Mapping Drive Times to Georgia Private Schools 

As more and more states consider enacting broad and even universally available educational choice programs to ensure students have access to the learning environment that meets their needs, questions about whether students would actually be able to access an alternative school are, understandably, on the rise.

Georgia, where lawmakers continue to debate enacting an education savings account program that would be available to students attending underperforming public schools, is no exception. The state already has a tax-credit scholarship program for 91% of students, and a voucher program for students with special needs, but some lawmakers want to do more by enacting a more flexible ESA program, perhaps one that would be available to all students.

If Peach State policymakers do expand choice, will students be able to find options outside their zip-code assigned public schools? According to new research exploring where Georgia’s private schools are located, 79% of students in the state live within 10 minutes of a private school, and more than 95% live within a 20-minute drive. The Georgia Private School Drive-Time Map explores which students live closest to private schools using location data from the Georgia Department of Education and the state’s approved Student Scholarship Organizations

But where exactly are Georgia private schools located? Which communities have private schools, and which don’t? How quickly can families in the Peach State transport their children to private school options?

*Map is best viewed on a computer.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the Georgia census tract data connected to the drive-time rings generated for the map:

Of Georgia school-aged children (ages 5 to 19):
• 79.0% live within a 10-minute drive of at least one private school.
• 95.6% live within a 20-minute drive of at least one private school.
• 99.2% live within a 30-minute drive of at least one private school.
• 0.8% of Georgia school-aged children (16,716 students) live more than 30 minutes from any private school in the state.

Household median income within each drive-time band:
• $86,465 for between 0 and 10 minutes from at least one private school.
• $69,442 for between 10 and 20 minutes from at least one private school.
• $60,896 for between 20 and 30 minutes from at least one private school.
• $56,415 for between 30 and 40 minutes from at least one private school.
• $56,789 for between 40 and 50 minutes from at least one private school.
• $54,133 for between 50 and 60 minutes from at least one private school.
• $56,001 for between 60 and 70 minutes from at least one private school.

Percentage of families with children under 18 who live in poverty within each drive-time band:
• 15.8% of families who live between 0 and 10 minutes from at least one private school.
• 18.8% of families who live between 10 and 20 minutes from at least one private school.
• 22.9% of families who live between 20 and 30 minutes from at least one private school.
• 24.2% of families who live between 30 and 40 minutes from at least one private school.
• 27.8% of families who live between 40 and 50 minutes from at least one private school.
• 33.0% of families who live between 50 and 60 minutes from at least one private school.
• 35.2% of families who live between 60 and 70 minutes from at least one private school.

Explore all the data included in The Georgia Private School Drive-Time Map. Note, the map is best viewed on a computer.

If you are interested in a deeper exploration of the data, please reach out to Nathan Sanders at nathan@edchoice.org.