.04 | $176,900.00 |
| 314.05 | $179,700.00 |
| 314.06 | $147,900.00 |
| 314.08 | $151,600.00 |
| 314.09 | $142,800.00 |
| 315.03 | $164,300.00 |
| 315.05 | $169,700.00 |
| 315.06 | $161,400.00 |
| 315.07 | $150,200.00 |
| 315.08 | $220,500.00 |
| 315.09 | $179,100.00 |
How do you find your own census tract?
Finding the census tract for your address or any other address is easy by following this link to the FFIEC Geomap website.
There is a search bar at the top where you can enter a Cobb County address. You’ll notice in the screenshot below that I entered the address of the Cobb County government building in Marietta. It produces a map, and a little box on the upper left that has an entry called the Tract Code. That is where you’ll find the census tract you searched for.
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