Worth County, Georgia

Not to be confused with Worth, Georgia.

Worth County is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,784.^[1] The county seat is Sylvester.^[2] Worth County is included in the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area.

Worth County
County
Worth County courthouse in Sylvester
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°33′N 83°51′W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	December 20, 1853; 172 years ago (1853)
Named after	William J. Worth
Seat	Sylvester
Largest city	Sylvester
Area
• Total	575 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Land	571 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Water	4.1 sq mi (11 km2)  0.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	20,784
• Estimate  (2024)	20,262
• Density	36/sq mi (14/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	8th
Website	worthcountyboc.com

History

Worth County was created from Dooly and Irwin counties on December 20, 1853, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, becoming Georgia's 106th county. It was named for Major General William J. Worth of New York.^[3] In 1905, portions of Worth County were used to create Tift and Turner counties.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 575 square miles (1,490 km²), of which 571 square miles (1,480 km²) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km²) (0.7%) is water.^[4]

The eastern third of Worth County, from west of State Route 33 heading east, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The northern third of the county is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). A narrow portion of the western edge of Worth County is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the same ACF River basin. Finally, a portion of the southwest of the county, north of Doerun, is located in the Upper Ochlockonee River sub-basin of the larger Ochlockonee River basin.^[5]

Major highways

• U.S. Route 82
• State Route 32
• State Route 33
• State Route 112
• State Route 133
• State Route 256
• State Route 300
• State Route 313
• State Route 520

Adjacent counties

• Crisp County - north
• Tift County - east
• Turner County - northeast
• Colquitt County - south
• Mitchell County - southwest
• Lee County - northwest
• Dougherty County - west

Communities

Cities

• Poulan
• Sylvester
• Warwick

Town

• Sumner

Unincorporated communities

• Acree
• Bridgeboro
• Oakfield

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	2,763		—
1870	3,778		36.7%
1880	5,892		56.0%
1890	10,048		70.5%
1900	18,664		85.7%
1910	19,147		2.6%
1920	23,863		24.6%
1930	21,094		−11.6%
1940	21,374		1.3%
1950	19,357		−9.4%
1960	16,682		−13.8%
1970	14,770		−11.5%
1980	18,064		22.3%
1990	19,745		9.3%
2000	21,967		11.3%
2010	21,679		−1.3%
2020	20,784		−4.1%
2024 (est.)	20,262	[6]	−2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790-1880[8] 1890-1910[9] 1920-1930[10] 1930-1940[11] 1940-1950[12] 1960-1980[13] 1980-2000[14] 2010[15]

Worth County racial composition as of 2020^[16]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	14,427	69.41%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	5,255	25.28%
Native American	49	0.24%
Asian	87	0.42%
Pacific Islander	8	0.04%
Other/Mixed	577	2.78%
Hispanic or Latino	381	1.83%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,784 people, 8,002 households, and 5,896 families residing in the county.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Worth County, Georgia^[17]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	6,991	74.98%	2,300	24.67%	33	0.35%
2020	6,830	73.56%	2,395	25.79%	60	0.65%
2016	6,152	73.95%	2,020	24.28%	147	1.77%
2012	5,869	69.57%	2,487	29.48%	80	0.95%
2008	5,780	68.96%	2,542	30.33%	60	0.72%
2004	5,105	69.40%	2,219	30.17%	32	0.44%
2000	3,792	62.56%	2,214	36.53%	55	0.91%
1996	2,752	48.07%	2,300	40.17%	673	11.76%
1992	2,344	40.16%	2,578	44.17%	915	15.68%
1988	2,668	66.55%	1,311	32.70%	30	0.75%
1984	2,910	63.33%	1,685	36.67%	0	0.00%
1980	2,076	44.22%	2,567	54.68%	52	1.11%
1976	1,156	29.30%	2,790	70.70%	0	0.00%
1972	2,942	84.44%	542	15.56%	0	0.00%
1968	603	13.79%	720	16.47%	3,049	69.74%
1964	3,157	78.55%	862	21.45%	0	0.00%
1960	338	13.81%	2,110	86.19%	0	0.00%
1956	293	12.36%	2,078	87.64%	0	0.00%
1952	444	18.27%	1,986	81.73%	0	0.00%
1948	124	8.24%	1,159	77.06%	221	14.69%
1944	218	16.59%	1,096	83.41%	0	0.00%
1940	190	16.83%	936	82.91%	3	0.27%
1936	132	10.50%	1,124	89.42%	1	0.08%
1932	38	1.65%	2,269	98.23%	3	0.13%
1928	310	24.56%	952	75.44%	0	0.00%
1924	40	5.47%	616	84.27%	75	10.26%
1920	214	25.48%	626	74.52%	0	0.00%
1916	68	8.62%	690	87.45%	31	3.93%
1912	77	13.07%	500	84.89%	12	2.04%

See also

• State of Georgia portal

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