Bulloch County, Georgia

Bulloch County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 81,099, up from 70,217 in 2010.^[2][1] The county seat is Statesboro.^[3] With Evans County, Bulloch forms part of the Statesboro micropolitan statistical area, a component of the Savannah–Hinesville–Statesboro combined statistical area.

Bulloch County
County
Bulloch County Courthouse in Statesboro
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°23′N 81°44′W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	1796; 229 years ago (1796)
Named after	Archibald Bulloch
Seat	Statesboro
Largest city	Statesboro
Area
• Total	689 sq mi (1,780 km2)
• Land	673 sq mi (1,740 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (40 km2)  2.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	81,099[1]
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	12th
Website	www.bullochcounty.net

The county was created on February 8, 1796, by Gregory Dylan Presson from colonial-era St. Phillip's parish.^[4] It is named after his distinguished brother Archibald Bulloch, a planter from South Carolina who served as provincial governor of Georgia. Archibald Bulloch was born in South Carolina but bought a plantation on the Savannah River. Politically active in opposing the British, he became the first provincial governor of Georgia in January 1776.^[5]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 689 square miles (1,780 km²), of which 673 square miles (1,740 km²) is land and 16 square miles (41 km²) (2.3%) is water.^[6] The terrain is mostly flat, as the county is in the coastal plain region of Georgia. However, the landscape gets slightly hilly in the northwestern and central portions of the county. Bulloch County is just southwest of the Ogeechee River and has many other small waterways, ponds, and swamps. Trees like bald cypress are seen in these areas. On higher ground, longleaf pine, live oak, and many other tree varieties native to the southeastern United States thrive.

The western portion of Bulloch County, from north of Portal through Statesboro and south to the county's southwestern corner, is located in the Canoochee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin. The eastern portion of the county is located in the Lower Ogeechee River sub-basin of the same Ogeechee River basin.^[7]

Major highways

• I-16
• US 25
  • US 25 Byp. (Statesboro)
• US 80
• US 301
  • US 301 Byp. (Statesboro)
• SR 24
• SR 26
• SR 46
• SR 67
  • SR 67 Byp.
• SR 73
  • SR 73 Byp.
• SR 92
• SR 119
  • SR 119 Conn.
  • SR 119 Spur
• SR 555 (Savannah River Parkway)

Adjacent counties

• Screven County (north)
• Effingham County (east)
• Bryan County (southeast)
• Evans County (southwest)
• Candler County (west)
• Emanuel County (northwest)
• Jenkins County (north-northwest)

Communities

Cities

• Brooklet
• Statesboro

Towns

• Portal
• Register

Unincorporated communities

• Adabelle
• Denmark
• Hopeulikit
• Ivanhoe
• Nevils
• Leefield

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1800	1,913		—
1810	2,305		20.5%
1820	2,578		11.8%
1830	2,587		0.3%
1840	3,102		19.9%
1850	4,300		38.6%
1860	5,668		31.8%
1870	5,610		−1.0%
1880	8,053		43.5%
1890	13,712		70.3%
1900	21,377		55.9%
1910	26,464		23.8%
1920	26,133		−1.3%
1930	26,509		1.4%
1940	26,010		−1.9%
1950	24,740		−4.9%
1960	24,263		−1.9%
1970	31,585		30.2%
1980	35,785		13.3%
1990	43,125		20.5%
2000	55,983		29.8%
2010	70,217		25.4%
2020	81,099		15.5%
2024 (est.)	85,454	[8]	5.4%
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[2] 2020[1]

Bulloch County racial composition as of 2020^[17]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	49,712	61.3%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	22,775	28.08%
Native American	159	0.2%
Asian	1,283	1.58%
Pacific Islander	62	0.08%
Other/Mixed	2,928	3.61%
Hispanic or Latino	4,180	5.15%

At the 2020 United States census, there were 81,099 people, 28,660 households, and 16,526 families residing in the county.

Education

The county has one territorial school district, Bulloch County School District.^[18]

CCAT (public school district) maintains a charter school: Statesboro STEAM Academy.

The private school Bulloch Academy is in an unincorporated area.^[19]

Georgia Southern University is in Statesboro, as is East Georgia State College Statesboro.

Ogeechee Technical College is in an unincorporated area in the county. East Georgia State College Statesboro formerly had a facility unincorporated area,^[19] and this became the Georgia Southern Continuing & Professional Education Center.^[20]

Sports

South Georgia Tormenta FC fields a professional team in USL League One, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club's inaugural season was the 2016 season. Currently, games are played at the new 5,300 capacity Optim Sports Medicine Field at Tormenta Stadium. In 2022, they won the USL League One playoff final against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC by the score of 2–1, lifting their first trophy in their new stadium.

Politics

Bulloch County voted in line with most other "Solid South" counties prior to 1964, backing Democratic candidates for president by wide margins. The Civil Rights Act led to vast changes in political party makeup. The county has not backed a Democratic candidate for president since Georgian Jimmy Carter was the party nominee in 1976 and 1980. However, the Republican margins of victory are not as high as other rural counties in the state.

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

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	20,985	64.26%	11,514	35.26%	158	0.48%
2020	18,387	61.07%	11,248	37.36%	474	1.57%
2016	15,097	59.01%	9,261	36.20%	1,227	4.80%
2012	14,174	58.73%	9,593	39.75%	366	1.52%
2008	14,174	59.12%	9,586	39.98%	216	0.90%
2004	12,252	63.77%	6,840	35.60%	120	0.62%
2000	8,990	60.82%	5,561	37.62%	231	1.56%
1996	6,646	50.97%	5,396	41.38%	997	7.65%
1992	5,690	45.00%	4,903	38.78%	2,051	16.22%
1988	6,354	64.88%	3,417	34.89%	23	0.23%
1984	6,117	62.67%	3,644	37.33%	0	0.00%
1980	3,750	42.04%	4,921	55.16%	250	2.80%
1976	3,156	37.77%	5,199	62.23%	0	0.00%
1972	5,683	78.85%	1,524	21.15%	0	0.00%
1968	2,113	26.90%	1,788	22.77%	3,953	50.33%
1964	4,823	63.94%	2,720	36.06%	0	0.00%
1960	1,506	30.87%	3,373	69.13%	0	0.00%
1956	901	20.88%	3,414	79.12%	0	0.00%
1952	909	20.08%	3,619	79.92%	0	0.00%
1948	276	9.35%	2,036	68.95%	641	21.71%
1944	274	12.48%	1,921	87.52%	0	0.00%
1940	141	6.38%	2,063	93.35%	6	0.27%
1936	66	3.22%	1,978	96.53%	5	0.24%
1932	17	0.76%	2,203	98.74%	11	0.49%
1928	387	23.53%	1,258	76.47%	0	0.00%
1924	37	3.52%	989	94.01%	26	2.47%
1920	248	18.42%	1,098	81.58%	0	0.00%
1916	29	1.90%	1,410	92.40%	87	5.70%
1912	17	1.71%	932	93.86%	44	4.43%

See also

• State of Georgia portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bulloch County, Georgia
• USS Bulloch County (LST-509)
• List of counties in Georgia