Houston County, Georgia

Not to be confused with Houston, Georgia.

Houston County (/ˈhaʊstən/ HOW-stən) is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 163,633 at the 2020 census.^[1] Its county seat is Perry; the city of Warner Robins is substantially larger in both area and population.^[2]

Houston County
County
Houston County courthouse in Perry
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°28′N 83°40′W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	May 15, 1821; 204 years ago (1821-05-15)
Named after	John Houstoun
Seat	Perry
Largest city	Warner Robins
Area
• Total	380 sq mi (1,000 km2)
• Land	376 sq mi (970 km2)
• Water	4.4 sq mi (11 km2)  1.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	163,633
• Density	373/sq mi (144/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	8th, 2nd
Website	www.houstoncountyga.gov

The county was created on May 15, 1821, along with four other counties in the state, and later reduced in size with the formation of Bibb, Crawford, Pulaski, Macon, and Peach counties.^[3] It was named after Georgia governor John Houstoun, with the spelling being a common 19th-century variation that later evolved to "Houston".^[4] The pronunciation, however, remains to this day "howston."^[5] The geographic center of the county was given the name Wattsville, which was later changed to Perry.^[5]

Houston County is included in the Warner Robins, GA metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Macon-Warner Robins-Fort Valley combined statistical area. Flat Creek Public Fishing Area is in Houston County, south west of Perry.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 380 square miles (980 km²), of which 376 square miles (970 km²) is land and 4.4 square miles (11 km²) (1.2%) is water.^[6] The county is located in the upper Atlantic coastal plain region of the state.

The vast majority of Houston County is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The very northern edge of the county, north of Centerville and Warner Robins, is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin. The very southwestern corner of Houston County, well west of Interstate 75, is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin).^[7]

Adjacent counties

• Bibb County - north
• Peach County - west
• Twiggs County - east
• Bleckley County - southeast
• Pulaski County - south-southeast
• Dooly County - south
• Macon County - southwest

Communities

Cities

• Byron (Partially)
• Centerville
• Perry (Slightly extends into Peach County, Georgia)
• Warner Robins

Census-designated place

• Robins Air Force Base

Unincorporated communities

• Bonaire
• Clinchfield
• Dunbar - one mile east of U.S. Route 41 at the intersection of Dunbar and Houston Lake Roads.
• Elberta
• Elko
• Grovania
• Haynesville
• Kathleen

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	7,369		—
1840	9,711		31.8%
1850	16,450		69.4%
1860	15,611		−5.1%
1870	20,406		30.7%
1880	22,414		9.8%
1890	21,613		−3.6%
1900	22,641		4.8%
1910	23,609		4.3%
1920	21,964		−7.0%
1930	11,280		−48.6%
1940	11,303		0.2%
1950	20,964		85.5%
1960	39,154		86.8%
1970	62,924		60.7%
1980	77,605		23.3%
1990	89,208		15.0%
2000	110,765		24.2%
2010	139,900		26.3%
2020	163,633		17.0%
2023 (est.)	171,974	[8]	5.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1880[10] 1890-1910[11] 1920-1930[12] 1930-1940[13] 1940-1950[14] 1960-1980[15] 1980-2000[16] 2010[17]

Houston County racial composition as of 2020^[18]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	86,211	52.69%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	51,992	31.77%
Native American	339	0.21%
Asian	4,905	3.0%
Pacific Islander	124	0.08%
Other/Mixed	8,255	5.04%
Hispanic or Latino	11,807	7.22%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 163,633 people, 58,417 households, and 39,810 families residing in the county.

Education

Houston County Schools headquarters

Houston County Schools operates public schools.^[19]

Flat Creek Public Fishing Area

Politics

Houston County voted for conservative Democrats for most of the twentieth century, and gradually switched to voting for conservative Republicans closer to the century's end and into the twenty-first. In the 2018 gubernatorial election, while she did not carry Houston County, Stacey Abrams improved on Democratic margins in the county, improving five percent compared to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run and by four percent compared to Barack Obama's 2008 run. Houston was one of five counties not carried by Abrams which improved their Democratic margins.^[20] In 2020, Joe Biden improved Democratic margins to their best since Jimmy Carter carried it in 1980. He also became the first non-Georgian Democrat to win 40 percent of the county's vote since 1960.

United States presidential election results for Houston County, Georgia^[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	45,090	55.14%	35,907	43.91%	784	0.96%
2020	41,540	55.48%	32,239	43.06%	1,093	1.46%
2016	35,430	58.65%	22,553	37.34%	2,423	4.01%
2012	34,662	59.58%	22,702	39.02%	811	1.39%
2008	33,392	59.59%	22,094	39.43%	548	0.98%
2004	29,862	66.03%	15,054	33.29%	310	0.69%
2000	23,174	62.65%	13,301	35.96%	513	1.39%
1996	17,050	52.18%	12,760	39.05%	2,868	8.78%
1992	14,119	43.11%	12,270	37.47%	6,359	19.42%
1988	15,748	64.02%	8,664	35.22%	185	0.75%
1984	14,255	60.71%	9,226	39.29%	0	0.00%
1980	9,005	43.51%	10,915	52.74%	775	3.74%
1976	5,404	29.10%	13,164	70.90%	0	0.00%
1972	13,576	84.16%	2,556	15.84%	0	0.00%
1968	4,285	29.64%	2,833	19.60%	7,339	50.76%
1964	6,532	60.53%	4,258	39.46%	1	0.01%
1960	1,757	30.35%	4,033	69.65%	0	0.00%
1956	1,060	19.12%	4,483	80.88%	0	0.00%
1952	511	15.48%	2,789	84.52%	0	0.00%
1948	204	9.85%	1,437	69.35%	431	20.80%
1944	190	26.21%	535	73.79%	0	0.00%
1940	149	19.30%	622	80.57%	1	0.13%
1936	37	4.44%	796	95.56%	0	0.00%
1932	27	5.54%	460	94.46%	0	0.00%
1928	92	22.17%	323	77.83%	0	0.00%
1924	75	4.39%	1,611	94.27%	23	1.35%
1920	39	5.12%	723	94.88%	0	0.00%
1916	52	5.98%	806	92.64%	12	1.38%
1912	24	3.00%	760	95.00%	16	2.00%
1908	27	2.58%	855	81.58%	166	15.84%
1904	78	8.99%	768	88.48%	22	2.53%
1900	81	9.11%	798	89.76%	10	1.12%
1896	192	17.63%	875	80.35%	22	2.02%
1892	507	20.48%	1,953	78.88%	16	0.65%
1888	466	32.86%	949	66.93%	3	0.21%
1884	433	24.99%	1,300	75.01%	0	0.00%
1880	909	39.68%	1,382	60.32%	0	0.00%

Transportation

Major highways

• I-75 / SR 401 – SR 401 is the unsigned designation for I-75
• US 41
• US 129 / SR 247
  • SR 247 Conn. (Warner Robins)
  • SR 247 Spur (Perry)
• US 341
• SR 7
  • SR 7 Conn. (Perry)
• SR 11
  • SR 11 Bus. (Perry)
  • SR 11 Conn. (Perry)
• SR 26
• SR 49
• SR 96
• SR 127
• SR 224
• SR 329

Pedestrians and cycling

• Big Indian Creek Trail (Proposed)^[22]
• Walker's Pond Trail
• Wellston Trail
• The Walk at Sandy Run Creek

See also

• State of Georgia portal

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