City · Clayton County, Georgia

Lovejoy, Georgia

Lovejoy is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area. It has 11,508 residents. Lovejoy, Georgia has a quality-of-life score of 12 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,847 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Georgia it ranks #226 of 386 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an airport (low), new business applications (high) and depression (low). It ranks worst on loneliness (high), hospital quality rating (low) and primary care shortage (high).

12Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,847 of 15,651 cities and towns
Georgia: #226 of 386 in GA
Population: 11,508 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 3,958.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1347616

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety5#14,850/15,637
Economy57#6,688/15,631
Housing33#9,977/14,977
Health32#10,553/15,609
Healthcare6#14,720/15,650
Environment43#8,757/15,453
Education16#13,136/15,649
Infrastructure47#8,279/15,650
Community1#15,530/15,651
Leisure & amenities13#13,663/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lovejoy, Georgia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Clayton County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Distance to an airport · low8 mi
98/100Georgia 42 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauClayton County value
New business applications · high28.5 /1k
97/100Georgia 22.5 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauClayton County value
Depression · low16.8%
94/100Georgia 19.3%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Georgia 9.6United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationClayton County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.345
88/100Georgia 0.477United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Suicide rate · low9.1 /100k
88/100Georgia 14.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataClayton County value

Weaknesses

Loneliness · high42.2%
1/100Georgia 37.9%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100Georgia 3.0United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesClayton County value
Primary care shortage · high20.0
1/100Georgia 8.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationClayton County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high265 min
1/100Georgia 168 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesClayton County value
Reading scores · low2.53
2/100Georgia 2.97United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClayton County value
Social associations · low4.0 /10k
3/100Georgia 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClayton County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
6,179 (2015-2019) → 11,508 (2020-2024)
+86%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
34.1% (2015-2019) → 10.3% (2020-2024)
−24 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
25.0% (2015-2019) → 9.2% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
28.9 /1k (2021) → 8.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−72%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$45,488 (2015-2019) → $71,612 (2020-2024)
+57%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.4× (2015-2019) → 3.7× (2020-2024)
+57%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Lovejoy, Georgia improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Poverty−16 points25.0% → 9.2%
Child poverty−24 points34.1% → 10.3%
Household income+57%$45,488 → $71,612

Declined1

Price / income+1.3×2.4× → 3.7×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Lovejoy, Georgia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	38.0 min2015-2019	34.4 min2020-2024	−3.7 min	Within the margin of error	83%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.9%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Broadband subscriptions	89.0%2015-2019	94.4%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Child poverty rate	34.1%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	−24 points	Improved	96%
Effective property tax rate	0.96%2015-2019	0.96%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	15%
High school diploma or higher	86.9%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+1.3×	Declined	12%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4972015-2019	0.3452020-2024	−0.152	Within the margin of error	99%
Median household income	$45,4882015-2019	$71,6122020-2024	+57%	Improved	89%
Poverty rate	25.0%2015-2019	9.2%2020-2024	−16 points	Improved	98%
Rent as share of income	31.6%2015-2019	31.1%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Rent-burdened households	54.8%2015-2019	53.5%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.0%2015-2019	12.3%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	31%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Lovejoy, Georgia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lovejoy, Georgia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Lovejoy, Georgia itself moved +10 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

11,508 residents (±25)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

3,836 households (±352)

Lovejoy, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $25k12%†450
$25k–50k15%†557
$50k–75k27%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

3,836 households (±352)

Lovejoy, Georgia
Georgia share

Own51%1,954
Rent49%1,882

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

5,010 workers (±525)

Lovejoy, Georgia
Georgia share

Drive alone81%4,040
Carpool4.1%†203
Public transit0.2%†12

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Clayton County, the county holding most of Lovejoy's residents.

Clayton County has 4,115 employer establishments, 138 for every 10,000 residents (0.56× the US rate of 248; 0.58× Georgia's), with 80,953 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,811. The Census Bureau also counts 40,555 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,115; 40,555 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 138; US 248 · Georgia 236
Paid employees: 80,953
Average annual pay: $48,811; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Clayton County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	382	12.8	0.70×Fewer than typical	6,419	$18,889	303
Ambulatory health care services	325	10.9	0.52×Fewer than typical	3,482	$69,045	1,594
Limited-service restaurants	245	8.2	1.02×About typical	3,653	$17,467	105
Truck transportation	225	7.5	1.49×More than typical	5,651	$63,518	1,652
Specialty trade contractors	198	6.6	0.43×Fewer than typical	2,092	$69,596	2,281
Lessors of real estate	126	4.2	0.34×Fewer than typical	412	$48,578	1,191
Automotive repair and maintenance	124	4.2	0.83×About typical	682	$42,003	838
Gasoline stations	123	4.1	1.27×More than typical	677	$32,445	11
Grocery and convenience stores	118	4	1.33×More than typical	1,944	$30,191	92
Full-service restaurants	116	3.9	0.51×Fewer than typical	2,471	$21,190	113
Offices of physicians	95	3.2	0.49×Fewer than typical	887	$89,168	80
Religious organizations	89	3	0.54×Fewer than typical	489	$28,427	—

Rank places for an industry Open Clayton County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 298,384 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $2.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Lovejoy, Georgia: $255 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2.9M; +51% vs FY2025
Per resident: $255; US $1,994
Sole-source: 27%; US 30%
Single offer: 67%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$2.8M94%
Federal Aviation Administration$176.2K6.0%
Bureau of Land Management$1,3000.0%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

44.3KFY2017
435.6KFY2018
4.2MFY2019
1.7MFY2020
-794.5KFY2021
187.5KFY2022
313.7KFY2023
224.8KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Justice, public order, and safety activities · 9221$2.8M94%
Electrical equipment manufacturing · 3353$146.2K5.0%
Investigation and security services · 5616$27.4K0.9%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$3,9620.1%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Lovejoy, Georgia

THIS TASK ORDER FUNDS DETENTION SERVICES TO HOUSE AND SAFEGUARD ILLEGAL ALIENS IN SUPPORT OF ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL OPERATIONS (ERO) AT ROBERT A. DEYTON DETENTION FACILITY$2.4M
THE GEO GROUP, INC.· Clayton County, GA· Facilities & utilities· Jul 21, 2025 – Aug 28, 2026· 70CDCR25FC0000007
DETAINEE BED DAYS AT THE ROBERT A. DEYTON DETENTION FACILITY$950K
THE GEO GROUP, INC.· Clayton County, GA· Facilities & utilities· Jul 9, 2026 – Aug 26, 2026· 70CDCR26FC0000004
DETAINEE BED DAYS AT THE ROBERT A. DEYTON DETENTION FACILITY$489.7K
THE GEO GROUP, INC.· Clayton County, GA· Facilities & utilities· Jul 17, 2024 – Apr 23, 2026· 70CDCR24FC0000005

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Lovejoy, Georgia, so they do not add up across cities.

Lovejoy, Georgia's figures are part of those of Clayton County, GA ($29.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 10% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Lovejoy is mostly in Clayton County.

See federal money in Clayton County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Lovejoy, Georgia is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Clayton County9100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA57

Other cities and towns in Clayton County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1347616

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends