Decatur
Bungalow streets around a walkable square, plus a much larger stretch of central DeKalb that shares the Decatur address.
Updated September 2026 · Source: FMLS, compiled by the Terence Richardson Group
The 60-second read
1,879 FMLS closings carried a Decatur address in the year ending September 2026, at a $329,000 median. One catch: "Decatur" means both the small city, with its square and its own school system, and a much larger slice of unincorporated DeKalb County. These numbers blend the two.
The middle half of sales ran $230,000 to $500,000, so the median is a compass heading, not a street price. At 37 median days and 94.6% of list, buyers here actually get to negotiate.
What the housing stock actually is
This is an old housing stock. 35% of recent sales were built before 1960, with another 25% from the 1960s and 70s. Craftsman bungalows, brick cottages, and postwar ranches are the core product. Renovation level drives huge price gaps between neighboring homes.
The middle half of sales ran 1,268 to 2,142 square feet and $230,000 to $500,000. That band covers condos and fixer-uppers on the unincorporated side and updated bungalows near the square. The blended $329,000 median is a starting point, not a quote for any particular street.
New construction barely registers: 0% of sales since 2020 were built 2020 or later, and only 11% of recent sales were built 2015 or newer. If you want new here, you are looking at scattered infill and townhomes, and you will compete for them.
Data last updated: September 2026. Source: FMLS closed sales, compiled by the Terence Richardson Group. Y-axis does not start at zero.
View the data table
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| Oct 2021 | $306K |
| Nov 2021 | $324K |
| Dec 2021 | $308K |
| Jan 2022 | $273K |
| Feb 2022 | $290K |
| Mar 2022 | $313K |
| Apr 2022 | $332K |
| May 2022 | $335K |
| Jun 2022 | $331K |
| Jul 2022 | $321K |
| Aug 2022 | $325K |
| Sep 2022 | $333K |
| Oct 2022 | $315K |
| Nov 2022 | $305K |
| Dec 2022 | $318K |
| Jan 2023 | $290K |
| Feb 2023 | $313K |
| Mar 2023 | $300K |
| Apr 2023 | $295K |
| May 2023 | $323K |
| Jun 2023 | $355K |
| Jul 2023 | $330K |
| Aug 2023 | $299K |
| Sep 2023 | $310K |
| Oct 2023 | $301K |
| Nov 2023 | $290K |
| Dec 2023 | $290K |
| Jan 2024 | $310K |
| Feb 2024 | $310K |
| Mar 2024 | $316K |
| Apr 2024 | $322K |
| May 2024 | $330K |
| Jun 2024 | $350K |
| Jul 2024 | $315K |
| Aug 2024 | $310K |
| Sep 2024 | $307K |
| Oct 2024 | $309K |
| Nov 2024 | $313K |
| Dec 2024 | $294K |
| Jan 2025 | $268K |
| Feb 2025 | $279K |
| Mar 2025 | $284K |
| Apr 2025 | $310K |
| May 2025 | $275K |
| Jun 2025 | $285K |
| Jul 2025 | $300K |
| Aug 2025 | $292K |
| Sep 2025 | $297K |
| Oct 2025 | $298K |
| Nov 2025 | $295K |
| Dec 2025 | $270K |
| Jan 2026 | $275K |
| Feb 2026 | $330K |
| Mar 2026 | $341K |
| Apr 2026 | $367K |
| May 2026 | $392K |
| Jun 2026 | $353K |
| Jul 2026 | $340K |
| Aug 2026 | $340K |
| Sep 2026 | $343K |
What tends to work well
- Budgets in the $230,000 to $500,000 range, where the middle half of Decatur-address FMLS sales landed in the year ending September 2026.
- Buyers who want a walkable square, MARTA rail on the Blue Line, and an in-town street grid.
- Buyers hunting pre-1960 character; bungalows and cottages dominate the older streets.
- Anyone whose life runs to Emory, the CDC area, or downtown and Midtown from the east side.
What buyers should think about
- Buyers who need new construction; effectively none of the FMLS sales here since 2020 were built after 2020.
- Anyone expecting the whole Decatur address to feel like the blocks around the square; the mailing area is far larger and varies street by street.
- Buyers who want big square footage; the middle half of sales ran 1,268 to 2,142 square feet.
- Anyone who needs quick GA 400 or I-75 access; those corridors are a haul from the east side.
How are the commutes from Decatur?
No interstate runs through downtown Decatur, and that shapes the whole feel of the place. Scott Boulevard and US 78 carry you northeast. College Avenue and DeKalb Avenue run west toward the city. I-285 sits east, I-20 south. Plan around surface streets, treat the ranges above as 2026 planning figures, and let a live traffic source settle the argument.
Three MARTA Blue Line stations serve the area: Decatur station directly under the square, plus East Lake and Avondale. Rail to downtown is a genuine daily option here, not a novelty.
Drive times are realistic off-peak to peak ranges, not promises. Test your own commute at your own hours before you buy; we say that to every client.
- 15-30 min
- to Midtown
- 25-45 min
- to Buckhead
- 30-50 min
- to the Perimeter
- 25-45 min
- to Hartsfield-Jackson
What schools serve Decatur?
Decatur is served by City Schools of Decatur inside the city limits and the DeKalb County School District for Decatur addresses outside the city. Verify any address's assigned schools with the district's official lookup.
Decatur High School
City Schools of Decatur- 9-12
- grades
- 1,853
- students
- 15.1:1
- student-teacher ratio
- 68.5% / 45.3%
- ELA / Math proficient or above (2024-25)
Druid Hills High School
DeKalb County- 9-12
- grades
- 1,358
- students
- 15.4:1
- student-teacher ratio
- 45.2% / 25.9%
- ELA / Math proficient or above (2024-25)
Towers High School
DeKalb County- 9-12
- grades
- 764
- students
- 15.6:1
- student-teacher ratio
- 12.7% / 12.4%
- ELA / Math proficient or above (2024-25)
Sources: enrollment, grades, and staffing from NCES Common Core of Data via the Urban Institute Education Data API (2022-23); assessment figures from Georgia Milestones, Governor's Office of Student Achievement downloadable data, 2024-25, share of tested students scoring Proficient or Distinguished on Georgia Milestones (ELA and Math; EOG for elementary and middle schools, American Literature and Algebra EOC for high schools). Attendance zones are set by the district, change over time, and must be verified address by address before you rely on them. We identify schools factually and present official statistics uniformly; we do not rate, rank, or characterize schools.
Everyday life
Decatur Square is the anchor: restaurants, the old courthouse lawn, festivals, and the MARTA station underneath it. That square carries a lot of the demand behind the 1,879 FMLS closings recorded across Decatur, DeKalb County in the year ending September 2026. Agnes Scott College sits a few blocks south, with Emory University and the CDC campus just northwest.
Your DeKalb Farmers Market, on East Ponce de Leon at the edge of the Decatur area, is a legitimate regional draw for groceries and produce.
If you like Decatur, also look at
Medians and days on market: trailing 12 months. Data last updated: September 2026. Source: FMLS closed sales, compiled by the Terence Richardson Group.
Questions people ask
Decatur questions, answered
Is Decatur a good place to live?
1,879 FMLS closings hit the Decatur address in the year ending September 2026, and the appeal is concrete: a walkable square, three MARTA Blue Line stations, Agnes Scott College, and Emory nearby. The tradeoffs: the mailing area is far larger than the small city and varies block by block, new construction is essentially absent, and no interstate reaches downtown, so driving means surface streets. It fits buyers who want in-town character over new-build convenience.
What is the median home price in Decatur?
$329,000 is the median home price for the Decatur address area of DeKalb County, GA for the 12 months ending September 2026, per FMLS closed sales compiled by the Terence Richardson Group. One caution: that figure blends the small City of Decatur with a much larger unincorporated area sharing the mailing address, and pricing differs widely between them. The middle half of all sales ran $230,000 to $500,000.
How far is Decatur from downtown Atlanta?
About 6 miles east. Driving from Decatur to downtown Atlanta takes roughly 15 to 30 minutes depending on traffic. The Decatur MARTA station on the Blue Line reaches Five Points directly by rail.
What are homes like in Decatur?
35% of recent Decatur-address sales were built before 1960, per FMLS closings for the year ending September 2026: bungalows, brick cottages, and postwar ranches. The middle half ran 1,268 to 2,142 square feet, so footprints are modest, and renovation level drives big price swings. New construction is essentially absent from the mix.
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