About Forest Park, Georgia

Location:

The City of Forest Park is located in northern Clayton County nine miles south of the City of Atlanta. The city has an advantageous geographic location in the southern metropolitan region, having convenient access to Interstate 75 and Interstate 285 and five mile east of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The City of Forest Park also includes the Fort Gillem Military Reservation which encompasses 1,465 acres and is located in the northern section of the city.

History:

From one square mile known as Forest Station/ Astor when chartered in 1908 to today's nine point three square miles known as Forest Park the identity of this area has changed dramatically. Early settlers were primarily farming families with an influx of railroad employees as the town became an important railroad point.

Developed as a "wood and water stop" known as "Stump Town" which may have been derived from the stumps left as trees were cut to provide fuel for the passenger and freight trains going in and out of Atlanta. Forest Park has developed into one of the largest cities in Clayton County.

Gradually, as other modes of commercial transportation became dominant and the frequency of trains through the area diminished, the availability of local employment began to decline. Strange as it may seem, the railroad was as surely responsible for the survival of the area as it had been for the original growth and development. The railroad began to provide a local passenger train service in approximately 1901. The small passenger train, nicknamed "the dummy", provided transportation to and from Atlanta on a daily basis where jobs were more plentiful. This passenger service was discontinued in 1931 at which time the railroad provided a local bus service for a brief period.

More modern progress, primarily over the past four decades, has resulted in Forest Park's emergence as a viable center of commerce. The major portion of the city's growth and development took place in the late 1950's through the middle 1960's.

Today Forest Park has a population of approximately 21,447 and operates with a council-manager form of government providing a full complement of support services to it's citizens.

Demographics:

Fact Sheet

Population

Population by Age

Racial Composition

Hispanic Ethnic Composition

Educational Attainment

Number of Households

Average Household Size

Housing Cost

Average Household Income

Household Income Distribution

General Characteristics	Number	Percent	U.S.
Total population	21,447
Male	11,030	51.4	49.1%
Female	10,417	48.6	50.9%
Median age (years)	29.1	(X)	35.3
Under 5 years	1,759	8.2	6.8%
18 years and over	15,459	72.1	74.3%
65 years and over	1,845	8.6	12.4%

One race	20,922	97.6	97.6%
White	9,675	45.1	75.1%
Black or African American	8,018	37.4	12.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native	107	0.5	0.9%
Asian	1,282	6.0	3.6%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	4	0.0	0.1%
Some other race	1,836	8.6	5.5%
Two or more races	525	2.4	2.4%

Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	4,322	20.2	12.5%

Household population	20,378	95.0	97.2%
Group quarters population	1,069	5.0	2.8%

Average household size	2.98	(X)	2.59
Average family size	3.42	(X)	3.14

Total housing units	7,233
Occupied housing units	6,845	94.6	91.0%
Owner-occupied housing units	3,730	54.5	66.2%
Renter-occupied housing units	3,115	45.5	33.8%
Vacant housing units	388	5.4	9.0%

Social Characteristics	Number	Percent	U.S.
Population 25 years and over	12,495
High school graduate or higher	8,101	64.8	80.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	829	6.6	24.4%
Civilian veterans (civilian population 18 years and over)	1,705	11.3	12.7%
Disability status (population 5 years and over)	4,095	21.6	19.3%
Foreign born	4,555	21.4	11.1%
Male, Now married, except separated (population 15 years and over)	4,019	47.8	56.7%
Female, Now married, except separated (population 15 years and over)	3,500	45.0	52.1%
Speak a language other than English at home (population 5 years and over)	5,129	26.3	17.9%

Economic Characteristics	Number	Percent	U.S.
In labor force (population 16 years and over)	10,004	62.9	63.9%
Mean travel time to work in minutes (workers 16 years and over)	26.8	(X)	25.5
Median household income in 1999 (dollars)	33,556	(X)	41,994
Median family income in 1999 (dollars)	36,029	(X)	50,046
Per capita income in 1999 (dollars)	14,932	(X)	21,587
Families below poverty level	585	12.0	9.2%
Individuals below poverty level	3,094	15.4	12.4%

Housing Characteristics	Number	Percent	U.S.
Single-family owner-occupied homes	3,604
Median value (dollars)	69,600	(X)	119,600
Median of selected monthly owner costs	(X)	(X)
With a mortgage (dollars)	717	(X)	1,088
Not mortgaged (dollars)	215	(X)	295

(X) Not applicable.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Summary File 1 (SF 1) and Summary File 3 (SF 3)

Forest Park city: Population
Category	1980	1990	2000
Total Population	18,782	16,925	21,447
Male Population	NA	8,266	11,030
Female Population	NA	8,659	10,417