Covington County (briefly Jones 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 south central portion 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 so ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. As of the 2020 census the population was 37,570. Its

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 ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. Its name is in honor of Brigadier General Leonard Covington of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, who died in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

History

Covington County was established on December 17, 1821. The Alabama state legislature changed the name to Jones County on August 6, 1868. Two months later on October 10, 1868, the original name was restored. The county was declared a disaster area in September 1979 due to damage from

Hurricane Frederic Hurricane Frederic, known in Latin America as Federico, was an intense and damaging tropical cyclone that carved a path of destruction from the Lesser Antilles to Quebec, in particular devastating areas of the United States Gulf Coast. Though ...

and again in October 1995 due to Hurricane Opal.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. The county is located in the

Gulf Coastal Plain The Gulf Coastal Plain extends around the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern United States and eastern Mexico. This coastal plain reaches from the Florida Panhandle, southwest Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, the southern two-thirds of Alabama, over m ...

region of the state. It is drained by the Conecuh and

Yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

rivers.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 29 * U.S. Highway 84 * U.S. Highway 331 * State Route 52 * State Route 54 * State Route 55 * State Route 100 * State Route 134 * State Route 137

Transit

*Covington Area Transit System (CATS) provides demand-response service.

Adjacent counties

* Butler County (north) *

Crenshaw County Crenshaw County is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located immediately south of the Montgomery metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,194. Its county seat is Luverne. ...

(north) * Coffee County (east) * Geneva County (east) *

Walton County, Florida Walton County is a County (United States), county located on the Emerald Coast in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida, with its southern border on the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the populat ...

(southeast) * Okaloosa County, Florida (southwest) * Escambia County (west) * Conecuh County (west)

National protected area

* Conecuh National Forest (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 37,570 people, 14,852 households, and 9,924 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 37,765 people, 15,531 households, and 10,791 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 18,829 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.8%

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 ...

, 12.5%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.0%

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 ...

, 0.4% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 15,531 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.91. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.4 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,852, and the median income for a family was $43,468. Males had a median income of $32,463 versus $26,241 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 $19,822. About 15.7% of families and 19.0% 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 ...

, including 28.3% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over. the largest self-reported European ancestry group in Covington County is English with 41.2% of people in Covington County citing that they were of English descent. They were followed by people who wrote that they were of "American" ancestry, who made up 16.0% of Covington county. Irish was the third largest self-reported European ancestry with 14.5% of people in the county writing that they were of Irish descent.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 37,631 people, 15,640 households, and 10,791 families living in the county. The

was . There were 18,578 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.2%

, 12.4%

, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, <0.1%

, 0.2% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. 0.8% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 15,640 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were

living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.90. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,336, and the median income for a family was $33,201. Males had a median income of $27,453 versus $19,640 for females. The

for the county was $15,365. About 14.1% of families and 18.4% of the population were below the

, including 23.9% of those under age 18 and 19.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Covington County is reliably Republican at the presidential level. The last Democrat to win the county in a presidential election is

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, who won it by a majority in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

Communities

Cities

(county seat) * Opp

Towns

* Babbie * Carolina * Florala * Gantt *

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

* Horn Hill * Libertyville * Lockhart * Onycha * Red Level * River Falls * Sanford

Unincorporated communities

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

* Beda * Brooks * Chapel Hill * Estothel * Fairfield * Falco * Green Bay * Huckaville * Loango * McRae * Opine *

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

* Rose Hill *

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

* Straughn * Wiggins *

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

References

{{authority control 1821 establishments in Alabama Populated places established in 1821

History

Geography

Major highways

Transit

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

Government

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

See also

References