Dougherty County, Georgia


Dougherty County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,790. The county seat and sole incorporated city is Albany.
Dougherty County is included in the Albany, GA metropolitan statistical area. Historically dominated by cotton plantation agriculture in the nineteenth century, it is part of the Black Belt of the South.

History

The county was created by the Georgia General Assembly on December 15, 1853, from a part of Baker County. It was named after Charles Dougherty, a respected judge and lawyer from Athens, Georgia. In 1854 and 1856 small areas were added from Worth County.
As noted above, the county was developed by European Americans using enslaved African Americans as workers for the production of cotton as a commodity crop. Its county seat of Albany, Georgia is located on the Flint River, which was originally the chief means of transportation for shipped products. Albany was later served by seven railroad lines, adding to its significance as a market center. The city was a center of the Civil Rights Movement, particularly during the early 1960s.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
The majority of Dougherty County is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin. The northeastern corner of the county, northeast of Albany, is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the same ACF River basin. A very small portion of Dougherty County, north of Albany, is located in the Kinchafoonee-Muckalee sub-basin of the larger ACF River Basin. The remaining western portion of the county is located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.

Major highways

U.S. Route 19 Business
  • U.S. Route 82
U.S. Route 82 Business

City

Race / ethnicity Pop. 2000Pop. 2010% 2000% 2010
White alone 35,79427,31520,63137.26%28.88%24.05%
Black or African American alone 57,52163,19859,72059.88%66.83%69.61%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 1921771280.20%0.19%0.15%
Asian alone 5447196470.57%0.76%0.75%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone 2552200.03%0.05%0.02%
Other race alone 74842340.08%0.09%0.27%
Mixed race or Multiracial 6239471,9970.65%1.00%2.33%
Hispanic or Latino 1,2922,0732,4131.34%2.19%2.81%
Total96,06594,56585,790100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 85,790, along with 35,252 households and 18,213 families. The median age was 38.0 years; 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.4% were 65 years of age or older.
For every 100 females there were 84.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 79.7 males age 18 and over. 85.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 14.4% lived in rural areas.
The racial makeup of the county was 24.5% White, 69.9% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.6% from some other race, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.8% of the population.
There were 35,252 households in the county, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 43.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 40,560 housing units, of which 13.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 43.7% were owner-occupied and 56.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.4%.

Education

Politics

As of the 2020s, Dougherty County is a Democratic Party stronghold owing in part to its highly African American population. In 2008 and 2012, Barack Obama performed better in the county than any Democrat since Roosevelt in 1944. The county defied national trends in 2024 when it shifted to the left in favor of Kamala Harris, casting over 70% of its vote for her, outperforming Obama's previous record.
For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Dougherty County is part of Georgia's 2nd congressional district, currently represented by Sanford Bishop. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Dougherty County is part of District 12. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Dougherty County is part of districts 151, 152, 153 and 154.