Summary:
Zip code 30062 in Marietta, Georgia is home to two elite public high schools—Walton High School and Pope High School—both serving grades 9-12 within the Cobb County School District, and both earning 5-star ratings while ranking among the top 20 schools in Georgia.
Walton High School is the academic powerhouse of the area, consistently ranking in the top 10 statewide (8th in 2025-2026) with a 98th percentile score for three straight years. It posts a 97.9% graduation rate, a remarkably low 8.6% chronic absenteeism rate, and leads in math with 81.8% of students proficient in Algebra I—a full 14.5 points ahead of Pope. Walton also dominates in Biology (86.3% proficient) and improved its Algebra I scores by 11.2 points year-over-year. Pope High School, while slightly behind in overall rankings (20th statewide), actually edges out Walton in two key areas: its graduation rate is higher at 98.2%, and it outperforms Walton in U.S. History (78.6% vs. 76.4% proficient). Pope also offers smaller class sizes with a 17.3:1 student-teacher ratio compared to Walton's 19.1:1, and spends about $1,086 more per student annually.
Both schools dramatically outperform district and state averages across every subject—often by 30-40 percentage points—and serve predominantly affluent communities with very low free/reduced lunch eligibility (7.62% at Walton, 10.09% at Pope). Chronic absenteeism is well below state norms at both schools, though Walton's 8.6% rate is notably better than Pope's 12.9%. One trend worth watching: Pope's statewide ranking has slipped from 11th to 20th over three years, while Walton has remained stable in the top 10. For families in this zip code, the choice between these two exceptional schools comes down to priorities—Walton for its elite math and science performance, or Pope for its slightly higher graduation rate, smaller classes, and stronger history scores.
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