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County profile Georgia Metropolitan HRSA MUA/P

Black health in DeKalb County, Georgia

395,849

Black residents (ACS)

51.57%

Of county population

$62,800

Median household income, Black

14.50%

Uninsured, Black residents

DeKalb County is majority-Black (54%, ~396,000 Black residents) and one of the country's largest Caribbean- and African-immigrant gateway counties east of the Mississippi. Clarkston, the county's refugee resettlement hub, is home to more than 40 nationalities and its community health needs, hypertension control among West African immigrants, chronic hepatitis screening among Southeast Asian residents, sit alongside the county's longstanding African-American health equity priorities.

Emory Decatur Hospital and the DeKalb County Board of Health anchor the county's Black maternal health infrastructure. The county's HIV incidence among Black men who have sex with men is the highest in Georgia; the DeKalb County Board of Health's PrEP Access program is the largest publicly-funded PrEP clinic in the state.

Headline outcomes

Race-stratified county-level figures pulled from CDC WONDER small-area estimates, the annual County Health Rankings, and the CDC NVSS state/county life tables. County values with cell counts below CDC suppression thresholds are marked as data pending.

Life expectancy (Black)

76.10 yrs

At birth, CDC NVSS Small-Area LE

Infant mortality (Black)

10.90

Per 1,000 live births, CDC WONDER

CVD mortality (Black)

358.20

Age-adjusted per 100k, CDC WONDER I00-I99

County Health Rankings

#34

Overall rank in Georgia (lower = better)

HRSA Medically Underserved Area / Population HPSA: Primary Care

Policy context in DeKalb

Georgia has not adopted Medicaid expansion. Low-income Black adults in this county without dependent children and without employer coverage typically fall into the coverage gap — uninsured by default. Medicaid does not cover doula services in this state. Postpartum Medicaid coverage extends for 12 months after delivery — the federal recommended standard, in place here.

Where to get help in DeKalb

Find Black health providers & resources in DeKalb

Black clinicians in DeKalb

Directory filtered to this county & state

Federally Qualified Health Centers

Sliding-scale FQHCs across Georgia

Crisis & support resources

988, postpartum helplines, Black-serving crisis lines

Georgia state profile

Statewide context, Medicaid policy, all 10 health facets

References & primary sources

  1. Demographics: US Census ACS 5-year 2019–2023, Tables B03002 (race), B01003 (total population), S1903 (median income), B27010B (uninsured by race).
  2. Mortality and life expectancy: CDC WONDER county-level Multiple Cause of Death and Underlying Cause of Death, pooled 2020–2022; CDC NVSS Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates, 2016–2020 release.
  3. County Health Rankings: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2024 release.
  4. HRSA shortage-area designations: HRSA HPSA Find and MUA/P Find, current as of 2025.
  5. Rural-Urban Continuum Codes: USDA Economic Research Service, 2023 release.

Data refreshed:

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