Atkinson County, Georgia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Atkinson County
U.S. county
Atkinson County Courthouse in Pearson
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	August 15, 1917; 107 years ago (1917)
Named for	William Yates Atkinson
Seat	Pearson
Largest city	Pearson
Area
• Total	345 sq mi (890 km2)
• Land	339 sq mi (880 km2)
• Water	5.2 sq mi (13 km2)  1.5%%
Population
• Estimate  (2019)	8,165
• Density	25/sq mi (10/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	8th

Atkinson County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,375. The county seat is Pearson. The county was formed in 1917 from parts of Coffee 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 345 square miles (890 km²), of which 339 square miles (880 km²) is land and 5.2 square miles (13 km²) (1.5%) is water.

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

Adjacent counties

• Coffee County - north
• Ware County - east
• Clinch County - southeast
• Lanier County - south
• Berrien County - west

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 8,375 people, 2,983 households, and 2,159 families living in the county. The population density was 24.7 inhabitants per square mile (9.5/km²). There were 3,522 housing units at an average density of 10.4 per square mile (4.0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 62.2% white, 17.3% black or African American, 0.6% American Indian, 0.3% Pacific islander, 0.3% Asian, 17.7% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. 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.

Of the 2,983 households, 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.6% were non-families, and 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.29. The median age was 33.4 years.

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. The per capita income for the county was $15,456. About 19.8% of families and 28.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.4% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,286 people, 2,880 households, and 1,976 families residing in the county.

Communities

Cities

• Pearson
• Willacoochee

Unincorporated communities

• Axson
• Guthrie Heights
• Henderson Still
• Kirkland
• Leliaton
• Oberry
• Sandy Bottom
• Morrisville

Education

The county is serviced along with Coffee County, Georgia by the Satilla Regional Library System.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Atkinson para niños