Baker County, Georgia
Baker County is a county in Georgia. As of the 2020 [United States census|2020 census], the population was 2,876, making it the [List of counties in Georgia|fifth-least populous county in Georgia]. The county seat and only municipality is Newton. The county was created December 12, 1825, from the eastern portion of Early County by an act of the Georgia General Assembly and is named for Colonel John Baker, a hero of the American Revolutionary War.
Baker County is included in the Albany, GA Georgia metropolitan area|metropolitan statistical area].
The Baker County Courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Three other properties in Newton are also listed on the register: Notchaway Baptist Church and Cemetery, Pine Bloom Plantation, and Tarver Plantation.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.The eastern half of Baker County is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin. The western half of the county is located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.
Major highways
- 20px Georgia [State Route 37|State Route 37]
- 20px State Route 91
- 25px State Route 200
- 25px State Route 216
- 25px State Route 253
Adjacent counties
- Dougherty County, Georgia - northeast
- Mitchell County, Georgia - east
- Decatur County, Georgia - southwest
- Early County, Georgia - west
- Miller County, Georgia - west
- Calhoun County, Georgia - northwest
Communities
City
- Newton
Unincorporated communities
- Anna
- Bethany
- Crestview
- Elmodel
- Hardup
- Milford
- Patmos
Ghost towns
- Cheevertown
- Dewsville
Demographics
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | % 2000 | % 2010 | ||
| White alone | 1,889 | 1,642 | 1,514 | 46.37% | 47.58% | 52.64% |
| Black or African American alone | 2,038 | 1,600 | 1,128 | 50.02% | 46.36% | 39.22% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0.22% | 0.26% | 0.03% |
| Asian alone | 0 | 24 | 18 | 0.00% | 0.70% | 0.63% |
| Pacific Islander alone | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.02% | 0.06% | 0.00% |
| Race and ethnicity in [the United States census|Other race] alone | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0.05% | 0.03% | 0.07% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial | 24 | 28 | 70 | 0.59% | 0.81% | 2.43% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 111 | 145 | 143 | 2.72% | 4.20% | 4.97% |
| Total | 4,074 | 3,451 | 2,876 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,876 and 788 families residing there. Of the residents, 20.9% were under the age of 18 and 22.8% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 47.0 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.6 males. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 100.0% lived in rural areas.The racial makeup of the county was 53.4% White, 39.3% Black or African American, 0.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.5% from some other race, and 4.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.0% of the population.
There were 1,187 households in the county, of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 33.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 1,447 housing units, of which 18.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.2% were owner-occupied and 28.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.
Education
operates public schools.Politics
As of the 2020s, Baker County is a Republican stronghold, voting 60% for Donald Trump in 2024. Like most Deep South counties, Baker County was historically Democratic voting. Starting in 1964, the county began to see a realignment, with Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon carrying it in 1964 and 1972, and American Independent candidate George Wallace winning the county in 1968 as a third-party candidate. In 1956, Adlai Stevenson received over 96 percent of the county's vote. The county voted Democratic consistently from 1976 until 2012, but by closer margins than in 1956, and the county shifted more to the right throughout the early 2000s. In 2008 Barack Obama won with just 50.1 percent to John McCain's 49.1 percent, while Donald Trump won the county by almost ten percent in 2016, despite declining on Mitt Romney’s performance statewide. Brian Kemp repeated this feat by double digits in the 2018 gubernatorial race, and in 2020, Trump won Baker County by nearly sixteen percentage points.For elections to the United States [House of Representatives], Baker County is part of Georgia's 2nd congressional district, currently represented by Sanford Bishop. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Baker County is part of District 12. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Baker County is part of Georgia's 154th [House of Representatives district|District 154].