Location
The city of Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, is located in Fulton County in the northwest part of Georgia. Atlanta serves as the Fulton County Seat as well as the capital of the state of Georgia. Adjacent counties include Cherokee County to the north, Forsyth County to the northeast, DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties to the east, Fayette and Clayton Counties to the south, Coweta County to the southwest, and Cobb, Douglas and Carroll Counties to the west.
The small city encompasses 21.4 square miles, with 0.05% of that mass being water.
Alpharetta is only a half-hour’s drive to Atlanta or just over 26 miles southwest. Montgomery, Alabama is a 3 hour drive, or 188 miles southwest. Charlotte, North Carolina is a 3 hour and 50 minute drive, or 233 miles northwest. Nashville, Tennessee is a 4 hour drive, or 257 miles northeast.
Jobs
Alpharetta is home to such major corporations as IBM, Verizon, Sun Microsystems and UPS Supply Chain Solutions and to the DeVry Institute of Technology, Keller Graduate School of Management, and a campus of Georgia State University.
Alpharetta is also the main business address for Tri-S Security Corp, Optio Software, First Horizon Pharmaceutical Corp, Inhibitex, Radiant Systems, Schweitzer Mauduit and more.
Housing
Alpharetta offers beautiful single-family homes, condominiums, and town houses to fit almost any budget. As of February 2007, the average sales price for a one bedroom home is $139,900, for a two bedroom house is $227,664, for a three bedroom house is $294,498, and for a four bedroom house is $469,586.
Alpharetta is currently one of the strongest markets for sellers in North Atlanta.
Parks and Recreation
There are wonderful park and recreation facilities in Alpharetta. Wills Park Equestrian Center is located on 50 acres of fields and woods and hosts a variety of events throughout the year--mainly local horse shows and dog agility trials. Bull Riding, Rodeo, Symphony, and Arena Polo are some of the special events held during the year. In addition, you can purchase a Riding Pass, which gives you the chance to ride on the facility grounds.
The Alpharetta Community Center’s facilities include two gymnasiums, a gymnastics center, a dance room, and an outdoor track. If you have a beloved canine friend, Waggy World Paw Park provides a fenced in, off-leash dog park where dogs can exercise and play safely in a clean environment. North Park offers lighted tennis courts, a football field, 8 lighted softball fields, 2 picnic pavilions, 2 playgrounds, a senior center, an Arts Building, and a walking trail. Wills Park is a 110 acre park with 8 baseball fields, 2 tee ball fields, 4 picnic pavilions, a Wacky World Playground, a disc golf course, tennis courts, and a walking trail. Union Hill Park offers 2 outdoor roller hockey rinks and Alpharetta PAL (Police Athletic League) Boxing Arena has an Olympic size boxing ring.
The Big Creek Greenway is a 12-foot-wide concrete path through the woods along Big Creek for 6.1 miles. It’s ideal for biking, walking, and jogging.
Alpharetta has 11 golf courses, including the Rivermont Golf and Country Club, the Trophy Club of Atlanta, the Alpharetta Country Club, and the Atlanta National Golf Club.
Shopping
Alpharetta is a fabulous place to shop and is home to great department stores, such as Dillard’s, the Gap, JC Penny, Macy’s, Target, and more. North Point Mall is the area's newest mall, with over 1.3 million square feet inside.
Historic Downtown Alpharetta Square features antiques, gifts, flowers, dining, and more.
Weather
Alpharetta gets 49.2 inches of rain per year and 1.9 inches of snow. The average US city gets 24.4 inches of snow per year. It rains about 115 days per year and there are approximately 218 sunny days per year.
The high temperature is 90 degrees and the low is 33. The US average on the comfort index is 44.
Schools in Alpharetta
Alpharetta’s school system is top notch, and it wins awards again and again for the high quality of its education. Students of all levels consistently rate very high in test scores. Recently, the Fulton County public school system was called “one of the top 100 school districts in places you can afford” by Money Magazine.
Elementary Schools
Alpharetta Elementary School
Barnwell Elementary School
Crabapple Crossing Elementary School
Cogburn Woods Elementary School
Creek View Elementary School
Dolvin Elementary School
Lake Windward Elementary School
Manning Oaks Elementary School
Medlock Bridge Elementary School
New Prospect Elementary School
Ocee Elementary School
State Bridge Crossing Elementary School
Summit Hill Elementary School
Findley Oaks Elementary School
Middle Schools
Autrey Mill Middle School
Fulton Science Academy
Haynes Bridge Middle School
Hopewell Middle School
Northwestern Middle School
River Trail Middle School
Taylor Road Middle School
Webb Bridge Middle School
High Schools
Alpharetta High School
Milton High School.
Interesting Facts
Alpharetta originated as a campground called New Prospect Camp Ground in the early 1800s. Some say the name comes from Alfarata, a fictitious Indian girl in the nineteenth song, “The Blue Juniata”. Others say the name comes from the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In Greek, “alpha” means first and “retta” means city.
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