Central Georgia Middle Georgia | |
|---|---|
Region | |
 DowntownMacon | |
.png) Central Georgia highlighted in brown | |
 Location of Georgia within the United States | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| Largest city | Macon |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 872,892 |
| Demonym(s) | Central Georgian Middle Georgian |
| Website | georgia |
Central Georgia, also known asMiddle Georgia, is an eleven-county region in theU.S. state ofGeorgia. It abuts theAtlanta metropolitan area, just to the north, and is anchored by both theMacon andWarner Robins metropolitan areas.
According to theGeorgia Department of Economic Development,[1] the region consists of the following counties:Baldwin,Bibb,Crawford,Houston,Jones,Monroe,Peach,Pulaski,Putnam,Twiggs, andWilkinson.
In 2010, the estimated total population of central Georgia, including the counties ofBaldwin,Bibb,Crawford,Houston,Jones,Monroe,Peach, andTwiggs counties, was 445,608 people.[2] The population has grown by 11% over the last 10 years. The fastest growth was reported in Houston County, which saw a population growth of 26.3% followed by Monroe (21.5%) and Jones (21.3%) counties. The racial make-up of the region as of 2010 was 55.9% non-Hispanic white, 38.7% African American and 1.6% Asian, with about 1.8% identified as mixed or two more races.[2] Houston County had the highest educational attainment forbachelor's degrees (14.5%) and graduate orprofessional degrees (11.2%) for the population over 25 years old in the Central Georgia region in 2011. By the2020 U.S. census, the counties forming Central Georgia had a total resident population of 509,994.
Forming part of theBible Belt, Central or Middle Georgia is predominantlyChristian, since thecolonial era. According to theAssociation of Religion Data Archives in 2020,[3] the majority of the region isBaptist,non-denominational,Methodist, andCatholic. The largest Christian denominations were theSouthern Baptist Convention,United Methodist Church,Catholic Church,National Baptist Convention USA,African Methodist Episcopal Church,National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, and theChristian Methodist Episcopal Church.
The region's largest non-Christian religions wereHinduism,Islam, theBaha'i Faith,Unitarian Universalism, andJudaism. The largest Jewish movements in the region wereConservative Judaism andReform Judaism.
The economy in Central Georgia tends to cluster around five areas:aerospace, healthcare and hospitals,kaolin, warehousing and distribution, and heritage andecotourism.[4] Macon is the region'sretail and trade center and the Macon-Bibb county serves as the region's center of employment.[5] The Central Georgia region has been competitive in the United States in terms of economic growth and stability, but within the state of Georgia, the region has not experienced much growth.[4] The region lags behind most other regions in the state in terms of well-being of its residents and overall economic growth.[4] As of 2017, over 46,000 workers from nearby counties commute to the Macon-Bibb county for work.[6] To assist in business growth and development, the Macon Economic Development Commission recruits new businesses and industries to the region.[7] In August 2017, the Canadian based Irving Consumer Products announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in Macon that would create additional jobs.[8]
The Central Georgia Business and Technology Park inThomaston is a 240-acre facility that houses tenants such asSouthern Company, Solutions Pest & Lawn, Criterion Technologies, and Chief Manufacturing.[9]
Houston County is located 75 miles south of the Atlanta International Airport, and home to Georgia's largest industrial complex at theWarner Robins Air Force Base. Houston county has more than 3,000 acres of land for industrial development and one of the lowest property tax rates in middle Georgia.[10] The county is designated one of Georgia's Entrepreneur Friendly Communities.[10] Houston County has experienced a population growth, from 89,208 in 1990 to a population of 160,000 in 2015.[10]
Central Georgia's largest employer is Robins Air Force Base, with more than 22,300 employees as of 2015,[11] followed by Geico with over 5,690 employees and the Medical Center of Central Georgia, with over 4,600 employees. Other employers in the region include theHouston County Board of Education, Bibb County Board of Education, Houston Healthcare,Perdue Farms, the Macon-Bibb County Government, theBlue Bird Corp, Coliseum Health System, andFrito lay.[11]
Central Georgia has several cultural attractions that include theOcmulgee National Monument,Georgia National Fairground, and theMuseum of Aviation at the Robins Air Force Base.[12] Macon is home to over 10 museums, 5 tours and 7 annual festivals. Some of the museums include theTubman African American Museum, theGeorgia Sports Hall of Fame, and the Museum of Arts & Sciences.[13]
The region has an abundance of nature and wildlife; theHigh Falls state park is located just north west of Macon. High Falls was a prosperous Industrial town with several stores, including a mill, a cotton gin and a shoe factory until it fell from prosperity.[14]
The region hosts several events each year, with Macon, the population center hosting over 20 annual events and has been nicknamed the festival capital of Georgia. Macon's popular events include theInternational Cherry Blossom Festival, the Bragg Jam, the Ocmulgee Indian Celebration.[15] Other popular events include the Georgia Peach Festival[16] which is hosted in Byron and Fort Valley, and the annual miss Georgia Peach pageant hosted inFort Valley.[17]
The region features a regional airport, theMiddle Georgia Regional Airport.[18] The region is only hours away from theport of Savannah, a major U.S. seaport.[19] Major freeways and highways in the region include,Interstate-75,Interstate-475,Interstate-16,Georgia State Route-80,Georgia State route-23, andGeorgia State route-19.[20]
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