Houston County, Georgia


Houston County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 163,633 at the 2020 census. Its county seat is Perry; the city of Warner Robins is substantially larger in both area and population.
The county was created on May 15, 1821, along with four 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.
WWW Official Site

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and 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.

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

  • Georgia (CDP)|Robins Air Force Base]

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

RaceNum.Perc.
White 86,21152.69%
Black or African American 51,99231.77%
Native American3390.21%
Asian4,9053.0%
Pacific Islander1240.08%
Other/Mixed8,2555.04%
Hispanic or Latino11,8077.22%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 163,633 in 62,115 households, including 39,810 families.
The median age was 36.4 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.7 males age 18 and over. 91.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 9.0% lived in rural areas.
The racial makeup of the county was 54.1% White, 32.2% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.0% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.0% from some other race, and 7.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.2% of the population.
There were 62,115 households in the county, of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 29.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 66,633 housing units, of which 6.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.3% were owner-occupied and 35.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.4%.

Education

Houston County Schools operates public schools.

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.
For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Houston County is divided between Georgia's 2nd congressional district and Georgia's 8th congressional district. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Houston County is part of districts 18, 20, and 26. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Houston County is part of districts 143, 146, 147 and 148.

Transportation

Major highways

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Pedestrians and cycling