Living in Snellville
Snellville sits in southern Gwinnett County where US-78 crosses GA-124, which is called Scenic Highway from here north to Lawrenceville. The name goes back to August 1879, when Thomas Snell and James Sawyer opened a store at the southwest corner of that crossing. The city was incorporated in 1923 with Gladstone Snell, Thomas's nephew, as its first mayor. The charter went dormant in the late 1920s and came back in 1947. Today Snellville has a mayor, five council members and a city manager.
Inside the city limits, Snellville runs its own police department, zoning and building permits under the Unified Development Ordinance it adopted in October 2020, city streets, city parks and the residential garbage contract, and it sends its own property tax bill. Gwinnett County runs water and sewer, fire and EMS and county parks, and Gwinnett County Public Schools runs the schools. The 30078 and 30039 ZIP codes reach well past the city, and some homes in eastern DeKalb and western Rockdale counties carry a Snellville address too.
The center of town is The Grove at Towne Center, a public and private project between Oak Road, North Road, Clower Street and Wisteria Drive. It holds the Elizabeth H. Williams Branch library, opened in September 2023, plus apartments, restaurants, a parking deck, a pavilion and a splash pad; the city held its grand opening on May 2, 2026. City Hall and the Towne Green sit next to it. Miriam Ofoegbu, a REALTOR with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, can check which side of the city line any Snellville address falls on.
Homes and property types in Snellville
Snellville's oldest neighborhoods sit close to the town center. The city's 2045 Comprehensive Plan describes the Skyland area, south of Britt Elementary and South Gwinnett High, as a mix of ranch homes built in the 1950s and 1960s and newer two-story subdivisions, mostly on large lots with mature trees. The Pinehurst area is older ranch houses on generous lots, and the north end of North Road is older ranch homes, with some houses near downtown already converted to offices.
Detached single-family homes are the great majority of the city's housing, a larger share than in Gwinnett County as a whole, according to the same plan. Other types are growing: apartments at The Grove, new townhomes and small-lot homes off US-78 east of downtown, and a townhome community underway on Scenic Highway south of the center. The zoning code has separate districts for large-lot, mid-size and small-lot homes, duplexes, townhomes and mixed residential.
New construction in Snellville is mostly infill on leftover tracts. The comprehensive plan describes the Brookwood District as older ranch and two-story homes on large lots with newer, more compact subdivisions scattered through it. The planning commission has heard rezoning cases for small subdivisions on Lenora Church Road and for new homes on parts of the former Summit Chase golf course. Ask the city's Planning and Development Department where any case stands.
Age and sewer drive the inspection questions here. The city's own plan says much of Snellville relies on septic systems, and it names Pinehurst and Skyland as areas where the lack of sewer limits development. Ask for septic records and a septic inspection on any house that is not on county sewer. Ranch homes from the 1950s through the 1970s can have original plumbing, wiring and ductwork. Lots along No Business Creek or in the Big Haynes Creek watershed need a check of the FEMA flood map and the city's stream buffer rules.
Snellville areas and communities
The city's 2045 Comprehensive Plan divides Snellville into named character areas, each with its own housing pattern, sewer situation and road access. Some reach past the city limits into unincorporated Gwinnett, where county zoning applies, and one subdivision name can cover homes on both sides of the line. Use these areas as a starting map, then confirm the city limits, school cluster and sewer status for the exact address.
- Towne Center
- The downtown around City Hall, the Towne Green, the library and The Grove, with apartments, shops and the Snellville Historical Cemetery. The city plans to focus its higher-density housing here.
- Brookwood District
- Single-family neighborhoods tied to Brookwood Elementary and Brookwood High, with older ranch and two-story homes on large lots and newer compact subdivisions. Oak Road Park is here.
- Pinehurst
- An older, established neighborhood of ranch houses on generous lots under mature trees, with few sidewalks. The city plan says the lack of sewer limits more intense uses.
- Skyland
- South of Britt Elementary and South Gwinnett High, with 1950s and 1960s ranch homes and newer two-story subdivisions on large lots. Snellville Middle School is at its southern end.
- No Business Creek
- South of the Towne Center off Lenora Church Road, almost entirely single-family ranch homes on large lots, with small lakes, ponds and many cul-de-sacs along the creek.
- Lenora Church Road
- A mix of single-family homes, apartments, Briscoe Park, civic buildings and light industry, plus the city-owned Baker's Rock preserve. Large undeveloped tracts remain in the southern part.
- Summit Chase
- Homes of varied styles and ages around Johnson Lake, including estate lots, near the former Summit Chase golf course, where the city has heard rezoning cases for new homes.
- Scenic Highway South and Centerville
- Low and medium density homes along GA-124 south of downtown. Only a small part is in the city; the rest runs toward unincorporated Centerville, under county zoning.
Schools and district lines
Snellville has no city school system. Gwinnett County Public Schools runs the schools and groups them into clusters named for the high school. Brookwood, South Gwinnett and Shiloh high schools all carry Snellville addresses, and homes in and around the city are split among their clusters; some addresses on the east side of the mailing area may fall in the Grayson cluster. GCPS calls its cluster maps approximate, so confirm any address with the district's school locator.
The school lines have a long local history. Snellville Consolidated High School ran from 1922 to 1957. That fall, South Gwinnett High opened, combining students from the Snellville and Grayson high schools. Brookwood High opened in 1981 and Shiloh High in 1984 as southern Gwinnett grew. On a listing or a purchase contract, write the assigned schools only after checking them for that exact address.
- South Gwinnett High School (grades 9 to 12)
- At 2288 East Main Street. Opened in fall 1957 and runs College and Career Academies and Army JROTC. Its cluster includes Snellville Middle and Grace Snell Middle.
- Snellville Middle School (grades 6 to 8)
- At 3155 Pate Road, in the South Gwinnett cluster. Britt Elementary and Norton Elementary feed into it, according to the cluster's own school pages.
- Britt Elementary School (grades K to 5)
- A South Gwinnett cluster school next to the Skyland neighborhoods. The cluster's other elementary schools are Magill, Norton and Rosebud.
- Brookwood High School (grades 9 to 12)
- At 1255 Dogwood Road. Opened in fall 1981 and named for the corner of Hollybrook Drive and Dogwood Road. Its cluster middle schools are Crews and Five Forks.
- Shiloh High School (grades 9 to 12)
- At 4210 Shiloh Road in the 30039 ZIP code. Opened in fall 1984 and offers an International Baccalaureate curriculum and college and career academies.
- Grayson High School (grades 9 to 12)
- At 50 Hope Hollow Road with a Loganville address. Its cluster sits east of Snellville and may serve some addresses at the eastern edge of the Snellville mailing area.
What it costs to own here beyond the price
A home inside Snellville gets two property tax bills. Gwinnett County bills the county and school taxes through the Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner. The City of Snellville has billed its own taxes since 2021 and mails the bill to the homeowner, so forward it to your lender if taxes are paid from escrow. The city bill also carries a stormwater fee, listed as a Special Assessment Fee, and since 2025 a residential sanitation fee. A home outside the city limits gets only the county bill.
Georgia's homestead exemption is filed once, with the Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner, by April 1 of the year you want it to apply, and you must own and live in the home by January 1 of that year. File online or at the main property tax office at 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville. The City of Snellville says any exemption that applies to city taxes posts to your city account automatically after the county approves it. You do not need to reapply each year unless your eligibility changes.
Water and sewer come from the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources. Homes on streets without sewer use septic systems under the oversight of Gwinnett County Environmental Health. For electricity, the city names Walton EMC, which has a Snellville office at 3645 Lenora Church Road; confirm the provider for the exact address. Natural gas is deregulated in Georgia: Atlanta Gas Light owns the pipes, and you choose a certified marketer who sends the bill.
Many Snellville subdivisions have recorded covenants, and some have a homeowners association with dues and rules on exterior changes, so ask for those documents early. If a lot backs onto No Business Creek, Big Haynes Creek or one of the small lakes in the city, check the FEMA flood map, because a mapped flood zone can mean required flood insurance on a federally backed loan.
Buying your first home in Snellville
Snellville's housing is mostly detached single-family homes, with townhomes now going up off US-78 and Scenic Highway and apartments downtown. That mix shapes a first purchase here: many starter options are older ranch houses, so budget time for a septic check and an inspection of original systems. The city's 2045 plan describes the Scenic Highway South area as having a large supply of starter homes, though most of that area lies outside the city limits.
Several assistance programs can apply to a home in Snellville. Each has income, price and credit rules that change, so get current terms from the agency and a participating lender. Gwinnett County's HomeStretch program covers only homes inside Gwinnett, so a house in DeKalb or Rockdale with a Snellville mailing address would not qualify. Miriam Ofoegbu runs free online homebuyer webinars that walk through these steps, and she can check which county an address is in.
- Georgia Dream (Georgia DCA)
- The state's main down payment assistance program for first-time buyers, through participating lenders. Buyers must complete homebuyer education and put some of their own money into the purchase.
- Georgia Dream PEN
- A Georgia DCA assistance category for public protectors, educators, health care workers and active military, with a higher assistance level than the standard program.
- Peach Plus (Georgia DCA)
- Waives the first-time buyer requirement, so repeat buyers can use it. Rates follow the market and down payment assistance is available through participating lenders.
- Peach Advantage (Georgia DCA)
- A conventional loan program open to first-time and repeat buyers, with higher income limits than the standard Georgia Dream program. Homebuyer education is required.
- HomeStretch (Gwinnett County)
- Down payment help for income-eligible first-time buyers on a home in Gwinnett County. An existing home must pass a property condition inspection, and buyers complete a HUD-approved counseling class.
Hospitals and healthcare near Snellville
Snellville has its own hospital. Piedmont Eastside Medical Center is the city's largest employer, according to the city's comprehensive plan, with a main campus off Ronald Reagan Parkway near Scenic Highway and a South Campus on the US-78 corridor west of downtown. Medical office parks have grown up around both. Miriam is a registered nurse with a background in healthcare leadership, and she can tell you how far any address is from these campuses.
- Piedmont Eastside Medical Center, main campus
- 1700 Medical Way, Snellville, about 2 miles north of downtown. 24-hour emergency department and maternity care with a neonatal intensive care unit.
- Piedmont Eastside South Campus Emergency Room
- 2160 Fountain Drive, Snellville, on the US-78 corridor west of downtown. The campus also holds a psychiatric center and an inpatient rehabilitation unit.
- Northside Hospital Gwinnett
- 1000 Medical Center Boulevard, Lawrenceville, about 10 miles north. A state-designated, ACS-verified Level II trauma center, the only one in Gwinnett County.
- Emory Hillandale Hospital
- 2801 DeKalb Medical Parkway, Lithonia (Stonecrest), about 12 miles south. Part of Emory Healthcare, with an emergency department listed among Emory's metro Atlanta ERs.
- Piedmont Walton Hospital
- 2151 West Spring Street, Monroe, about 19 miles east via US-78. The only hospital in Walton County with 24-hour emergency services.
Parks, trails and things to do
T.W. Briscoe Park on Lenora Church Road is the city's largest and most active park. Snellville Days began there on May 11, 1974, as a one-day festival to raise matching money to build the park, and it ran yearly through 2019. In 2022 the city canceled it indefinitely while it planned a new format tied to The Grove, so check the city's events page for current events.
Downtown, the Towne Green in front of City Hall hosts the Snellville Farmers Market on Saturday mornings from June through September and the Star Spangled Snellville celebration around July 4. Gwinnett County runs larger parks with Snellville addresses, and the Yellow River corridor lies to the west, toward Stone Mountain. Stone Mountain Park is reached by taking US-78 west to Exit 8, the park's main entrance at the East Gate.
- T.W. Briscoe Park
- City park with a 6-acre lake, a 1.2-mile paved walking trail, two softball fields, four multipurpose fields, three playgrounds, four pavilions, tennis and basketball courts and an outdoor pool.
- The Towne Green
- The downtown lawn beside City Hall at 2342 Oak Road. The Snellville Farmers Market runs here on Saturday mornings from June through September, and STAT programs concerts and festivals.
- The Grove at Towne Center
- The new downtown district next to the green, with a splash pad, a pavilion used for live music, restaurants and the Elizabeth H. Williams Library at 2245 Wisteria Drive.
- Lenora Park
- Gwinnett County park at 4515 Lenora Church Road with a recreation center, six ball fields, a fishing lake, a dog park, an 18-hole disc golf course and a 1.5-mile paved trail.
- Yellow River Park
- A 691-acre Gwinnett County park on Juhan Road in Stone Mountain, west of Snellville, with about 12 miles of unpaved trail for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.
- Baker's Rock
- A 30-acre, city-owned granite outcrop south of Springdale Road, a former quarry now kept as a natural preserve. Thomas Snell's 1880s rock store was built with stone from this quarry.
Getting around and getting to Atlanta
US-78 is Snellville's main road west. It runs as Main Street through the city and becomes the Stone Mountain Freeway toward I-285, where Exit 39B is the US-78 exit; downtown Atlanta is about 25 miles west. GA-124, Scenic Highway, runs north about 7 miles to Lawrenceville and south through Centerville toward I-20 at Lithonia. Gwinnett County and GDOT are planning to widen Scenic Highway north of US-78.
For I-85, most drivers use Ronald Reagan Parkway, a county expressway that runs about 7 miles northwest from Scenic Highway in Snellville to Pleasant Hill Road outside Lilburn, which connects north to I-85. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is more than 30 miles southwest by road. Gwinnett County Airport at Briscoe Field, a general aviation airport, is about 2 miles northeast of Lawrenceville.
Ride Gwinnett Route 70 runs from downtown Snellville, at Wisteria Drive and Main Street, along Highway 78 to the Indian Creek MARTA Station on the Blue Line, Monday through Saturday. Ride Gwinnett also runs an on-demand microtransit zone in Snellville, booked through its app. Check RideGwinnett.com for current schedules and the zone map.
Buying and selling in Snellville
Miriam Ofoegbu, MBA, RN, is a REALTOR® with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, working from the firm's Gwinnett office on Satellite Boulevard in Duluth. She is also a registered nurse with a background in healthcare leadership. These are the things to check in Snellville, and Miriam can go through each one with you, in English or Igbo.
Before you buy
- Confirm whether the address is inside Snellville city limits or in unincorporated Gwinnett, since that decides the property tax bills, who issues permits and which zoning code applies.
- Check the county on the tax record, because some homes with a Snellville mailing address are in DeKalb or Rockdale County, with different taxes and no access to Gwinnett's HomeStretch program.
- Ask whether the house is on Gwinnett County sewer or on septic, and for a septic system get the records and a septic inspection before the due diligence period ends.
- Look up the assigned elementary, middle and high schools with the GCPS school locator for the exact address, since Snellville is split among the Brookwood, South Gwinnett and Shiloh clusters.
- Check the FEMA flood map for any lot near No Business Creek, Big Haynes Creek or a neighborhood lake, and price flood insurance before you finalize an offer.
- Ask the City of Snellville Planning and Development Department about pending rezoning cases near the house, especially on large undeveloped tracts along US-78 east, Lenora Church Road and Summit Chase.
- Have the inspector look closely at original plumbing, wiring, roof and ductwork in ranch homes from the 1950s through the 1970s, which make up much of the older housing near downtown.
Before you sell
- Pull the permit history for additions, decks and finished basements from the city if you are inside the limits, or from Gwinnett County if you are outside, so buyers see the work was approved.
- Gather septic records, including the permit and the last pump-out, if the house is not on county sewer, since buyers in Snellville routinely ask for them.
- Put the assigned schools on the listing only after checking the GCPS locator for your address, because neighboring streets can sit in different clusters.
- Get any homeowners association approvals in writing for past exterior changes, and order the association's closing letter early so dues and transfer fees are clear.
- Have your city and county tax bills and your homestead exemption status ready, since the city bill is separate and buyers will want to see both.
- Disclose any flooding, drainage or standing water near a creek or lake on the seller's disclosure, and keep records of any repairs or drainage work.
