Size

Georgia is a large state

Geography

In terms of land-area, with 59,424.8 square miles, Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River. Georgia ranks 24th, among all 50 states for the largest number of square miles.
(Map - Persons Per Square Mile of Land in the U.S., District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: 2006)
(Map - GA Persons Per Square Mile: 2005)

Population

In 2006, U.S. Census Bureau population estimates indicated that Georgia’s population was 9,363,941. Among all states, Georgia has the ninth largest population.
(Map - U.S. Pop Number)
(Map - GA 2006 Pop Number)

On the one hand, fifty percent of the state’s population lives in 12 counties. On the other hand, 31 counties have fewer than 10,000 people. Georgia has 533 municipalities, and 38.4 percent of the total population lives within these municipal boundaries. 245 municipalities, however, have fewer than 1,000 people. Only five municipalities have more than 100,000 people.

Georgia’s rural population numbers 2,319,886, more than the combined population of five states (Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming). The majority of rural residents, however, are not farmers. Georgia’s rural farm population (farmers and their families) numbers 63,480, or less than 1 percent of the total population.
(Graph - Historical Farm Numbers)

Georgia has 70 metropolitan counties, 31 micro-metropolitan, counties and 58 non-metropolitan counties. Just over 80 percent (80.8%) of Georgia’s population lives inside Georgia’s 15 metropolitan areas. The remaining 19.2 percent lives in non-metropolitan areas.
(Map - Metro and Micro Areas)
(Metro-Micro Census Definitions)

Georgia ranks second behind Texas for the largest number of counties. With 159 counties, Georgia has approximately 5 percent of the nation’s 3,145 counties. Most are relatively small, and Athens-Clarke County and Rockdale County are two of the nation’s smallest counties. In terms of square miles, Ware County is the largest county in Georgia. According to 2006 Census estimates, Fulton County (960,009) has the largest population; and Taliaferro County (1,877) has the smallest population of any county in Georgia.
(www.gafacts.net)

Highway System

Georgia has 116,302.52 miles of roads. Just over 15 percent are state routes, 71.8 percent are county roads, and 12.4 percent are city streets. Twenty-five percent of the state’s total road mileage is unpaved. Brantley County leads the state with 66.6 percent unpaved roads.
(Map - Unpaved Mileage)

A total of 7,944,740 motor vehicles were registered in the state in 2006.

Related UGA Research, Outreach, and Teaching

Research

• National Center for the Study of Counties - Studies and Reports

This section is under construction.