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

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.

References

External links

list of places

Atkinson County Sheriff's Office

Atkinson County
historical marker {{authority control 1917 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1917 Georgia (U.S. state) counties