Atkinson County is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located in the
southeastern region of the
U.S. state of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. As of the
2020 census, the county's population was 8,286. The
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is
Pearson.
The county was formed in 1917 from parts of
Coffee
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
and
Clinch counties. It is named for
William Yates Atkinson,
Democratic governor of Georgia from 1894 to 1898. In 2003, it had the highest illiteracy rate of any U.S. county at 36%.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water.
Atkinson County forms a part of
Southeast Georgia.
The vast majority of Atkinson County is located in the
Satilla River sub-basin of the
St. Marys-Satilla River basin. The entire narrow western border area, in a line parallel to the western border and running through
Willacoochee, is located in the
Alapaha River sub-basin of the
Suwannee River basin. A small southeastern corner of the county is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the same Suwannee River basin.
Major highways
*
U.S. Route 82
*
U.S. Route 221
*
U.S. Route 441
*
State Route 31
*
State Route 64
*
State Route 89
*
State Route 90
*
State Route 135
*
State Route 520
Adjacent counties
*
Coffee County - north
*
Ware County - east
*
Clinch County - south
*
Lanier County - southwest
*
Berrien County - west
Communities
Cities
*
Pearson
*
Willacoochee
Census-designated place
*
Axson
Unincorporated communities
* Fales (portion)
* Henderson Still
*
Kirkland
* Leliaton
* Little Utah
* Mora (portion)
* Oberry
* Sandy Bottom
* Stokesville (portion)
Demographics
Since the county's 1920 population of 7,656 residents, its population has fluctuated between more than 7,000 to a low of 6,213 in 1990; the lowest population for the county was 5,879 in 1970. By the
2020 United States census, its population increased to 8,286,
although in 2010 its population reached a historic high of 8,375.
In 2010, there were 3,522 housing units at an average density of .
According to the
2010 U.S. census, the racial makeup of the county was 62.2%
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 17.3% black or
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.6%
American Indian, 0.3%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.3%
Asian, 17.7% from other races, and 1.6% from
two or more races. Altogether, those of
Hispanic or Latino origin made up 24.3% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 16.1% were
English, 16.0% were
Irish, and 7.5% were
American.
Although its racial and ethnic makeup has been predominantly
non-Hispanic white
Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
up to the 2010 census, in 2020 its
non-Hispanic white
Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
population declined to 57.94%,
and its African American population also declined to 14.58%. The Hispanic or Latino American population grew to 24.72% of the county-area population, reflecting nationwide trends of greater diversification.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $26,470, and the median income for a family was $32,688. Males had a median income of $24,763 versus $18,434 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $12,178. By 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $33,834 and the median income for a family was $34,859. Males had a median income of $29,286 versus $25,705 for females.
In 2020, the county's median household income was an estimated $35,703 per the
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
. Families had a median income of $46,086; married-couple families $50,475; and nonfamily households $23,306. Among its 2022 population estimates, 27.5% of the county lived at or below the poverty line.
As of 2022's American Community Survey, Atkinson County's 3,063 households had an average of 2.7 people per household. Approximately 66% were married couples, 6% male households and 17% female households. These households were spread throughout 3,494 housing units, and 67% were owner-occupied. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $77,100 with 62% of its properties valued at under $100,000.
As part of the
Bible Belt, the majority of the county's religious or spiritual population professed
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
. Among the Christian population in 2020, the
Association of Religion Data Archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making t ...
determined the largest single Christian denomination for Atkinson County was the
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
, followed by the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...
and
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...
.
As a whole tradition,
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
encompassed the following, with
Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
remaining a minority.
Education
Atkinson County is serviced along with
Coffee County by the
Satilla Regional Library System.
Politics
Historically, Atkinson County has primarily voted for
Democratic Party candidates in U.S. presidential elections up to 1960. Since then, the county has remained reliably
Republican.
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Atkinson County, Georgia
*
List of counties in Georgia
The U.S. state of Georgia is divided into 159 counties, the second-highest number after Texas, which has 254 counties. Under the Georgia State Constitution, all of its counties are granted home rule to deal with problems that are purely loca ...
References
External links
list of placesAtkinson County Sheriff's OfficeAtkinson Countyhistorical marker
{{authority control
1917 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Populated places established in 1917
Georgia (U.S. state) counties