The 10 Poorest Cities In Georgia For 2024


The poorest places in Georgia are Camilla and Thomaston for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Like all states, Georgia has certain places that are going on hard times. These Georgia places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.

Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Georgia.

To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 132 cities in Georgia with more than 5,000 people.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Poorest Places In Georgia Map

What’s the poorest city in Georgia? According to the facts, Camilla is the poorest place in Georgia for 2024.

This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.

For more Georgia reading, check out:

The 10 Poorest Cities In Georgia For 2024

1. Camilla

Camilla, GA

Source: Wikipedia User Michael Rivera | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 5,163
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $27,306 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 46.7% (highest)
People In Poverty: 2,410
More on Camilla: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Camilla, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Georgia thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.

The city of 5,163 people averages the 2nd lowest median household income in Georgia and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.

2. Thomaston

Thomaston, GA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 9,720
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 2)
Median Income: $30,298 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 36.7% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,571
More on Thomaston: Data | Cost Of Living

The second poorest city in Georgia is Thomaston.

The city ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and 5th lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 68th highest in the Peach State.

3. Fort Valley

Fort Valley, GA

Source: Wikipedia User Bubba73 (Jud McCranie) | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 8,821
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 4)
Median Income: $31,807 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 35.6% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,144
More on Fort Valley: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Placing as the third poorest city, Fort Valley’s median income ranks as the 7th lowest.

And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 35.65% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.

But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Peach State.

4. Cedartown

Cedartown, GA

Source: Wikipedia User Cculber007 at en.wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 10,166
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $30,655 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 33.8% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,432
More on Cedartown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Cedartown ranks as the fourth poorest place in Georgia.

The town ranks as having the 6th lowest median household income and the 9th highest incidence of poverty in the state.

That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.

5. Brunswick

Brunswick, GA

Source: Wikipedia User Alan Cressler from Decatur, Georgia, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 15,243
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 3)
Median Income: $29,781 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 30.8% (13th highest)
People In Poverty: 4,700
More on Brunswick: Data | Cost Of Living

The fifth poorest city in Georgia is Brunswick.

The city ranks as having the 3rd lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 13th highest in Georgia.

Still not the best news for Brunswick.

6. Statesboro

Statesboro, GA

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 33,185
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 5)
Median Income: $38,845 (13th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 37.2% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 12,341
More on Statesboro: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Statesboro ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Peach State.

It ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty and the 3rd highest unemployment rate.

7. Dublin

Dublin, GA

Source: Wikipedia User Boston Public Library | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 15,985
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 5)
Median Income: $37,734 (12th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 35.5% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 5,671
More on Dublin: Data | Cost Of Living

Dublin places as the seventh poorest city in Georgia.

The city of over 15,985 ranks as having the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.

8. Waycross

Waycross, GA

Source: Wikipedia User Daffydoc | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 13,856
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 3)
Median Income: $36,818 (11th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 33.8% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 4,680
More on Waycross: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Waycross ranks as the eighth poorest city in Georgia.

The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.

9. Cordele

Cordele, GA

Source: Wikipedia User Michael Rivera | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 10,210
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 8)
Median Income: $33,166 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 32.3% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,296
More on Cordele: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Cordele couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Georgia; it ranks number 9.

While the median income is the 9th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Cordele ranks as having the 10th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Georgia.

10. Milledgeville

Milledgeville, GA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 17,021
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $40,672 (16th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 39.9% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 6,796
More on Milledgeville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Georgia is Milledgeville.

The city of 17,021 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Peach State.

Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Georgia for 2024

The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.

However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey:

  • Poverty Level
  • Median Household Income

After we collected the data for all 132 places with more than 5,000 people in Georgia, we ranked each place from 1 to 132 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.

We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Camilla, crowned the “Poorest Place In Georgia For 2024”.

This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Georgia.

Summary: The Poorest Cities In Georgia For 2024

Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Georgia, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Georgia.

When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.

If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Georgia, according to data:

    Richest: Johns Creek
    2nd Richest: Milton
    3rd Richest: Tyrone

For more Georgia reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Georgia

Rank City Population Poverty Rate Median Income People In Poverty
1 Camilla 5,163 46.7% $27,306 2,410
2 Thomaston 9,720 36.7% $30,298 3,571
3 Fort Valley 8,821 35.6% $31,807 3,144
4 Cedartown 10,166 33.8% $30,655 3,432
5 Brunswick 15,243 30.8% $29,781 4,700
6 Statesboro 33,185 37.2% $38,845 12,341
7 Dublin 15,985 35.5% $37,734 5,671
8 Waycross 13,856 33.8% $36,818 4,680
9 Cordele 10,210 32.3% $33,166 3,296
10 Milledgeville 17,021 39.9% $40,672 6,796
11 Adel 5,571 26.3% $26,800 1,466
12 Fitzgerald 8,972 27.2% $32,500 2,437
13 Americus 16,020 27.1% $36,498 4,347
14 Monroe 15,036 41.8% $45,307 6,280
15 Waynesboro 5,720 32.1% $41,932 1,836
16 Valdosta 55,266 28.4% $41,365 15,667
17 Albany 68,926 29.6% $43,724 20,374
18 Jackson 5,497 29.6% $43,824 1,625
19 LaFayette 6,929 21.2% $30,284 1,472
20 LaGrange 31,173 25.4% $41,030 7,924
21 Blakely 5,299 28.5% $43,008 1,511
22 Cairo 10,091 23.9% $39,784 2,416
23 Bainbridge 14,234 27.1% $42,093 3,850
24 Carrollton 26,622 32.1% $46,722 8,558
25 Douglas 11,694 23.0% $39,716 2,693
26 Moultrie 14,533 24.9% $41,228 3,625
27 Eastman 5,635 23.8% $41,213 1,342
28 Griffin 23,485 25.4% $42,047 5,955
29 Swainsboro 7,542 27.1% $44,491 2,046
30 Tifton 17,059 24.4% $42,200 4,169
31 Sylvester 5,622 28.4% $48,599 1,593
32 Vidalia 10,732 26.6% $47,124 2,859
33 Clarkston 14,553 28.9% $51,122 4,207
34 Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance) 126,672 27.1% $47,798 34,290
35 Thomasville 18,744 21.4% $45,789 4,014
36 Forest Park 19,619 18.0% $41,837 3,529
37 Sandersville 5,727 19.8% $45,502 1,135
38 Dahlonega 7,083 29.5% $57,941 2,090
39 Rome 37,621 22.2% $48,512 8,366
40 Covington 14,190 20.5% $47,278 2,904
41 Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance) 201,615 20.6% $50,492 41,613
42 Toccoa 9,055 19.9% $49,860 1,801
43 Thomson 6,839 15.7% $42,793 1,075
44 College Park 14,113 18.1% $47,706 2,553
45 Stone Mountain 6,638 15.6% $44,950 1,036
46 Doraville 10,691 21.8% $59,636 2,334
47 Jesup 9,820 18.4% $53,096 1,805
48 Barnesville 6,200 16.1% $46,116 998
49 Savannah 147,583 19.0% $54,748 27,996
50 Columbus 204,572 18.7% $54,561 38,234
51 Calhoun 17,184 18.8% $54,927 3,228
52 East Point 38,113 19.8% $59,602 7,542
53 Lovejoy 10,429 18.9% $59,184 1,975
54 Garden City 10,352 14.1% $46,063 1,455
55 Fairburn 16,469 23.4% $67,245 3,858
56 Lilburn 14,741 19.4% $61,347 2,867
57 Cusseta-Chattahoochee County unified government 9,402 16.9% $52,943 1,585
58 Glennville 5,204 14.3% $47,227 745
59 Dalton 34,358 17.3% $57,163 5,954
60 Eatonton 6,369 16.2% $53,870 1,031
61 St. Marys 18,507 21.6% $68,199 4,001
62 Hinesville 34,732 16.3% $54,447 5,661
63 Lawrenceville 30,465 17.2% $55,608 5,236
64 Union City 26,869 12.4% $46,696 3,342
65 Dallas 14,126 17.9% $60,032 2,521
66 Hapeville 6,566 18.0% $62,117 1,181
67 Conyers 17,415 14.5% $53,500 2,519
68 Morrow 6,563 18.3% $64,890 1,200
69 Rockmart 5,113 11.7% $49,438 596
70 Cumming 7,371 18.3% $71,855 1,351
71 Winder 18,414 14.2% $57,365 2,605
72 Gainesville 42,780 16.9% $64,163 7,242
73 Fort Oglethorpe 10,203 10.1% $49,789 1,030
74 Locust Grove 9,367 16.6% $67,143 1,559
75 Hampton 8,244 17.3% $67,808 1,423
76 Port Wentworth 11,103 14.9% $61,409 1,659
77 Riverdale 14,933 14.6% $61,622 2,178
78 Commerce 7,391 11.7% $58,763 866
79 Atlanta 494,838 17.7% $77,655 87,734
80 Chamblee 29,980 17.3% $76,682 5,186
81 Centerville 8,220 15.3% $74,250 1,254
82 Warner Robins 80,374 11.3% $63,678 9,106
83 Marietta 61,387 12.8% $67,589 7,832
84 Perry 21,279 13.4% $68,507 2,851
85 Oakwood 5,132 9.7% $60,696 495
86 Kingsland 18,563 13.3% $73,839 2,461
87 Douglasville 35,252 11.9% $72,753 4,194
88 Canton 33,499 13.7% $75,414 4,575
89 Norcross 17,530 13.1% $74,921 2,292
90 Byron 5,687 15.5% $83,996 879
91 Austell 8,109 8.3% $64,071 677
92 Grovetown 16,049 8.8% $67,222 1,404
93 Buford 17,222 9.3% $68,165 1,596
94 Cartersville 23,103 12.4% $75,407 2,869
95 Newnan 42,689 9.8% $74,606 4,204
96 Kennesaw 33,360 12.6% $81,467 4,213
97 Stockbridge 28,858 8.7% $72,175 2,499
98 McDonough 29,134 10.4% $77,804 3,032
99 Dacula 6,906 10.8% $81,322 749
100 Peachtree Corners 42,147 9.2% $74,716 3,864
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

One thought on “The 10 Poorest Cities In Georgia For 2024

  1. I’m just curious as to why Louisville and Wadley GA are not listed on this. This data is incorrect or there are places not being reported

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