Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a

consolidated city-county In United States local government, a consolidated city-county is formed when one or more cities and their surrounding county ( parish in Louisiana, borough in Alaska) merge into one unified jurisdiction. As such it has the governmental powers o ...

on the central eastern border of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The city lies across the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...

from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgia's third-largest city (after

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

), Augusta is located in the

Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coa ...

section of the state. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Augusta–Richmond County had a 2020 population of 202,081, not counting the unconsolidated cities of

Blythe The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind"). People * Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...

and Hephzibah. It is the 116th-largest city in the United States. The process of consolidation between the City of Augusta and

Richmond County Richmond County may refer to places: Australia *Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division Canada *Richmond County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England United States ...

began with a 1995 referendum in the two jurisdictions. The merger was completed on July 1, 1996. Augusta is the principal city of the

Augusta metropolitan area The Augusta metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina centered on the principal city of Augusta. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Census Bureau and other agencies define Augusta's Metr ...

. In 2020 it had a population of 611,000, making it the second-largest metro area in the state (after

) and the 9th most populous urban center in the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

. It is the 95th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Augusta was established in 1736 and is named in honor of

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg ( – 8 February 1772) was Princess of Wales by marriage to Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son and heir apparent of King George II. She never became queen consort, as Frederick predeceased his father ...

(1719–1772), the bride of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...

and the mother of the British monarch

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Augusta housed the principal

Confederate Powderworks The Confederate Powderworks (a.k.a. the Augusta Powderworks) was a gunpowder factory during the American Civil War, the only permanent structures completed by the Confederate States of America.Bragg, C. L. (2001) "The Augusta powder works: The Con ...

. Augusta's warm climate made it a major resort town of the Eastern United States in the early and mid-20th century. Internationally, Augusta is best known for hosting

The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

golf tournament each spring. The Masters brings over 200,000 visitors from around the world to the

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits, Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does no ...

. Membership at Augusta National is widely considered to be the most exclusive in the sport of golf around the world. Augusta lies approximately two hours away from downtown Atlanta by car via

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between ...

. The city is home to

Fort Gordon Fort Gordon, formerly known as Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cyber Command, and the Cyber Center of Excellence. It ...

, a major U.S. Army base. In 2016, it was announced that the new National Cyber Security Headquarters would be based in Augusta.

History

The area along the river was long inhabited by varying cultures of

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, who relied on the river for fish, water and transportation. The site of Augusta was used by Native Americans as a place to cross the Savannah River, because of its location on the

fall line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coa ...

In 1735, two years after

James Oglethorpe James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to re ...

founded

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, he sent a detachment of troops to explore the upper Savannah River. He gave them an order to build a fort at the head of the navigable part of the river. The expedition was led by

Noble Jones Noble Jones (1702 – November 2, 1775), an English-born carpenter, was one of the first settlers of the Province of Georgia and one of its leading officials. He was born in Herefordshire. As part of Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe's 42nd (old) Regim ...

, who created a settlement as a first line of

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

for coastal areas against potential

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

invasion from the interior. Oglethorpe named the town in honor of Princess Augusta, the mother of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

and the wife of

. Oglethorpe visited Augusta in September 1739 on his return to Savannah from a perilous visit to Coweta Town, near present-day

Phenix City, Alabama Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee R ...

. There, he had met with a convention of 7,000 Native American warriors and concluded a peace treaty with them in their territories in northern and western Georgia. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, the

Siege of Augusta The siege of Augusta took place between May 22, 1781, and June 6, 1781. American Patriot forces, led by General Andrew Pickens and Colonel Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, were successful in capturing Augusta, Georgia held by British loyalist mi ...

resulted in the retaking the city from the British by the Americans. Augusta was the second state capital of Georgia from 1785 until 1795 (alternating for a period with Savannah, the first). Augusta developed rapidly as a market town as the Black Belt in the Piedmont was developed for cotton cultivation. Invention of the cotton gin made processing of short-staple cotton profitable, and this type of cotton was well-suited to the upland areas. Cotton plantations were worked by slave labor, with hundreds of thousands of slaves shipped from the Upper South to the Deep South in the domestic

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. Many of the slaves were brought from the

Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an import ...

, where their

Gullah The Gullah () are an African Americans, African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain ...

culture had developed on the large

Sea Island cotton ''Gossypium barbadense'' (''gos-SIP-pee-um bar-ba-DEN-see'') is one of several species of cotton. It is in the mallow family. It has been cultivated since antiquity, but has been especially prized since a form with particularly long fibers was ...

and rice plantations. During the Civil War, Augusta was home to many war industries including powder-works facilities. After the war, Augusta had a booming textile industry leading to the construction of many mills along the Augusta Canal to include Enterprise Mill, Sibley Mill, and King Mill. The city experienced the Augusta Fire of 1916, which damaged 25 blocks of the town and many buildings of historical significance. As a major city in the area, Augusta was a center of activities during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

and after. In the mid-20th century, it was a site of civil rights demonstrations. In 1970, Charles Oatman, a mentally disabled teenager, was killed by his cellmates in an Augusta jail. A protest against his death broke out in a

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

involving 500 people, after six black men were killed by police, each found to have been shot in the back. The noted singer and entertainer

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

was called in to help quell lingering tensions, which he succeeded in doing.

Hyde Park

In 1993, an area known as Hyde Park in Augusta, Georgia, was investigated by the EPA for contamination. The investigation totaled $1.2 million. Air, groundwater, and soil were all believed to be contaminated, and people living in the area were hoping for government assistance to move away from Hyde Park. Two of five neighborhoods in Hyde Park appeared to have arsenic, chromium, and dioxin, while all five were found to have PCBs and lead. However, residents were told it was not a risk to their health unless they somehow ingested it on a regular basis. At the time the article was written, the citizens still questioned why the EPA and ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Disease Registry) did not consider these chemicals as a threat to them. Hyde Park also has higher rates of certain illnesses (such as cancer, infections, rashes) than the average in America, and the citizens question why that is not considered.

Geography

Augusta is located along the Georgia/South Carolina border, about east of

and west of Columbia. The city is located at (33.4700, −81.9750). ISS067-E-177735 Augusta, Georgia

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the Augusta–Richmond County balance has a total area of , of which is land and (1.42%) is water. Augusta Canal tour boat music cruise

Augusta is located about halfway up the

on the

, which creates a number of small falls on the river. The city marks the end of a navigable waterway for the river and the entry to the Georgia

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

area. The Clarks Hill Dam is built on the fall line near Augusta, forming

Clarks Hill Lake Lake Strom Thurmond, officially designated J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir at the federal level, and Clarks Hill Lake by the state of Georgia, is a reservoir at the border between Georgia and South Carolina in the Savannah River Basin. Description ...

. Farther downstream, near the border of Columbia County, is the Stevens Creek Dam, which generates

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

. Even farther downstream is the Augusta Diversion Dam, which marks the beginning of the

Augusta Canal The Augusta Canal is a historic canal located in Augusta, Georgia, United States. The canal is fed by the Savannah River and passes through three levels (approximately total) in suburban and urban Augusta before the water returns to the river at v ...

and channels Savannah River waters into the canal.

Climate

As with the rest of the state, Augusta has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfa''), with short, mild winters, very hot, humid summers, and a wide

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak d ...

throughout much of the year, despite its low elevation and humidity. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July; there are 53 nights with the low reaching the freezing mark, 82 days reaching or exceeding , and 5.5 days reaching annually. Extreme temperatures range from on January 21, 1985 up to on August 10, 2007, and August 21, 1983. Snowfall is not nearly as common as in Atlanta, due largely to Augusta's elevation, with downtown Augusta being about lower than downtown Atlanta. The heaviest recorded snowfall was in February 1973 with 14.0″ snowfall (35.56 cm) Freezing rain is also a threat in wintertime.

Historic districts

Augusta Downtown Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

that encompasses most of downtown Augusta and its pre-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

area. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2004. Augusta also includes the: * Bethlehem Historic District * Broad Street Historic District * Greene Street Historic District * Harrisburg–West End Historic District * Laney–Walker North Historic District * Paine College Historic District * Pinched Gut Historic District *

Sand Hills Historic District The Sand Hills Historic District in Augusta, Georgia is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The district included 334 contributing buildings and a contributing site in a area roughly bounde ...

* Summerville Historic District

Tallest buildings

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 202,081 people, 66,838 households, and 41,517 families residing in the city.

2013

According to 2013 US Census estimates, the Augusta–

population was 197,350 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and

. In the 2010 census, Augusta–Richmond County had 195,844 residents. The population density was . There were 84,427 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city-county area was 64.7%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 29.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.3% Native American, 1.7%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, 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 the original p ...

, 1.3% some other race, and 2.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

people of any race were 4.1% of the population. There were 75,208 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were headed by

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 22.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.09. In the city-county consolidated area the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 12.6% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. As of the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the city-county area was $37,231, and the median income for a family was $45,372. Males had a median income of $32,008 versus $23,988 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the balance was $19,558. About 13.2% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

The most-attended denomination is the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

, with 221 congregations and 114,351 members. The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

has 13 congregations and 31,687 members, while the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

has 83 churches and 30,722 members. The National Baptist Convention had 26,671 members. The

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

has 14 congregations and 4,500 members, the

Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presb ...

has 4,396 members in 14 churches. The

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community in Augusta dates back to the early 19th century. Today, there are two congregations: Congregation Children of Israel (

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

) and Adas Yeshurun (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

). There is also a

Chabad-Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

house. Around 1,300 Jews currently live in Augusta, who collectively support a

Jewish Community Center A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social clubs, social, and Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish ...

Economy

Augusta is a regional center of medicine, biotechnology, and cyber security.

Augusta University Augusta University (AU) is a public research university and academic medical center in Augusta, Georgia. It is a part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite medical campuses in Savannah, Albany, Rome, and Athens. It employs over ...

, the state's only public health sciences graduate university, employs over 7,000 people. Along with

University Hospital A university hospital is an institution which combines the services of a hospital with the education of medical students and with medical research. These hospitals are typically affiliated with a medical school or university. The following is a l ...

, the Medical District of Augusta employs over 25,000 people and has an economic impact of over $1.8 billion. Cyber-center-of-excellence

The city's three largest employers are Augusta University, the

Savannah River Site The Savannah River Site (SRS) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation in the United States in the state of South Carolina, located on land in Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties adjacent to the Savannah River, southeast of August ...

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

facility) and the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence at

, which oversees training for

Cyber Cyber may refer to: Computing and the Internet * ''Cyber-'', from cybernetics, a transdisciplinary approach for exploring regulatory and purposive systems Crime and security * Cyber crime, crime that involves computers and networks ** Conventi ...

, Signal Corps, and Electronic Warfare. Despite layoffs from several companies during the U.S. economic recession and a relatively high state unemployment rate, the Augusta community has experienced a decrease in bankruptcy filings and saw a slight decrease in the unemployment rate from late 2009 to March 2011. However, these unemployment numbers are misleading as spring brings lower unemployment rates due to the Masters Golf Tournament. While unemployment fell to a two-year low of 8.3% in April 2011, unemployment rates have since risen to 9.9% as of July 2011. TechNet Augusta 2016 (28745774802)

With the establishment of the Georgia Cyber Center in Downtown Augusta, the Augusta metro region has become a hub for cyber security based companies looking to locate to the area in part as well to the establishment of the

U.S. Army Cyber Command U.S. Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) conducts information dominance and cyberspace operations as the Army service component command of United States Cyber Command.The official regulation, General Order (DA GO 2016-11) was signed by the Secretary of ...

relocating to Fort Gordon from Fort Meade. Augusta plays host to TechNet on a yearly basis which brings in various military, government, and private sector leaders to the area to showcase new cyber related products as well as discussions on cyber based collaboration efforts between the public and private sectors. Companies that have facilities, headquarters or distribution centers in the Augusta metro area include

CareSouth Encompass Health Corporation, based in Birmingham, Alabama, is one of the United States' largest providers of post-acute healthcare services, offering both facility-based and home-based post-acute services in 36 states and Puerto Rico through its ...

NutraSweet The NutraSweet Company is an American nutrient company that produces and markets NutraSweet Neotame, their trademarked brand name for the high-intensity sweetener neotame. In 2021, NutraSweet was placed 43rd by FoodTalks' list of Top 50 Global S ...

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic (T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland (T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobile ...

Covidien Covidien was an Irish-headquartered global health care products company and manufacturer of medical devices and supplies. Covidien became an independent publicly traded company after being spun off from Tyco International in 2007. It was purcha ...

Solo Cup Company Solo Cup Company is an American manufacturer of disposable consumer products including beverage cups, disposable plates, and bowls. Solo Cup Company is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and in 2006 had sales of $2.4 billion. On May 4, 2012, Sol ...

Automatic Data Processing ADP, Inc. (originally an acronym for Automatic Data Processing) is an American provider of human resources management software and services. History In 1949, Henry Taub founded Automatic Payrolls, Inc. as a manual payroll processing business wit ...

Graphic Packaging International Graphic Packaging Holding Company is a Fortune 500 corporation based in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States. It is a leading company in the design and manufacturing of packaging for commercial products. GPI manufactures paperboard and folding c ...

Solvay S.A. Solvay is a Belgian multinational chemical company established in 1863, with its headquarters located in Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels, Belgium. In 2015, it realized €12.4 billion in revenues, €2.336 billion of EBITDA, 43% of its sales in ...

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...

Teleperformance Teleperformance SE (TP) is an omnichannel company headquartered in France. The company provides customer acquisition management, customer care, technical support, debt collection, social media services, and other services. It operates in 88 cou ...

Olin Corporation Olin Corporation is an American manufacturer of ammunition, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide. The company traces its roots to two companies, both founded in 1892: Franklin W. Olin's Equitable Powder Company and the Mathieson Alkali Works. Olin che ...

Sitel Sitel Group is a privately owned contact center company headquartered in Miami, Florida. It provides outsourced sales, technical support, customer service, and other business processes for large companies. The company has 160,000 employees an ...

E-Z-GO Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engine ...

Taxslayer TaxSlayer LLC (formerly known as TaxSlayer.com) is a privately held tax preparation and financial technology company based in Augusta, Georgia. The company offers online tax preparation technology for American consumers and tax professionals, allo ...

Elanco Elanco Animal Health Incorporated is an American pharmaceutical company which produces medicines and vaccinations for pets and livestock. Until 2019, the company was a subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, before being divested. It is the third ...

KSB Company KSB SE & Co. KGaA is a German multinational manufacturer of pumps, valves with headquarters in Frankenthal (Pfalz), Germany. The KSB Group has sales and marketing organisations, manufacturing facilities, and service operations on all continents. ...

(Georgia Iron Works),

Club Car Club Car is an American company that manufactures electric and gas-powered golf carts and small utility vehicles for personal and commercial use. It is currently owned by Platinum Equity after being acquired in 2021. Before that, the company wa ...

(Worldwide Headquarters),

Halocarbon Halocarbon compounds are chemicals in which one or more carbon atoms are linked by covalent bonds with one or more halogen atoms (fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine – ) resulting in the formation of organofluorine compounds, organochlori ...

MTU Friedrichshafen MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH is a German manufacturer of commercial internal combustion engines founded by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach in 1909. Wilhelm Maybach was the technical director of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), a predec ...

(subsidiary of

Tognum Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG is a German company owned by Rolls-Royce Holdings with holdings in engine manufacturing brands and facilities. The company previously traded, from 2006 to 2014, as Tognum AG. Prior to 2006, the core company – MTU ...

Kimberly Clark Corporation Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand n ...

Nutrien Nutrien is a Canadian fertilizer company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is the largest producer of potash and the third largest producer of nitrogen fertilizer in the world. It has over 2,000 retail locations across North America, South ...

(formerly PotashCorp),

John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...

and

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

' baggage call center.

Top employers

According to the Augusta Economic Development Authority,City of Augusta Largest Employers
Retrieved November 14, 2013 the top manufacturing employers in the city are: The top public sector employers are:

Sports

Teams

The

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previous ...

minor league baseball club, formerly located at

Lake Olmstead Stadium Lake Olmstead Stadium is a baseball park in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It was built between the 1994 and 1995 seasons to replace Heaton Stadium on the same site and can hold 4,822 people. The stadium also serves as an outdoor-arena style ev ...

in Augusta, now play at

SRP Park SRP Park is a baseball park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. It is the home of the Augusta GreenJackets, a Minor League Baseball team playing in the Single-A Carolina League. It opened ...

along the

North Augusta, South Carolina North Augusta is a city in Aiken and Edgefield counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, on the north bank of the Savannah River. The population was 21,348 at the 2010 census. The city is included in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) ...

. The team began to play in 1988 as the Augusta Pirates, affiliated with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Later affiliated with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, the GreenJackets are now the Class A affiliate of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. The

Augusta Lynx The Augusta Lynx were a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Augusta, Georgia. The Lynx played their home games at the James Brown Arena. The Lynx, who played in the ECHL, had affiliations with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL and ...

were a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Augusta, Georgia. The Lynx played their home games at the

James Brown Arena James Brown Arena (formerly known as Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center) is a multi-purpose complex located in Augusta, Georgia. It is managed by Spectra Experiences. It features an 8,000-seat arena, renamed the James Brown Arena, in honor of ...

from 1998 until 2008. The Lynx, who played in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

, had affiliations with the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

of the NHL and the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: *Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hocke ...

of the AHL. The

Augusta RiverHawks The Augusta RiverHawks were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Augusta, Georgia. They played in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) from 2010 to 2013. They played their home games at the James Brown Arena. History The ...

were a professional minor league ice hockey team. They played in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) from 2010 to 2013. They played their home games at the James Brown Arena. The

Augusta Stallions The Augusta Stallions were a professional Arena football team based in Augusta, Georgia. They were one of the 15 original teams to join the inaugural 2000 AF2 season. They started off in the American Conference, before switching to the Southeast ...

were a professional Arena football team founded in 1999. They were one of the 15 original teams to join the inaugural 2000

AF2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

season. They started off in the American Conference, before switching to the Southeast Division in 2001, and then the Eastern Division in 2002. The team folded in 2002. The Augusta Rugby Football Club (ARFC) is a division 2 men's club competing in the Palmetto Rugby Union, part of the

USA Rugby South USA Rugby South is an organization that combines a number of unions in the south-east of the USA for competition and representative honours. Their representative team is known as the Panthers. Originally formed as Southern Eastern Rugby Union in ...

Conference. Augusta has an all-female flat track

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...

team, the Soul City Sirens. Founded in 2008, this league is all-volunteer and skater-owned. Augusta is also home to the former Augusta 706ers, a minor league professional basketball team in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

. The team was founded in 2017 and stopped operations in December 2018 because of a lack of funds. The team played all home games at the James Brown Arena.

Tournaments

The city's famous

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

course, the Augusta National Golf Club, hosts the first major golf tournament of each year,

. This tournament is the most prestigious in the sport and is one of the four major championships. The best professional and amateur golfers in the world come to Augusta during the first full week of April every year. The grounds of Augusta National are known for being pristine, and the course was ranked in 2009 as the third best golf course in the world by ''

Golf Magazine ''Golf Magazine'' is a monthly golf magazine. It was started in April 1959 by Universal Publishing and Distributing, who sold it to Times Mirror in 1972. Time Inc. acquired it in 2000. It was acquired by Howard Milstein in 2018. It was the world' ...

''. The city also has several

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

facilities. The Augusta Top Gun Series is a series of tournaments sanctioned by the

Professional Disc Golf Association The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the promotion and sustainable growth of disc golf. The PDGA is the global governing body of disc golf. The organization promotes the ...

. These tournaments are held at various venues in Augusta, including Pendleton King Park and Lake Olmstead. Also, Augusta hosted the 2006 Professional Disc Golf World Championships. Along with Pendleton King and Lake Olmstead, two courses in North Augusta, SC was used for the tournament. 299 disc golfers from around the world attended the event, with

Ken Climo Ken "The Champ" Climo (born March 27, 1968, in Clearwater, Florida) is a professional disc golfer considered by many to be the best professional disc golfer of all time. Climo has claimed Twelve PDGA World Championship titles, including nine ...

winning the tournament and his 12th world championship. Augusta hosted the

Augusta Southern Nationals Augusta may refer to: Places Australia * Augusta, Western Australia Brasil * Rua Augusta (São Paulo) Canada * Augusta, Ontario * North Augusta, Ontario * Augusta Street (Hamilton, Ontario) France * Augusta Suessionum ("Augusta of the Su ...

billed as "World's Richest Drag Boat Race" for 30 consecutive years. The event was held on the Savannah River near downtown in July until 2016. The race was part of the

Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk" * ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities * ''Luc ...

and was sanctioned by the International Hot Boat Association. The event benefited the Augusta Chapter of the

Georgia Special Olympics Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

with over 100 racing teams from 25 states competed annually for $140,000 in purse and prizes while trying to beat the course record of . Augusta is the site of the Head of the South Regatta. The youth

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

regatta is held on the Savannah River and is usually scheduled for early November. Augusta is also the host to one of the largest

IRONMAN 70.3 An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting o ...

competition in North America taking athletes through various cycling routes around Augusta, a running course through Downtown Augusta, and an opening swim on the

along Augusta's riverfront. Recently, Augusta has been the featured home of the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships which leads cyclists through various routes through Downtown Augusta and Fort Gordon. The city has also attracted visitors during the Nike EYBL Peach Jam Basketball Tournament held in neighboring

which features some of the top high school basketball players and teams across the United States.

Parks and recreation

Riverwalk Augusta Riverwalk Augusta (also known as the Augusta Riverwalk) is a city park along the Savannah River in downtown Augusta, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The park is alongside and on top of Augusta's levee. It extends from the 13th Street Bridge to t ...

–

riverfront A riverfront is a region along a river. Often in larger cities that are traversed or bordered by one or more rivers, the riverfront is lined with marinas, docks, cafes, museums, parks, or minor attractions. Today many riverfronts are a staple o ...

park along and on top of the city's levee *Augusta Common – green space linking Broad Street to Reynolds Street, with statue of

– historic canal with bike/pedestrian path * Phinizy Swamp Nature Park –

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

park with pedestrian/bike paths and boardwalks *Diamond Lakes Regional Park – in south Richmond County *Brookfield Park – public park featuring a playground, putting green, pedestrian/bike path, and a fountain in which children can play *Pendleton King – public park featuring a disc golf course, dog park, amphitheater, bike and running paths, and gardens

Law and government

In 1995, citizens of Augusta and unincorporated parts of

voted to consolidate their city and county governments. Citizens of Hephzibah and

, also located in Richmond County, voted against joining in the merger, which took effect January 1, 1996. The unified government consists of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

and ten

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

s. Eight commissioners represent single-member districts, while two are elected at-large, each to represent a super district that encompasses half of Augusta-Richmond's population. Law enforcement in Augusta is handled by the Richmond County Sheriff's Office which patrols the main city of Augusta and the unincorporated areas of Hephzibah and

although both of these towns have their own police departments. Prior to consolidation, Augusta had a city police department and the

sheriff patrolled the unincorporated areas of the county. The consolidation charter deems the sheriff as the chief law enforcement officer of Richmond County. Augusta is one of the few consolidated city-counties in the state that retain the sheriff in a law enforcement capacity.

List of mayors

See

List of mayors of Augusta, Georgia This is a list of mayors of Augusta, Georgia, United States, including the former city of Augusta and 1996–present consolidated Augusta–Richmond County. Former city of Augusta Consolidated Augusta–Richmond County See also * Timeline ...

Education

Augusta State University-The Belltower and Allgood Hall

Colleges and universities

;Main campuses *

Augusta Technical College Augusta Technical College is a public technical school based in Augusta, Georgia. It was opened in 1961 and is part of the Technical College System of Georgia. The school has three campuses, one in Augusta (Richmond County), another in Thomson ...

(state technical college) *

(public research university) *

Paine College Paine College is a private, historically black Methodist college in Augusta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine College offers undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, ...

(private, Methodist

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

) ;Satellite campuses *

East Georgia State College East Georgia State College (EGSC) is a public college in Swainsboro, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. As an access institution, the college serves a predominantly rural area of 24 counties in Georgia's coastal plain from i ...

(state four-year college), main campus located in Swainsboro *

Georgia Military College Georgia Military College (GMC) is a public military junior college in Milledgeville, Georgia. It is divided into the junior college, a military junior college program, high school, middle school, and elementary school. It was originally known as M ...

(state funded military college), main campus located in Milledgeville *

Brenau University Brenau University is a private university with its historic campus in Gainesville, Georgia. Founded in 1878, the university enrolls more than 2,800 students from approximately 48 states and 17 foreign countries who seek degrees ranging from asso ...

(private, not-for-profit, undergraduate and graduate-level higher education), main campus located in

Gainesville, Georgia The city of Gainesville is the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it is often called the "Poultry Capital of t ...

K–12 schools

Public

K–12 K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an American English expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States, which is similar to publicly supported school grade ...

schools in Augusta are managed by the

Richmond County School System The Richmond County School System is an American public school system based in Augusta, Georgia. It is run by the Richmond County Board of Education which, under Article VIII, § V, Paragraph 2, requires that each school system be under the mana ...

. The school system contains 36 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and the following eight high schools: Glenn Hills,

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

, Westside, Hephzibah, T. W. Josey, A.R.C. (Academy of Richmond County),

Lucy Craft Laney Lucy Craft Laney (April 13, 1854 – October 23, 1933) was an American educator who in 1883 founded the first school for black children in Augusta, Georgia. She was principal for 50 years of the Haines Institute for Industrial and Normal Ed ...

, and Cross Creek. There are four

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

C. T. Walker Traditional Magnet School Charles Thomas Walker Traditional Magnet School (C.T. Walker) is a public examination school located in the Laney-Walker district of Augusta, Georgia, United States. It draws students from kindergarten through eighth grade from all parts of the ...

A. R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet High School Augustus R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet Middle and High School is a public seven-year magnet school, magnet school in downtown Augusta, Georgia, Augusta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, drawing students from grades ...

, Davidson Fine Arts, and the

Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School (RCTCM) is a magnet school for the arts and technical careers located in the South Augusta area of Augusta, Georgia, United States. It was formed in 2012 at the former Joseph R. Lamar School in Downt ...

. Private schools in Augusta include Aquinas High School, Episcopal Day School, Saint Mary on the Hill Catholic School, Immaculate Conception School, Hillcrest Baptist Church School,

Curtis Baptist High School Curtis Baptist School (CBS) is a private 1-A Christian high school located in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is a private school that has more than 300 students in the elementary, middle, and high school combined. The school colors are red ...

, Gracewood Baptist First Academy, Alleluia Community School, New Life Christian Academy, Charles Henry Terrell Academy, Heritage Academy, and

Westminster Schools of Augusta Westminster Schools of Augusta was founded in 1972 as a private, Christian, college-preparatory school located in the western section of Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the c ...

Augusta Christian Schools The Augusta Christian Schools (ACS), is a Christian school located in Martinez, Georgia, in the Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state o ...

, Augusta First Seventh-day Adventist School, and

Augusta Preparatory Day School Augusta Preparatory Day School (APDS) is a non-sectarian, independent school in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It accepts students from age two through twelfth grade. History Augusta Preparatory School began with 38 students in grades 7–12 ...

serve Augusta, but are located in neighboring Martinez.

Media

The daily newspaper in the city is ''

The Augusta Chronicle ''The Augusta Chronicle'' is the daily newspaper of Augusta, Georgia, and is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States still in publication. The paper is known for its coverage of the Masters Tournament, which is played in Augusta. The ''C ...

.'' The television stations are: WAGT (

CW Plus CW may stand for: Science and technology * centiwatt (cW), one hundredth of a watt * Cω, a programming language * CW complex, a type of topological space * Carrier wave, in radio communications * CodeWarrior, an integrated development environm ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

), WCES (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

), WFXG (

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

WJBF WJBF (channel 6) is a television station in Augusta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located in Television Park, near the Augusta Mall in Augusta, and its transmitter is loca ...

(

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...

) and WRDW (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

Transportation

Augusta is linked to Atlanta to the west and

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

, to the east by Interstate 20 (I-20).

I-520 Interstate 520 (I-520) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway that encircles most of Augusta, Georgia, and North Augusta, South Carolina, as a three-quarter beltway around the western, southern, and eastern parts of the main part of the August ...

(

Bobby Jones Expressway The Bobby Jones Expressway is a roadway in the U.S. state of Georgia that is named for golfer Bobby Jones. It follows: * Georgia State Route 232's easternmost (from its intersection with SR 104 and Old Evans Road in Martinez to its eastern t ...

) extends from I-20 exit 196 through Augusta's western and southern suburban areas, eventually crossing the Savannah River to South Carolina, in which it is known as Palmetto Parkway. U.S. Route 1 (US 1), along with State Route 4 (SR 4), connects

Wrens Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is comm ...

. US 1 also links Augusta with

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, in western South Carolina. It is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the Sout ...

. US 25 and SR 121 connects Waynesboro with Augusta; across the state line, US 25 and

South Carolina Highway 121 South Carolina Highway 121 (SC 121) is a major state highway that travels north and south in central parts of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The highway is actually part of a long multi-state highway that also exists in Florida and G ...

(SC 121) links Augusta with

Edgefield, South Carolina Edgefield is a town in Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,750 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Edgefield County. Edgefield is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. Geography Edgefield is l ...

. US 78/ US 278/ SR 10, known locally as

Gordon Highway Gordon Highway is a major highway in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia, traveling through the southern part of Columbia County and the northeastern part of Richmond County. It is named after Confederate general John Brown Gordon ...

, connects

Thomson Thomson may refer to: Names * Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin * Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson Businesses and organizations * SGS-Thomson Mic ...

with Augusta. In South Carolina, US 1 and US 78 go through

. US 78 further connects with

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. US 278 bypasses Aiken and serves as a connecting route to

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of C ...

. Augusta has been mentioned as the east terminus of an proposed expansion of

Interstate 14 Interstate 14 (I-14), also known as the "14th Amendment Highway", the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway, and the Central Texas Corridor, is an Interstate Highway that is located entirely in Central Texas, following U.S. Route 190 (US& ...

that would begin in Midland-Odessa, Texas and run through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia with hopes of connecting major military installations along the highway corridor such as

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarters ...

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, and

Camp Beauregard Camp Beauregard is a U.S. Army installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Parish. It is operated and owned by the Louisiana National Guard as one of their main t ...

. Augusta has also been mentioned another proposed interstate known as

Interstate 3 Interstate 3 (I-3), the 3rd Infantry Division Highway, is a proposed Interstate Highway in the United States to run from Savannah, Georgia, north to Augusta, Georgia, and Knoxville, Tennessee. The roadway was proposed in the same federal highw ...

that would go through the city from

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

and it only runs through two states, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Major roads and expressways

* * * * * * * (follows US 1 from Jefferson County line to Gordon Highway; leaves Georgia at James U. Jackson Memorial Bridge) * (various roads, including John C. Calhoun Expressway and Washington Road) * * in southern Richmond County * * * * * * Parts of Augusta are served by city transit service

Augusta Public Transit Augusta may refer to: Places Australia * Augusta, Western Australia Brasil * Rua Augusta (São Paulo) Canada * Augusta, Ontario * North Augusta, Ontario * Augusta Street (Hamilton, Ontario) France * Augusta Suessionum ("Augusta of the Suessi ...

(APT), but the main mode of transportation within the city is by car. Augusta is also served by a number of taxi companies.

Airports

The city has two airports:

Augusta Regional Airport Augusta Regional Airport (Augusta Regional Airport at Bush Field) is a city-owned public airport six miles (11 km) south of Augusta, in Richmond County, Georgia, United States. In 2000 Bush Field airport changed its name to Augusta Region ...

and

Daniel Field Daniel Field is a public use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) west of the central business district of Augusta, a city in Richmond County, Georgia, United States. It is owned by the City of Augusta and operated by the General ...

. Augusta Regional Airport is served by three passenger airlines, including

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

, which offers mainline service to Atlanta.

Rail

Until the 1960s, the city's

Augusta Union Station Augusta Union Station was a train depot in Augusta, Georgia at 525 8th Street, serving trains from its opening in 1903 to its closing in 1968. The Spanish Renaissance styled building was in central Augusta at Barrett Square, five blocks from the ...

was a passenger rail hub, with trains arriving from the Atlantic Coast Line (as spur sections from

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

, from trains such as the ''

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

,'' ''Everglades'' and '' Palmetto''),

Georgia Railroad Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and Southern Railway (for example, the ''

Aiken-Augusta Special The ''Aiken-Augusta Special'' was a named night train of the '' Southern Railway'' between New York City and Augusta, Georgia. Different from other long distance Southern Railway lines which tended to briefly go through the northwestern edge of S ...

'' from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

). The last

Seaboard Coast Line The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

(the successor to the Atlantic Coast Line) train was a Florence-Augusta section of the ''Champion;'' this section ended in 1970. The last train to the city was the unnamed daily in-state

train between

and Augusta. This latter train, unofficially called ''The Georgia Cannonball,'' ran as a

mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. Although common in the early days of railways, by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. Typically, servic ...

, until May 6, 1983. Most trains went to the Union Station at Barrett Square. The Southern Railway trains went to the Southern Railway depot at Fifth and Reynolds Street. Today, freight service is handled by

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

's Georgia Division and Piedmont Division through their Augusta Yard and Nixon Yard located near the city. Norfolk Southern Trains such as the NS 191 and 192 pass through Augusta's downtown as they "street run" at down 6th street. They also cross the old Trestle over the Savannah River entering and leaving South Carolina.

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

Atlanta Division and Florence Division Trains also serve the Augusta, Georgia, area from the CSX Augusta Yard near

southwest of the city.

Pedestrians and cycling

* Augusta Canal Historic Trail * New Bartram Trail * Phinizy Swamp Constructed Wetlands Trail * River Levee Trail *

Trail

Notable people

Sister cities

Augusta is twinned with: *

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlanti ...

, France * Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Japan

Notes

References

External links

*
Augusta Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau

Augusta Economic Development Authority homepageAugusta TomorrowDowntown Development AuthorityRobert E. Williams Photographic Collection: African-Americans in the Augusta, Ga. Vicinity (Richmond Co.), ca. 1872–1898
from the

Digital Library of Georgia The Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) is an online, public collection of documents and media about the history and culture of the state of Georgia, United States. The collection includes more than a million digitized objects from more than 200 Georg ...

Picturing Augusta: Historic Postcards from the Collection of the East Central Georgia Regional Library
* {{Authority control Populated places established in 1735 Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)

Cities in Richmond County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Census balances in the United States Augusta metropolitan area Consolidated city-counties