Census snapshot: East Cobb population approaching 220K

It’s been a while since we dug seriously into some population numbers about East Cobb, noting back in 2017 (not long after the launch of East Cobb News) that the community had nearly eclipsed the 200,000 mark.

When the 2020 Census came out in 2021, that number indeed had grown to a little more than 200,000.

Following the release of some updated numbers this week by the Atlanta Regional Commission, we thought we’d revisit those figures, and they show the same levels of modest growth that’s been seen around the county.

The four East Cobb-area ZIP codes totaled 211,829 people, according to official data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which is expected to release a mid-decade update sometime in 2025.

Those figures do not include the Cobb County portion of 30075, which is estimated at around 8,500 people. The population of more than 56,000 lives mostly in the City of Roswell.

With that 30075 estimate, East Cobb’s population comes to around 220,000.

According to the ARC, Cobb County’s population is approaching 800,000, clocking in at 792,049. That’s the third-largest jurisdiction in metro Atlanta, behind Fulton County and Gwinnett County, with the later surpassing a population of one million for the first time.

The ARC estimates Cobb’s population will hit that same seven-figure threshold by 2050, although the county’s growth is slower than other areas, including Forsyth and Cherokee counties.

Here are the U.S. Census Bureau figures for the ZIP Codes in East Cobb—the links are for detailed profiles of each:

ZIP Code 30062: 66,689
ZIP Code 30066: 62,417
ZIP Code 30067: 47,653
ZIP Code 30068: 34,870
ZIP Code 30075: 56,161 (roughly 8,500 in East Cobb; the rest in the City of Roswell)

All of those numbers are up from our 2021 look, but the biggest jump is in 30066, which three years ago had a population of 55,937.

That’s in Northeast Cobb as well as the areas that include Town Center and Kennesaw State University.

You can look through specific ZIP Code data in the East Cobb area at this link; there is a wide range of data about demography, employment, education, housing, business and the economy, health and race and ethnicity.

A few tidbits to share about what’s in those profiles:

The average age across all East Cobb-area ZIP Codes is around 40 years old.

But East Cobb’s population also tends to be older than other parts of the county. Roughly 20 percent of those living in ZIP Code 30068 are 65 and older.

The median household income in those ZIP Codes averages out to be $111,000. The percentage of those with at least a bachelor’s degree averages out to be 59 percent, with 73 percent holding a college degree who live in ZIP Code 30068.

ZIP Codes 30062, 30066 and 30068 have roughly 17 percent of their populations speaking a language other than English at home. In ZIP Code 30067, that figure is nearly 30 percent.

The ARC updates its figures in April based on the previous year and releases them in July. The metro population now stands at more than 5,2 million people.

A couple interesting findings: In 2023, the metro employment base has grown 6.4 percent since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in 2020, seventh highest in the nation.

But building permits in the 11-county region fell by 21 percent last year, with only 28,595 new residential units built.

“Current building permit activity remains lower than pre-Great Recession permit levels and fell below the 1980-2023 average annual level of 33,430,” the ARC concluded.

For more about the latest Atlanta Regional Commission snapshot figures, click here.