South Buford Highway and Davenport Road, Duluth: homes, schools

Last checked Oct. 6, 2026. Sources: the City of Duluth’s Plan 2040 comprehensive plan (PDF), Character Area Map (PDF) and GIS layers, Gwinnett County Public Schools zone map data, the state’s 2025 School Grades data, Zillow Research, Gwinnett County and OpenStreetMap.

South of the core neighborhoods, Buford Highway runs toward Pleasant Hill Road past auto-service shops, and behind it, off Davenport Road, sit some of Duluth’s single-family subdivisions and townhome communities. The city’s plan maps the highway strip as the Buford Highway South Corridor and the subdivisions as Established Neighborhoods. Every home here goes to the same three schools, and it is the area in our guide with the shortest drive to I-85.

What this means for you

• Zoned high school: Duluth High, with Harris Elementary and Duluth Middle, for every home address. Check yours with the GCPS school locator.
• Home value: $408,260 in ZIP 30096 in August 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
• Nearest interstate exit: I-85 exit 104, Pleasant Hill Road, about 3.4 miles by road.

Part of our Duluth neighborhoods guide.

Where it is

The area is about half a square mile on the city’s Character Area Map, between the core neighborhoods to the north and the North Berkeley area to the south. Buford Highway (U.S. 23) runs through it southwest toward Pleasant Hill Road, Davenport Road reaches the subdivisions on its east side, and Duluth Highway touches its northeast corner. OpenStreetMap places Forest Manor North here. Every home address is in ZIP code 30096.

The Plan 2040 comprehensive plan calls the highway strip “an attractive gateway that serves the automotive and home repair needs of the community,” a collection of “older, small buildings” used for car sales and service, with an industrial park “known as Four Wheel Drive.” It says large-scale redevelopment is hard because the railroad and highway rights of way are wide, sewer is “very limited,” and “in some stretches of Buford Highway, the city limit is only roughly 200 feet from the road.” Among its aims is a linear park or multi-use path on the west side of the highway. For the subdivisions, it expects little change and aims to keep them stable.

Homes

The city’s parcel records count about 450 houses and 170 townhomes here. Its development layer names Ennfield (about 180 parcels), Forest Manor North (about 100), Governors Landing, Strathmoor, Heritage Walk and the small Duluth Manor duplex subdivision, plus the Regency Park townhomes, the Regency Park Scepter houses and the Pittard Hill Point townhomes.

Schools

How this area’s home addresses split in Gwinnett County Public Schools’ zone layers, updated in August 2026. Scores are 2025 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) figures from the state’s School Grades report.

Harris Elementary is at 3123 Claiborne Drive, Duluth Middle at 3200 Pleasant Hill Road and Duluth High at 3737 Brock Road. The state average was 78.0 and Gwinnett County Public Schools scored 81.5. Check one address in the GCPS school locator. More in our schools guide.

Home values

The typical home value in ZIP 30096 was $408,260 in August 2026, down 2.1% from $416,920 in August 2025, according to the Zillow Home Value Index. The index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price, and 30096 covers most of southern Duluth and a large area outside the city. The citywide Duluth figure was $437,770, down 2.5% on the year. More in our home prices guide.

Parks and trails

• Shorty Howell Park, 2750 Pleasant Hill Road, about half a mile south: a 67-acre Gwinnett County park with ball fields, a lake, a 1.25-mile paved trail and an activity building, according to Gwinnett County.
• Taylor Park, 3167 Main St., in front of City Hall, just under half a mile north, with a train-themed playground.
• The Southeastern Railway Museum, 3595 Buford Highway, inside the area, according to OpenStreetMap; its events are in things to do this month.

More in our parks and trails guide.

Getting around

• Interstate: I-85 exit 104, Pleasant Hill Road, about 3.4 miles by road.
• Downtown: about 1.1 miles from the middle of the area to the Town Green.
• Airport: about 34.7 miles to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
• All are distances measured on the OpenStreetMap road network with the OSRM routing engine, not drive times.
• Bus: Ride Gwinnett Route 10B stops on North Berkeley Lake Road just south of the area, according to Gwinnett County’s transit stop data. Route 10 runs to MARTA’s Doraville station; see the routes and schedules page. Local buses do not run Sundays.

More in our getting around guide.

Groceries and everyday stores

OpenStreetMap shows no supermarket inside the area. The nearest, about two-thirds of a mile away in the North Berkeley area, are:

• Walmart Supercenter, 2635 Pleasant Hill Road
• Aldi, 2618 Pleasant Hill Road
• Publix, 3870 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard

How we drew this area

This area joins the Buford Highway South Corridor polygon in the city’s own character area GIS layer with the three southern Established Neighborhoods polygons beside it. Home counts and school shares come from every house and townhome parcel in the city’s parcel layer and every apartment and condo address point in Gwinnett County’s address data inside it, matched to the district’s zone layers on Oct. 6, 2026. Store and park locations are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Frequently asked questions

What schools serve Ennfield and Forest Manor North in Duluth?

Harris Elementary, Duluth Middle and Duluth High. Every home address in this area is zoned for those three schools in Gwinnett County Public Schools’ 2026 zone map.

Is the area south of downtown Duluth a good place to live?

Here are the facts. The area is single-family subdivisions and townhomes off Davenport Road and Buford Highway, with an auto-service corridor along the highway. It is zoned for Duluth High, which scored 70.0 on the state’s 2025 CCRPI, and Zillow put the typical home value in ZIP 30096 at $408,260 in August 2026.

Which part of Duluth is closest to I-85?

Of the areas in our guide, this one: about 3.4 miles by road from its middle to I-85 exit 104, Pleasant Hill Road, measured on the OpenStreetMap road network.

Where is the Southeastern Railway Museum?

At 3595 Buford Highway, inside this area, according to OpenStreetMap.