City of Decatur

Welcome to Decatur, an intown suburb of Atlanta. Founded in 1822 at the intersection of two Native American trails, Decatur has recently developed into a trendy and progressive city with a high level of community involvement.  It truly feels like a small town with all the benefits of the big city. Residents frequently refer to the unofficial motto of the town, "It's Greater in Decatur."

In 1822 Decatur was founded 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. The town was named for naval hero Stephen Decatur.

In the 1830s, the Western and Atlantic Railroad wanted to make Decatur the southern-most stop on its line. The citizens of Decatur did not want such a major terminal, so they rejected the proposal. In response, the railroad founded a new city to the west for the terminal - the town became the city of Atlanta.

Since the 1980s, Decatur gained a local and national reputation as a progressive city with a high level of citizen involvement. Decatur is the county seat of, DeKalb County. With a population of the city area is just over 24,928 according to the 2020 census. However, the city consists of multiple zip codes as unincorporated DeKalb County, all bearing the Decatur name and is home to more than 40,000 people in total.