What it's like to live in Marietta
Marietta is a smaller city in Georgia with unemployment below the national average, a highly educated workforce, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Marietta deals with home prices well above the national average, a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin, and above-average rainfall.
The good
- Low unemployment
- Highly educated workforce
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- High home prices
- High rent burden for renters
- Above-average rainfall
How Marietta compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Marietta
Based on Marietta's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,172
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $63,440 a year
- 57% of Marietta renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$89,700
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $44,850
- Homes cost 6.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 12% above US
$1,586/mo median rent
Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,586 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $448,500. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $448,500 · 57% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▼ 26% below US
3.2% unemployment
Unemployment here is 3.2%, a little below the national average of 4.3%.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▼ 12% below US
291 violent crimes per 100k
Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.
Property crime 1535/100k · Marietta Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
28 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 27.5 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 19% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 83°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 34°F. It's a wet climate overall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 4.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▲ 32% above US
47% bachelor's degree or higher
The population is well-educated, with 47% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.
Schools
13 public schools inside the boundary
There are 13 public schools inside the boundary and 7 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 12:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (3 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Marietta's strongest points are unemployment below the national average and a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are home prices well above the national average and a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin. A year of median rent ($1,586/mo) equals 26% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers, remote workers (19% of workers here already work from home), and college-educated professionals.
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