Ideal, Georgia

Ideal is a city in Macon County, Georgia, United States. The population was 407 at the 2020 census,^[2] down from 499 in 2010.

Ideal, Georgia
City
Location in Macon County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 32°22′23″N 84°11′20″W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Macon
Area [1]
• Total	1.15 sq mi (2.99 km2)
• Land	1.14 sq mi (2.96 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)
Elevation	482 ft (147 m)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	407
• Density	355.77/sq mi (137.34/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	31041
Area code	478
FIPS code	13-40812[3]
GNIS feature ID	0356328[4]

History

The town was originally named "Joetown", but when two railroad executives stopped in the town, one proclaimed it an "ideal" place for a railroad station, and the other declared he'd just named it.^[5]

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Ideal as a town in 1906.^[6]

Geography

Ideal is located in western Macon County at 32°22′23″N 84°11′20″W (32.372918, -84.188822).^[7] Georgia State Route 90 passes through the center of town, leading southeast 10 miles (16 km) to Oglethorpe, the county seat, and northwest 8 miles (13 km) to Rupert.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.16 square miles (3.0 km²), of which 0.01 square miles (0.03 km²), or 0.95%, are water.^[1] It resides at the confluence of Whitewater and Cedar creeks, two spring-fed tributaries of the Flint River.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	186		—
1920	304		63.4%
1930	285		−6.2%
1940	238		−16.5%
1950	318		33.6%
1960	432		35.8%
1970	543		25.7%
1980	619		14.0%
1990	554		−10.5%
2000	518		−6.5%
2010	499		−3.7%
2020	407		−18.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1850-1870[9] 1880[10] 1890-1910[11] 1920-1930[12] 1930-1940[13] 1940-1950[14] 1960-1980[15]1990[16]

Ideal racial composition as of 2020^[17]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	113	27.76%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	270	66.34%
Asian	1	0.25%
Other/Mixed	21	5.16%
Hispanic or Latino	2	0.49%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 407 people, 124 households, and 64 families residing in the city.