Dougherty County, Georgia

Dougherty County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,790.^[1] The county seat and sole incorporated city is Albany.^[2]

Dougherty County
County
Dougherty County Government Center
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°32′N 84°13′W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	1853; 172 years ago (1853)
Named after	Charles Dougherty
Seat	Albany
Largest city	Albany
Area
• Total	335 sq mi (870 km2)
• Land	329 sq mi (850 km2)
• Water	5.9 sq mi (15 km2)  1.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	85,790
• Density	288/sq mi (111/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.dougherty.ga.us

Dougherty County is included in the Albany, GA metropolitan statistical area. Historically dominated by cotton plantation agriculture in the nineteenth century, it is part of the Black Belt of the South.

History

The county was created by the Georgia General Assembly on December 15, 1853, from a part of Baker County.^[3] It was named after Charles Dougherty,^[4] a respected judge and lawyer from Athens, Georgia. In 1854 and 1856 small areas were added from Worth County.

As noted above, the county was developed by European Americans using enslaved African Americans as workers for the production of cotton as a commodity crop. Its county seat of Albany, Georgia is located on the Flint River, which was originally the chief means of transportation for shipped products. Albany was later served by seven railroad lines, adding to its significance as a market center. The city was a center of the Civil Rights Movement, particularly during the early 1960s.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 335 square miles (870 km²), of which 329 square miles (850 km²) is land and 5.9 square miles (15 km²) (1.8%) is water.^[5]

The majority of Dougherty County is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The northeastern corner of the county, northeast of Albany, is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the same ACF River basin. A very small portion of Dougherty County, north of Albany, is located in the Kinchafoonee-Muckalee sub-basin of the larger ACF River Basin. The remaining western portion of the county is located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.^[6]

Major highways

• U.S. Route 19
• 
  U.S. Route 19 Business
• U.S. Route 82
• 
  U.S. Route 82 Business
• State Route 3
• State Route 62
• State Route 91
• State Route 133
• State Route 234
• State Route 300
• State Route 520
• State Route 520 Business

Adjacent counties

• Lee County – north
• Worth County – east
• Mitchell County – south
• Baker County – southwest
• Calhoun County – west
• Terrell County – northwest

Communities

City

• Albany

Unincorporated communities

• Acree
• Doublegate
• Pecan City
• Pretoria
• Radium Springs

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	8,295		—
1870	11,517		38.8%
1880	12,622		9.6%
1890	12,206		−3.3%
1900	13,679		12.1%
1910	16,035		17.2%
1920	20,063		25.1%
1930	22,306		11.2%
1940	28,565		28.1%
1950	43,617		52.7%
1960	75,680		73.5%
1970	89,639		18.4%
1980	100,718		12.4%
1990	96,311		−4.4%
2000	96,065		−0.3%
2010	94,565		−1.6%
2020	85,790		−9.3%
2023 (est.)	82,645	[7]	−3.7%
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] 2020[17]

Dougherty County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop. 2000[18]	Pop. 2010[16]	Pop. 2020[17]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	35,794	27,315	20,631	37.26%	28.88%	24.05%
Black or African American alone (NH)	57,521	63,198	59,720	59.88%	66.83%	69.61%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	192	177	128	0.20%	0.19%	0.15%
Asian alone (NH)	544	719	647	0.57%	0.76%	0.75%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	25	52	20	0.03%	0.05%	0.02%
Other race alone (NH)	74	84	234	0.08%	0.09%	0.27%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	623	947	1,997	0.65%	1.00%	2.33%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	1,292	2,073	2,413	1.34%	2.19%	2.81%
Total	96,065	94,565	85,790	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 85,790 people, 32,630 households, and 18,213 families residing in the county.

Education

Main article: Albany, Georgia § Education

Politics

Owing in part to its highly African American population, Dougherty County is heavily Democratic. In 2008 and 2012, Barack Obama performed better in the county than any Democrat since Roosevelt in 1944. The county defied national trends in 2024 when it shifted to the left in favor of Kamala Harris, casting over 70% of its vote for her, outperforming Obama's previous record.

United States presidential election results for Dougherty County, Georgia^[19]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	9,904	29.26%	23,831	70.40%	115	0.34%
2020	10,441	29.59%	24,568	69.62%	278	0.79%
2016	10,232	29.83%	23,311	67.96%	760	2.22%
2012	11,449	30.15%	26,295	69.24%	231	0.61%
2008	12,547	32.27%	26,135	67.21%	204	0.52%
2004	13,711	40.70%	19,805	58.79%	171	0.51%
2000	12,248	42.14%	16,650	57.29%	166	0.57%
1996	11,144	39.98%	15,600	55.97%	1,128	4.05%
1992	12,455	40.27%	15,236	49.26%	3,240	10.47%
1988	15,520	50.86%	12,579	41.22%	2,418	7.92%
1984	16,920	56.73%	12,904	43.27%	0	0.00%
1980	12,726	47.82%	13,430	50.46%	459	1.72%
1976	9,337	44.89%	11,461	55.11%	0	0.00%
1972	12,878	78.03%	3,625	21.97%	0	0.00%
1968	5,611	29.91%	3,834	20.43%	9,317	49.66%
1964	12,776	70.88%	5,248	29.12%	0	0.00%
1960	4,323	48.88%	4,522	51.12%	0	0.00%
1956	3,248	44.05%	4,126	55.95%	0	0.00%
1952	2,535	36.37%	4,435	63.63%	0	0.00%
1948	614	15.66%	2,517	64.19%	790	20.15%
1944	338	9.56%	3,199	90.44%	0	0.00%
1940	180	7.64%	2,175	92.32%	1	0.04%
1936	122	4.49%	2,591	95.40%	3	0.11%
1932	95	4.49%	2,012	95.04%	10	0.47%
1928	379	27.85%	982	72.15%	0	0.00%
1924	167	12.71%	1,065	81.05%	82	6.24%
1920	105	14.46%	621	85.54%	0	0.00%
1916	17	1.91%	836	93.93%	37	4.16%
1912	18	2.74%	617	94.05%	21	3.20%

See also

• State of Georgia portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Dougherty County, Georgia
• List of counties in Georgia
• W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903) contains two essays that are surveys of race relations in Dougherty County from Reconstruction to the end of the 19th century.
  • "Of the Black Belt"
  • "Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece"