Decatur County, Georgia

Not to be confused with Decatur, Georgia.

Decatur County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,367.^[1] The county seat is Bainbridge.^[2]

Decatur County, Georgia
County
Decatur County Courthouse in Bainbridge
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Coordinates: 30°53′N 84°35′W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	1823; 202 years ago (1823)
Named after	Stephen Decatur
Seat	Bainbridge
Largest city	Bainbridge
Area
• Total	623 sq mi (1,610 km2)
• Land	597 sq mi (1,550 km2)
• Water	26 sq mi (67 km2)  4.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	29,367
• Density	49/sq mi (19/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.decaturcountyga.gov

Decatur County comprises the Bainbridge, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA), which is included in the Tallahassee—Bainbridge, FL-GA Combined Statistical Area.

History

The county was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 8, 1823, from a portion of Early County.^[3] Three other counties were created from land that was originally part of Decatur County.

In 1825, a portion of Decatur was used in the creation of Thomas County.^{[citation needed]} In 1905, another portion of Decatur was used in the creation of part of Grady County.^{[citation needed]} In 1920, the western portion of Decatur County was used to form Seminole County in its entirety.^{[citation needed]}

Decatur County is named for United States Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur, a hero of the War of 1812.^[4]

Geography

The welcome sign for Decatur County on State Route 97

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 623 square miles (1,610 km²), of which 597 square miles (1,550 km²) is land and 26 square miles (67 km²) (4.2%) is water.^[5]

The bulk of Decatur County, from northeast to southwest, and centered on Bainbridge, is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). Almost all of the county's western border is located in the Spring Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin. The southwestern portion of Decatur County, centered on Attapulgus, and bordered on the west by State Route 302, is located on the Lower Ochlockonee River sub-basin of the larger Ochlockonee River basin. Finally, the county's southwestern corner, west of State Route 302, is located in the Apalachicola River sub-basin of the same larger ACF River basin.^[6]

Major highways

• U.S. Route 27
• 
  U.S. Route 27 Business
• U.S. Route 84
• 
  U.S. Route 84 Business
• State Route 1
• State Route 1 Business
• State Route 38
• State Route 97
• State Route 97 Spur
• State Route 241
• State Route 253
• State Route 253 Spur
• State Route 262
• State Route 285
• State Route 302
• State Route 302 Spur
• State Route 309
• State Route 310
• State Route 311

Adjacent counties

• Miller County - north
• Mitchell County - northeast
• Baker County - northeast
• Grady County - east
• Gadsden County, Florida - south
• Seminole County - west

Communities

Cities

• Attapulgus
• Bainbridge
• Climax

Town

• Brinson

Census-Designated Place

• Faceville

Unincorporated communities

• Amsterdam
• Ausmac
• Cyrene
• Eldorendo
• Fowlstown
• Vada

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	3,854		—
1840	5,872		52.4%
1850	8,262		40.7%
1860	11,922		44.3%
1870	15,183		27.4%
1880	19,072		25.6%
1890	19,949		4.6%
1900	29,454		47.6%
1910	29,045		−1.4%
1920	31,785		9.4%
1930	23,622		−25.7%
1940	22,234		−5.9%
1950	23,620		6.2%
1960	25,203		6.7%
1970	22,310		−11.5%
1980	25,495		14.3%
1990	25,511		0.1%
2000	28,240		10.7%
2010	27,842		−1.4%
2020	29,367		5.5%
2024 (est.)	29,391	[7]	0.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790-1880[9] 1890-1910[10] 1920-1930[11] 1930-1940[12] 1940-1950[13] 1960-1980[14] 1980-2000[15] 2010[16]

Decatur County racial makeup as of 2020^[17]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	14,280	48.63%
Black or African American	12,200	41.54%
Native American	64	0.22%
Asian	183	0.62%
Pacific Islander	16	0.05%
Other/Mixed	713	2.43%
Hispanic or Latino	1,911	6.51%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 29,367 people and 7,113 families residing in the county. The median age was 40.0 years. 23.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.3 males age 18 and over. 47.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 52.8% lived in rural areas.^[18][19][20]

The racial makeup of the county was 49.6% White, 41.7% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.1% from some other race, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.5% of the population.^[20]

There were 11,466 households in the county, of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 34.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[19]

There were 13,036 housing units, of which 12.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 61.9% were owner-occupied and 38.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.3%.^[19]

Education

Decatur County School District is the local school district with Bainbridge High School being the local high school.^{[citation needed]}

Spring Creek Charter Academy was formed in 2019 and includes grades Pre-K through 9th Grade as of 2023–2024 school year with the next year being added as each grade progresses through the years.^{[citation needed]}

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has a satellite campus in Bainbridge.^{[citation needed]} Southern Regional Technical College has a satellite campus in Bainbridge serving the county.^{[citation needed]}

Politics

As of the 2020s, Decatur County is a Republican stronghold, voting 62% for Donald Trump in 2024. For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Decatur County is part of Georgia's 2nd congressional district, currently represented by Sanford Bishop. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Decatur County is part of District 11.^[21] For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Decatur County is part of District 171.^[22]

United States presidential election results for Decatur County, Georgia^[23]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	№	%	№	%	№	%
1912	34	6.00%	500	88.18%	33	5.82%
1916	116	8.94%	1,147	88.37%	35	2.70%
1920	300	23.40%	982	76.60%	0	0.00%
1924	151	16.38%	637	69.09%	134	14.53%
1928	1,156	61.16%	734	38.84%	0	0.00%
1932	65	5.17%	1,169	93.00%	23	1.83%
1936	79	3.85%	1,965	95.71%	9	0.44%
1940	217	10.85%	1,781	89.05%	2	0.10%
1944	294	15.47%	1,606	84.53%	0	0.00%
1948	296	13.03%	1,209	53.21%	767	33.76%
1952	1,001	27.95%	2,581	72.05%	0	0.00%
1956	1,062	22.31%	3,699	77.69%	0	0.00%
1960	918	24.82%	2,780	75.18%	0	0.00%
1964	5,060	71.55%	2,011	28.44%	1	0.01%
1968	749	10.62%	1,729	24.51%	4,576	64.87%
1972	4,292	78.21%	1,196	21.79%	0	0.00%
1976	2,500	40.09%	3,736	59.91%	0	0.00%
1980	2,919	46.76%	3,242	51.93%	82	1.31%
1984	4,134	60.88%	2,656	39.12%	0	0.00%
1988	3,866	61.95%	2,348	37.62%	27	0.43%
1992	3,142	42.35%	3,198	43.11%	1,079	14.54%
1996	3,035	44.65%	3,245	47.74%	517	7.61%
2000	4,187	54.75%	3,398	44.43%	63	0.82%
2004	5,348	59.71%	3,577	39.94%	31	0.35%
2008	5,890	56.72%	4,424	42.60%	71	0.68%
2012	5,824	55.47%	4,591	43.72%	85	0.81%
2016	6,020	58.35%	4,124	39.97%	173	1.68%
2020	6,755	58.09%	4,782	41.12%	91	0.78%
2024	7,140	61.82%	4,372	37.86%	37	0.32%

United States Senate election results for Decatur County, Georgia3

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	№	%	№	%	№	%
2022	4,880	61.24%	3,088	38.76%	0	0.00%

See also

• State of Georgia portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Decatur County, Georgia
• List of counties in Georgia