Brantley County, Georgia


Brantley County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,021. The county seat is Nahunta. Brantley County is part of the Brunswick, Georgia metropolitan area.

History

Georgia voters passed a state constitutional amendment on November 2, 1920, to form Brantley County from pieces of three earlier surrounding Georgia counties: Charlton, Pierce, and Wayne counties. Although the precise origin of the county name is unknown, it is believed that it honors U.S. Representative William Gordon Brantley or his father, Benjamin Daniel Brantley, a well-known local merchant and Confederate States Army soldier in the American Civil War.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The Satilla River runs through Brantley County.
The bulk of Brantley County, from east of Hortense south to west of Waynesville and west to east of Waycross, is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla basin. The county's eastern border area, east of Waynesville, is located in the Cumberland-St. Simons sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla River basin. A small northwestern corner, west of Hortense, is located in the Little Satilla sub-basin of the larger St. Marys-Satilla River basin, and a very small southwestern corner of Brantley County is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the larger Suwannee River basin.

Major highways

Cities

  • Hoboken
  • Nahunta

    Census-designated places

  • Hickox
  • Hortense
  • Waynesville

    Unincorporated communities

  • Fort Mudge
  • Schlatterville

    Demographics

Race / Ethnicity Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010
White alone 13,71217,19816,31793.73%93.41%90.54%
Black or African American alone 5795315623.96%2.88%3.12%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 2056450.14%0.30%0.25%
Asian alone 1337420.09%0.20%0.23%
Pacific Islander alone 1230.01%0.01%0.02%
Other race alone 310340.02%0.05%0.19%
Mixed race or Multiracial 1492346921.02%1.27%3.84%
Hispanic or Latino 1523433261.04%1.86%1.81%
Total14,62918,41118,021100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 18,021. Of the residents, 24.0% were under the age of 18 and 16.6% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 40.3 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.1 males. 0.7% of residents lived in urban areas and 99.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 6,915 households and 4,578 families residing in the county; 32.4% of the households had children under the age of 18 living with them and 24.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 8,143 housing units, of which 15.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.9% were owner-occupied and 21.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.9%.

Education

Politics

As of the 2020s, Brantley County is a Republican stronghold, voting 91% for Donald Trump in 2024. The last Democrat to carry the county was Bill Clinton in 1992, and it has swung hard to the right in the following elections. In 2020, Donald Trump carried the county with 90.2% of the vote, the most out of any county in Georgia.
For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Brantley County is part of Georgia's 1st congressional district, currently represented by Buddy Carter. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Brantley County is part of District 3. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Brantley County is part of District 174.