Inside the 56.
Georgia’s 56th state senate district includes East Cobb, Roswell, & Woodstock as well as many other communities in their orbits—ranging from Holly Springs in the north to the riverside neighborhoods along the Chattahoochee, and to the charming enclave of Mountain Park in between.
It’s perfectly reasonable that most folks don’t know which state house or senate district they live in—in fact, many of our incumbent legislators are counting on it! That’s because many of our North Atlanta suburban districts were recently gerrymandered to protect underperforming incumbents and our new district maps only went into effect starting with Georgia's state legislative elections in 2022.
Redistricting, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Every ten years, upon the release of new US Census data, our legislature redraws the state house and senate maps along with our congressional house map to ensure each district has (roughly) the same number of voters. But in the absence of an independent commission, this process is inherently political and whichever party is in control redraws the maps to their benefit. That’s gerrymandering.
And—man!—are our state senate maps gerrymandered.
Fair Districts GA and the Princeton Gerrymandering Project give our updated state senate district map a grade of F based on PGP’s computer analysis of possible maps and their assessed favorability to either party. And while Georgia gained a million new residents over the past decade—mostly people of color who settled in the metro ATL—our new senate map fails to reflect those demographic shifts. In fact, over 99.5 percent of the million computer-generated maps PGP studied were more fair and representative than what we got.
But whatever the process, let’s take a look at the new 56: who we are, what we have in common, and what we need to make the best possible future for ourselves and our kiddos in Georgia.
Map by JD Jordan.
Defining a district.
Legislative districts—both state and federal—don’t necessarily align with the commonly-known boundaries of counties, cities, or even school districts and voting precincts. Sometimes this misalignment is simply an artifact of the process that balances the state population. Other times, the complex nature of such a map can be weaponized to sow confusion and insulate underperforming legislators.
Consider our senate district 56: It spans three counties (Cherokee, Cobb, and Fulton), four municipalities (Holly Springs, Mountain Park, Roswell, and Woodstock), and countless unincorporated communities (none larger than East Cobb). And with the exception of Mountain Park, none of these areas are completely in the 56, making it hard for even the most map-savvy resident to orient themselves.
We know the boundaries of the 56 aren’t arbitrary. Our incumbent, senator Albers, nearly lost his 2020 election to Sarah Beeson, a current Roswell city councilwoman. In the aftermath of that narrow escape, Albers sat out many controversial votes until his senate Republican colleagues reinforced his seat by shifting our district away from Democrat-leaning Sandy Springs and Dunwoody toward Cherokee, long a Republican bastion. They even managed to carve Beeson’s Roswell neighborhood out of the district, removing her lingering threat.
So, how can a voter know what district they’re in? Well, in our case, there’s a good chance you’re in the 56 if you live:
In East Cobb, north or east of Pope or Walton high schools
In central Holly Springs, east of 575
In Mountain Park, anywhere ☺️
In Roswell, west of Atlanta St/Alpharetta Hwy
In Woodstock, east of 575
Anywhere near State Route 92 between of 575 and Alpharetta Hwy
Shouldn’t it be easier to know what district you live in? And who your representative is? Shouldn’t there be a rubric—or even an independent commission—to make sure our representative districts make sense so we can vote more wisely about who’s representing us in Atlanta and Washington?
I think so.
For now, however, we’ll have to use a representative finder to confirm what district we reside in and who represents each of us.
Map by JD Jordan.
By the numbers.
Now that we’ve looked at how state senate district 56 was defined, let’s dive into US Census data to see what the statistics say about our demographics.
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Population.
Of 10.8 million Georgians, the 56 is home to 185,778 (approximately 1.7% or 1/56 of the total).
Only one city is completely inside the district—the tiny Mountain Park enclave—while the other three cities overlap with surrounding senate districts. But, by comparing district and municipal statistics, we can also begin to infer the make up of the unincorporated swaths of Cherokee and Cobb county.
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Race & ethnicity.
The 56 is predominantly White—not a surprise given the general make up of the North Atlanta suburbs. But this percentile is quite different than the state (50% White and 31% Black) and nearby Atlanta (39% White and 48% Black).
Interestingly, as we move farther from the center of the 11-county metro area, our cites are both smaller and less diverse. There is also a shift from the Hispanic population to the Black population as the most populous minority. Additional data from neighboring Marietta and Sandy Springs, to the west and south, reinforce this trend.
Sex & gender.
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
The female majority is slightly lower in the 56 than in the rest of the state (Statewide, the female population is 52.36%). Though this difference works out to only about 1,000 fewer women in the district.
Of course, there is an absence of LGBTQ+ gender identities in the census’ binary taxonomy. According to the Williams Institute, Georgia has the 4th largest percentage of transgender residents in the US (about 0.7%). Additionally, 13-17 year olds are more likely to identify as trans than older segments. So, it’s reasonable to estimate our district’s trans population could be as high as 2.0% (approximately 3,700 individuals).
Age.
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Demographically, the 56 is a little older than the rest of the state. While Georgia has a media age of 36.1, our district average is 42.1.
In generational parlance, the “xennial generation”—people born between Gen X and Millennials—are most numerous while Baby Boomers are in stark decline.
The cost of living.
We’re beginning to get a picture of the median 56er: A 42-year-old white suburban woman. But how much does she make? And how much does she spend on her biggest expenses: Housing and healthcare?
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Household income.
Median household incomes in the 56 outpace those of the Atlanta region ($77,344), each component county average ($90,681 in Cherokee, $86,013 in Cobb, and $77,635 in Fulton), and the state at large ($65,030).
This fact is great news—for most of us.
Approximately 5.7% of us earn below the poverty line ($23,836 for a family of four). And even above that mark, our awesome district remains unaffordable for a significant number—including our kids who will enter the labor force as adults all too soon.
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Housing costs.
We also lead the state in average home costs ($1,110 median rent and $1,124 median mortgage)
So, that’s where our income goes…
Four times as many of us are mortgage-paying homeowners as opposed to renters. And while housing costs can be a positive indicator for growing property values, they also represent a challenge to new home buyers and renters, segments which trend younger and lower on the income pyramid than established homeowners.
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Health insurance.
93.4% of us are insured, either through private or public coverage (10.9% have both, lucky devils 😁).
Concealed within this health insurance data are some alarming numbers: While 92.3% of the employed and 87.3% of those not in the labor force enjoy health coverage, only 68.0% of those unemployed are insured.
All told, over 12,200 of our neighbors lack private or public health coverage, exposing them to countless health risks and raising all of our healthcare costs.
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Poverty.
As wealthy, invested, and insured as we may be in the 56, those fortunes aren’t evenly shared.
14% of us (5.0% of children, 4.4% of working-age adults, and 4.6% of seniors) live below the poverty line. And it’s not unreasonable to scan the bottom end of all our metrics—household income, housing costs, and health insurance—to glean a picture of what life looks like for our 26,000 neighbors struggling the most to make ends meet.
How we work.
Having examined whom we are and some of our expenses, let’s look at the job market in the 56.
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Employment.
The majority of us over 16 are employed. And our district’s unemployment rate improves on both the state (3.4%) and national average (3.8%)—historical lows all around!
A note about the 32.9% of us not in the labor force: These aren’t slackers. Any person who wasn’t employed or who looked for work last week—or who didn’t actively look for work in the last four weeks—falls into this segment. So, it’s anyone from stay-at-home parents to retirees, jobseekers to wealthy do-nothings.
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Education.
We’re also quite well-educated. Of people over 25, 60% of us have college degrees or higher—a statistic that maps with the incomes previously examined.
Noteworthy, though, are the 3.5% of us (approximately 6,500 people) who haven’t completed high school or equivalent. Employment opportunities can be hard to come by at any level of academic attainment—much more so for these neighbors.
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Occupation.
Of our civilian employed population over 16 (93,895 people), a majority work in management, business, science, or the arts—the professional and creative class. Again, this aligns with our education and income statistics.
But this isn’t all good news…
Chart by JD Jordan. Source: US Census Bureau.
Jobs in-district.
Despite some 55,790 jobs in-district, our well-educated and well-earning residents largely work elsewhere.
Only 16.9% of jobs in-district are worked by residents, meaning most of us commute.
Paired, too, with data about homeownership and rents, we can see a cost of our economic success: Most of us need to work elsewhere to afford to live in the 56. Meanwhile, the people we depend on for services, trades, and goods can’t afford to live here.
While this isn’t an exhaustive analysis, we can begin to round out our median 56er’s persona:
A 42-year-old white suburban woman who owns a home with a $2,020 mortgage (plus escrow). She earns $115,164 a year as a college-educated professional who commutes to a job outside the district that offers her private health insurance.
There is so much more data to dive into—what are you interested in exploring next?
JD JORDAN FOR GEORGIA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 56
For anyone in East Cobb, Roswell, or Woodstock alarmed by the state’s escalating attacks on our bodies, our families, our doctors’ offices, our classrooms and libraries, even our polling places, I’m running for state senate district 56 to fight for our freedoms and to deliver a better future for everyone in Georgia.
And unlike my opponent who’s spent 14 years rolling back our freedoms, failing to safeguard our kids, and gerrymandered his district to stay in office, I promise to bring everyone in the 56—regardless of ideology—the best possible constituent experience so you feel heard, valued, and supported. As we all deserve to be.
I’m running for the 56. Let’s make a better Georgia for all of us.
—
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
Jordan For Georgia, LLC
10800 Alpharetta Hwy Ste 208 #629
Roswell, GA 30076-1467
jdjordan@forthe56.com
706.804.0456
