Roswell and its three nearest cities side by side: city tax rates, 2025 high school scores, August 2026 Zillow home values and Census commute times.
Last checked Oct. 5, 2026. Sources are linked in each table: the four cities, the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner, Fulton County and Fulton County Schools, the state’s 2025 School Grades data, Zillow Research and the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey.
Roswell’s three nearest cities are Alpharetta, about five miles north; Dunwoody, about seven miles southeast; and Sandy Springs, about eight miles south. Roswell, Alpharetta and Sandy Springs are in Fulton County and share its county and school tax rates; Dunwoody is across the line in DeKalb County. What differs is the city tax rate, the city services and the homes. This page sets out the official figures; it does not rank the cities.
What this means for you
- The city line decides your city tax and services, not the mailing address. Check the parcel’s tax district before you count on a city’s police, fire and trash service.
- The school district follows the county. Fulton addresses go to Fulton County Schools, DeKalb addresses to the DeKalb County School District, and zones inside each cross city lines.
- Fulton’s 2026 county and school rates were not final when we checked. The county has proposed to keep its rate, and Fulton County Schools has proposed an increase.
Part of our Roswell neighborhoods guide.
Property tax rates
A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value, and in Georgia assessed value is 40% of fair market value. These are each city’s latest adopted rates.
| City | City rate (mills) | Tax year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roswell | 5.232 (4.049 operations, 1.183 bond debt) | 2026 | City of Roswell, adopted Sept. 28, 2026 |
| Alpharetta | 5.750 | 2026 | City property tax page |
| Dunwoody | 3.040 | 2026 | DeKalb County Tax Commissioner (PDF) |
| Sandy Springs | 4.731 | 2025 | City of Sandy Springs |
Roswell’s 2026 rate is up from 4.949 mills in 2025. The operations part is unchanged; the bond part rose from 0.900 to 1.183 mills after the city issued a second round of the bonds voters approved in 2022, the city said. It had advertised a proposed rate of 7.732 mills before the vote, according to its property tax page. Sandy Springs’ charter caps its rate at 4.731 mills unless voters approve more, the city says.
Roswell, Alpharetta and Sandy Springs all pay Fulton County’s rate, 8.87 mills for 2025, which the county has proposed to keep for 2026, according to Fulton County, and Fulton County Schools’ rate, 17.08 mills for 2025, according to its Board of Education. The school board tentatively approved 18.08 mills for 2026, according to its board bulletin. The city said its taxes are about 16.3% of a Roswell resident’s total property tax bill.
Dunwoody pays DeKalb County’s levy of 14.379 mills and the DeKalb County School District’s 22.780 mills for 2026, a total of 40.199 mills with the city rate, according to the tax commissioner’s 2026 millage sheet (PDF).
City tax rates in one chart
Homestead exemptions
| City | City exemptions the city or tax commissioner lists |
|---|---|
| Roswell | Floating homestead, granted automatically with the county exemption, which limits yearly growth in taxable value to inflation or 3%, whichever is less; $2,000 at 65; $20,000 at 65 with combined income under $40,000; the federal 100% disabled veteran exemption. City page |
| Alpharetta | Floating homestead; $45,000 basic; $25,000 at 65; full exemption from the city levy at 70 with an income limit. City page |
| Dunwoody | Basic: $10,000 off assessed value plus a 1-mill reduction; senior, 65 with Georgia net income of $15,000 or less: $14,000 plus a 1-mill reduction. Tax commissioner |
Roswell accepts applications from Jan. 1 to June 1. Sandy Springs homeowners file their exemptions with the Fulton County Board of Assessors.
High schools in each city
Public high schools inside each city, with their 2025 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) scores from the state’s School Grades report. The state average was 76.9 for high schools. Fulton County Schools scored 88.6 overall and the DeKalb County School District 72.7.
| City | High school | District | 2025 CCRPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roswell | Roswell High (report card) | Fulton | 85.3 |
| Roswell | Centennial High (report card) | Fulton | 88.5 |
| Alpharetta | Alpharetta High (report card) | Fulton | 93.0 |
| Alpharetta | Innovation Academy, by application (report card) | Fulton | 99.7 |
| Dunwoody | Dunwoody High (report card) | DeKalb | 76.7 |
| Sandy Springs | North Springs High (report card) | Fulton | 77.3 |
| Sandy Springs | Riverwood International Charter (report card) | Fulton | 83.5 |
A school inside a city is not always the one its homes are zoned for. Of Roswell’s address points in the Fulton County Schools map data, 49% are zoned for Roswell High, 38% for Centennial High and 14% for Milton High (92.8), which is in the city of Milton. Our neighborhoods guide has the split for each part of Roswell.
Home values
The Zillow Home Value Index by city. It is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price.
| City | August 2026 | August 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roswell | $653,146 | $645,038 | +1.26% |
| Alpharetta | $716,629 | $718,009 | -0.19% |
| Dunwoody | $672,389 | $655,346 | +2.60% |
| Sandy Springs | $692,396 | $668,717 | +3.54% |
Home values in one chart
Census figures
From the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the same vintage for all four. Median home value is the owners’ own estimate of their home’s value.
| City | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Mean travel time to work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roswell | 92,621 | $128,654 | $567,100 | 26.9 minutes |
| Alpharetta | 66,855 | $147,612 | $649,000 | 26.3 minutes |
| Dunwoody | 51,758 | $121,903 | $602,900 | 24.9 minutes |
| Sandy Springs | 107,087 | $104,340 | $619,800 | 25.8 minutes |
The same figures, with more, are on each city’s Census QuickFacts page.
City services
| City | Police | Fire | Trash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roswell | Roswell Police Department | Roswell Fire Department | City garbage and sanitation service, Environmental and Public Works |
| Alpharetta | Alpharetta Department of Public Safety | Alpharetta Department of Public Safety | Republic Services under a city contract (city page) |
| Dunwoody | Dunwoody Police Department | DeKalb County Fire Rescue | DeKalb County sanitation |
| Sandy Springs | Sandy Springs Police Department | Sandy Springs Fire Department | Private haulers each household hires from the city’s approved list |
How to check an address
- Which city is it in? Look up the parcel with the Fulton County Board of Assessors or, for Dunwoody, the DeKalb County Property Appraisal Department’s property search. The tax district on the record tells you which city levy applies.
- Which schools? Fulton County Schools’ Find Your School lookup or the DeKalb school locator.
- What are the taxes? The Fulton County Tax Commissioner’s bill search and the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s tax bill information show the current bill for a property by address or parcel ID.
The three cities are the nearest to Roswell with their own governments, measured from the center of each city in Census data. Milton, also about eight miles away, is next on that list.
Frequently asked questions
What is Roswell’s property tax rate for 2026?
Roswell City Council adopted a city rate of 5.232 mills for tax year 2026 on Sept. 28, 2026: 4.049 mills for operations and 1.183 mills for voter-approved bonds, according to the city. The 2025 rate was 4.949.
Which has the lowest city tax rate: Roswell, Alpharetta, Dunwoody or Sandy Springs?
Dunwoody’s 2026 city rate is 3.040 mills, Sandy Springs levies 4.731 (its charter cap), Roswell 5.232 and Alpharetta 5.750. Dunwoody is in DeKalb County, so its county and school rates differ from the other three.
What is the typical home value in Roswell compared with Alpharetta?
In August 2026 the Zillow Home Value Index was $716,629 in Alpharetta, $692,396 in Sandy Springs, $672,389 in Dunwoody and $653,146 in Roswell. It is a modeled typical value, not a sale price.
Are Roswell, Alpharetta, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs in the same school district?
Roswell, Alpharetta and Sandy Springs are in Fulton County and served by Fulton County Schools. Dunwoody is in DeKalb County and served by the DeKalb County School District.
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