Houston County, Georgia
The county was created on May 15, 1821, along with 4 other counties in the state, and later reduced in size with the formation of Bibb, Crawford, Pulaski, Macon, and Peach counties. It was named after Georgia governor John Houstoun, with the spelling being a common 19th-century variation that later evolved to "Houston". The pronunciation, however, remains to this day "howston." The geographic center of the county was given the name Wattsville, which was later changed to Perry.
Houston County is included in the Warner Robins, GA metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Macon-Warner Robins-Fort Valley combined statistical area. Flat Creek Public Fishing Area is in Houston County, south west of Perry.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 380 square miles (980 km), of which 376 square miles (970 km) is land and 4.4 square miles (11 km) (1.2%) is water. The county is located in the upper Atlantic coastal plain region of the state.
The vast majority of Houston County is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The very northern edge of the county, north of Centerville and Warner Robins, is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin. The very southwestern corner of Houston County, well west of Interstate 75, is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin).
Adjacent counties
- Bibb County - north
- Peach County - west
- Twiggs County - east
- Bleckley County - southeast
- Pulaski County - south-southeast
- Dooly County - south
- Macon County - southwest
Communities
Cities
- Byron (Partially)
- Centerville
- Perry (Slightly extends into Peach County, Georgia)
- Warner Robins
Census-designated place
Unincorporated communities
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1830 | 7,369 | — | |
1840 | 9,711 | 31.8% | |
1850 | 16,450 | 69.4% | |
1860 | 15,611 | −5.1% | |
1870 | 20,406 | 30.7% | |
1880 | 22,414 | 9.8% | |
1890 | 21,613 | −3.6% | |
1900 | 22,641 | 4.8% | |
1910 | 23,609 | 4.3% | |
1920 | 21,964 | −7.0% | |
1930 | 11,280 | −48.6% | |
1940 | 11,303 | 0.2% | |
1950 | 20,964 | 85.5% | |
1960 | 39,154 | 86.8% | |
1970 | 62,924 | 60.7% | |
1980 | 77,605 | 23.3% | |
1990 | 89,208 | 15.0% | |
2000 | 110,765 | 24.2% | |
2010 | 139,900 | 26.3% | |
2020 | 163,633 | 17.0% | |
2023 (est.) | 171,974 | 5.1% | |
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1880 1890-1910 1920-1930 1930-1940 1940-1950 1960-1980 1980-2000 2010 |
Race | Num. | Perc. |
---|---|---|
White (non-Hispanic) | 86,211 | 52.69% |
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 51,992 | 31.77% |
Native American | 339 | 0.21% |
Asian | 4,905 | 3.0% |
Pacific Islander | 124 | 0.08% |
Other/Mixed | 8,255 | 5.04% |
Hispanic or Latino | 11,807 | 7.22% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 163,633 people, 58,417 households, and 39,810 families residing in the county.
Education
Houston County Schools operates public schools.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Flat_Creek_Public_Fishing_Area_sign.jpg/220px-Flat_Creek_Public_Fishing_Area_sign.jpg)
Politics
Houston County voted for conservative Democrats for most of the twentieth century, and gradually switched to voting for conservative Republicans closer to the century's end and into the twenty-first. In the 2018 gubernatorial election, while she did not carry Houston County, Stacey Abrams improved on Democratic margins in the county, improving five percent compared to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run and by four percent compared to Barack Obama's 2008 run. Houston was one of five counties not carried by Abrams which improved their Democratic margins. In 2020, Joe Biden improved Democratic margins to their best since Jimmy Carter carried it in 1980. He also became the first non-Georgian Democrat to win 40 percent of the county's vote since 1960.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 41,540 | 55.48% | 32,239 | 43.06% | 1,093 | 1.46% |
2016 | 35,430 | 58.65% | 22,553 | 37.34% | 2,423 | 4.01% |
2012 | 34,662 | 59.58% | 22,702 | 39.02% | 811 | 1.39% |
2008 | 33,392 | 59.59% | 22,094 | 39.43% | 548 | 0.98% |
2004 | 29,862 | 66.03% | 15,054 | 33.29% | 310 | 0.69% |
2000 | 23,174 | 62.65% | 13,301 | 35.96% | 513 | 1.39% |
1996 | 17,050 | 52.18% | 12,760 | 39.05% | 2,868 | 8.78% |
1992 | 14,119 | 43.11% | 12,270 | 37.47% | 6,359 | 19.42% |
1988 | 15,748 | 64.02% | 8,664 | 35.22% | 185 | 0.75% |
1984 | 14,255 | 60.71% | 9,226 | 39.29% | 0 | 0.00% |
1980 | 9,005 | 43.51% | 10,915 | 52.74% | 775 | 3.74% |
1976 | 5,404 | 29.10% | 13,164 | 70.90% | 0 | 0.00% |
1972 | 13,576 | 84.16% | 2,556 | 15.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 4,285 | 29.64% | 2,833 | 19.60% | 7,339 | 50.76% |
1964 | 6,532 | 60.53% | 4,258 | 39.46% | 1 | 0.01% |
1960 | 1,757 | 30.35% | 4,033 | 69.65% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 1,060 | 19.12% | 4,483 | 80.88% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 511 | 15.48% | 2,789 | 84.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 204 | 9.85% | 1,437 | 69.35% | 431 | 20.80% |
1944 | 190 | 26.21% | 535 | 73.79% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 149 | 19.30% | 622 | 80.57% | 1 | 0.13% |
1936 | 37 | 4.44% | 796 | 95.56% | 0 | 0.00% |
1932 | 27 | 5.54% | 460 | 94.46% | 0 | 0.00% |
1928 | 92 | 22.17% | 323 | 77.83% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 75 | 4.39% | 1,611 | 94.27% | 23 | 1.35% |
1920 | 39 | 5.12% | 723 | 94.88% | 0 | 0.00% |
1916 | 52 | 5.98% | 806 | 92.64% | 12 | 1.38% |
1912 | 24 | 3.00% | 760 | 95.00% | 16 | 2.00% |
1908 | 27 | 2.58% | 855 | 81.58% | 166 | 15.84% |
1904 | 78 | 8.99% | 768 | 88.48% | 22 | 2.53% |
1900 | 81 | 9.11% | 798 | 89.76% | 10 | 1.12% |
1896 | 192 | 17.63% | 875 | 80.35% | 22 | 2.02% |
1892 | 507 | 20.48% | 1,953 | 78.88% | 16 | 0.65% |
1888 | 466 | 32.86% | 949 | 66.93% | 3 | 0.21% |
1884 | 433 | 24.99% | 1,300 | 75.01% | 0 | 0.00% |
1880 | 909 | 39.68% | 1,382 | 60.32% | 0 | 0.00% |
Transportation
Major highways
Interstate 75
U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 129
U.S. Route 341
State Route 7
State Route 7 Spur
State Route 11
State Route 11 Business
State Route 11 Connector
State Route 26
State Route 49
State Route 96
State Route 127
State Route 224
State Route 247
State Route 247 Connector
State Route 247 Spur
State Route 329
State Route 401 (unsigned designation for I-75)
Pedestrians and cycling
- Big Indian Creek Trail (Proposed)
- Walker's Pond Trail
- Wellston Trail
- The Walk at Sandy Run Creek
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Houston County, Georgia
- Houston County Schools
- List of counties in Georgia