The Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) is an unofficial trading and marketing region in the U.S. states 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 ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, spanning thirteen counties in Georgia and seven in South Carolina. The term was coined in 1950 by C.C. McCollum, the winner of a $250 contest held by ''

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. Hist ...

'' to generate the best name for the area. Today the initialism is so commonly used that the full name is not known to all CSRA residents. The region is located on and named after the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

, which forms the border between the two states. The largest cities within the CSRA are

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

and

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the most populous city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. According to 2020 census, the population was 32,025, making it the 15th-most populous city in South Carolina, and one of the two largest ci ...

. (The CSRA does not include the city of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

or any portion of the Savannah metropolitan area.) The total population of the CSRA is 767,478 in 2018. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the seven-county Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area (the core of the CSRA) had a 2020 population of more than 611,000, making it the second most populous (after

metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...

) in the state of

Counties

In Georgia

In South Carolina

Communities

Places with more than 40,000 inhabitants

* Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia (Principal city) Pop: 197,872

Places with 10,000 to 40,000 inhabitants

* Martinez, Georgia Pop: 35,795 *

Pop: 29,884 * Evans, Georgia Pop: 29,011 * North Augusta, South Carolina Pop: 21,873 * Grovetown, Georgia Pop: 12,210

Places with 5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants

* Thomson, Georgia Pop: 6,718 * Belvedere, South Carolina Pop: 5,792 * Waynesboro, Georgia Pop: 5,816 *

Sandersville, Georgia The city of Sandersville is the county seat of Washington County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,813 in 2020. It is also a part of the Central Savannah River Area. Sandersville is known as the "Kaolin Capital of the World" due to ...

Pop: 5,912

Places with 1,000 to 5,000 inhabitants

Places with less than 1,000 inhabitants

References

External links