Map of Decatur city, Georgia

Decatur (/dəˈkeɪtər/) is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear Decatur as the address. The city is served by three MARTA rail stations (Decatur, East Lake, and Avondale). The city is located approximately five miles (eight kilometers) northeast of Downtown Atlanta and shares its western border with both the city of Atlanta (the Kirkwood and Lake Claire neighborhoods) and unincorporated DeKalb County. The Druid Hills neighborhood is to the northwest of Decatur. The unofficial motto of Decatur used by some residents is “Everything is Greater in Decatur.”

Decatur city overview:
Name:	Decatur city
LSAD Code:	25
LSAD Description:	city (suffix)
State:	Georgia
County:	DeKalb County
Incorporated:	December 10, 1823; 199 years ago (1823-12-10)
Elevation:	1,043 ft (318 m)
Total Area:	4.60 sq mi (11.92 km²)
Land Area:	4.60 sq mi (11.91 km²)
Water Area:	0.01 sq mi (0.01 km²)
Total Population:	24,928
Population Density:	5,422.67/sq mi (2,093.77/km²)
Area code:	404, 678 and 470
FIPS code:	1322052
GNISfeature ID:	0331532
Website:	decaturga.com

Online Interactive Map

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Decatur online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Decatur location map. Where is Decatur city?

Decatur location on the U.S. Map. Where is Decatur city. — Decatur location on the U.S. Map.

Decatur location on the Georgia map. Where is Decatur city. — Location of Decatur in Georgia.

History

Early history

Prior to European settlement, the Decatur area was largely forested (a remnant of old-growth forest near Decatur is preserved as Fernbank Forest). Decatur was established at the intersection of two Native American trails: the Sandtown, which led east from the Chattahoochee River at Utoy Creek, and the Shallowford, which follows today’s Clairmont Road, and eventually crossed near Roswell. A site for the DeKalb County courthouse was designated in 1822 in what would become downtown Decatur; the city of Decatur was incorporated on December 10, 1823. It was named for United States Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur.

American Civil War

During the American Civil War, Decatur became a strategic site in Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. In July 1864, Major-General James McPherson occupied the town to cut off the Confederates’ supply line from Augusta. On July 22, during the Battle of Atlanta, Confederate cavalry under Major-General Joseph Wheeler attacked McPherson’s supply wagons and the Union troops left to defend the wagons. A historical marker at the old courthouse marks the site of this skirmish.

20th century

In the second half of the twentieth century the metropolitan area of Atlanta expanded into unincorporated DeKalb County, eventually surrounding two sides of the town of Decatur. Concurrently many well-to-do and middle class white Americans fled the area to more distant suburbs. The 1960s and 1970s witnessed dramatic drops in property values. However, more recently the city has regained economic vigor, partially thanks to several long-term downtown development plans that have come to fruition, making Decatur a trendy small mixed-use district with easy transit to downtown Atlanta. Over the past twenty years, it has gained a local and national reputation as a progressive city with a high level of citizen involvement that retains a small-town feel despite its proximity to Atlanta.