The U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 estimated population for Chatham County was 307,336 residents.[3] The official2020 U.S. census population was 295,291 residents,[4] an increase of 11.4% from the official2010 population of 265,128.[5] Chatham County is the fifth-most-populous county in Georgia, and the state's most populous outside theAtlanta metropolitan area. The county is the core of theSavannah metropolitan area.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 632 sq mi (1,640 km2), of which 206 sq mi (530 km2) (32.6%) is covered by water.[6]
Chatham County is the northernmost of Georgia's coastal counties on theAtlantic Ocean. It is bounded on the northeast by theSavannah River, and in the southwest bounded by theOgeechee River.
The bulk of Chatham County, an area with a northern border in a line fromBloomingdale toTybee Island, is located in the Ogeechee River Coastal subbasin of the Ogeechee River basin. The portion of the county north of that line is located in the lower Savannah River subbasin of the Savannah River basin, while the very southern fringes of the Chatham County are located in the lower Ogeechee River subbasin of the Ogeechee River basin.[7]
Chatham County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 295,291. Of the residents, 20.5% were under the age of 18 and 16.1% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 36.4 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.5 males. 97.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 3.0% lived in rural areas.[20][21][22]
There were 118,480 households in the county, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 34.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[21]
There were 134,146 housing units, of which 11.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 54.3% were owner-occupied and 45.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.3%.[21]
TheLive Oak Public Libraries constitute a regional library system that provides services to three Georgia counties: Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty. The former name of the system, "Chatham Effingham Liberty Regional Library," described this collaboration. In 2002, the name was changed to Live Oak, which reflects the personality of the region, as well as the life and growth of its branches.[25]At the beginning of the 20th century, city leaders in Savannah began to discuss the need for a public library. The history of libraries in Chatham County dates to 1903. According to Geraldine LeMay, former director of the Savannah Public Chatham-Effingham and Liberty Regional Library, the Georgia Historical Society and the city of Savannah worked out a plan that year to establish the Savannah Public Library.[26] The idea was the brainchild of the Georgia Historical Society, which set up a planning committee to determine how the facilities of the society might best be useful to the city of Savannah.[27] In a joint meeting of committee members from the society and the city of Savannah, a free public library was established that would prove to be of great value to the community. This library, however, did not serve citizens of color.[citation needed]
The parties agreed to allow free use of the society's books, provide physical space for the library, and annually contribute $500 in financial support for the library. In turn, the city would contribute $3,000 in annual support.[27] The library opened in June 1903, but did not fully serve the public until November. By 1909, the Georgia Historical Society was no longer able to meet its financial commitment, leaving the city to provide full financial support. The library remained at Hodgson Hall, the space provided by the Georgia Historical Society, until 1915. From its early beginnings, the library offered special services to the community, including a department for children (although no one under the age of 14 was permitted to borrow books). The physical space at Hodgson Hall became too small to accommodate a large reference department, so the library established only a small collection of reference materials..[27] In 1916, the Savannah Public Library opened to doors to a new facility on Bull Street within theSavannah Victorian Historic District. The new facility was made possible by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation. As the library grew in popularity, it again found itself needing more space. The building was able to add additional space in 1936 thanks to a grant from the U.S.Works Progress Administration (WPA).[28]With an ever-increasing population the library's board of directors decided to expand services beyond the Main Library. In 1916, two branch libraries were opened: the East Side Branch at Habersham and Congress Streets, and the Waters Avenue Branch. The services provided by these two branches were confined to children.[27]To help further expand services, the Georgia Historical Society once again offered the library space at Hodgson Hall to be used as a branch library. This move was of mutual benefit to both the library and the Society. The library gained needed space for a downtown branch and the Society could organize and catalog materials. According to the history written by Lemay, some 5,027 volumes belonging to the Georgia Historical Society were cataloged by the library. This branch library continued operating until 1948, when it was sold to Armstrong Junior College (nowGeorgia Southern University-Armstrong Campus) to establish an academic library.
In 1924 a traveling book collection was instituted and placed in four public elementary schools; other schools were added when available materials and staff time allowed.[citation needed] In 1926, theSavannah Morning News donated space for a Downtown branch to primarily serve the business community. The Downtown branch experienced several changes in venues over the years until it was given a permanent home in the Gamble Building. The Gamble Building sits on Factors' Walk, on Bay Street next to Savannah's City Hall. With this move, the branch was renamed in honor of Ola Wyeth, the former president of the Georgia Library Association (1925).[citation needed]
In 1940 a bookmobile service was started to provide outreach to rural communities around Savannah.[25] The Effingham County Library joined the Savannah Public Library in 1945 to form the Chatham–Effingham County Regional Library.[25] In 1956, the library system was expanded to include Liberty County, resulting in the Chatham–Effingham–Liberty Regional Library (CEL).[25]
When the United States Supreme Court declared de jure segregation illegal and unconstitutional, the library system experienced one of its greatest changes. As a result of this ruling, the "Library for the Colored Citizens of Savannah" was brought under the auspices of the Chatham-Effingham-Liberty Regional Library System (1963). This move made the library system a truly "free public library" serving all the citizens of Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty counties.[citation needed]
Unincorporated Chatham County is primarily served by theChatham County Police Department. (CCPD[31]) and theGeorgia State Patrol.The Chatham County Sheriff's Office is the enforcement arm of the county court system and operates the county jail.[32] Except for the Town of Vernonburg, every incorporated town and city in Chatham County has its own police department.[33]
As of the 2020s, Chatham County is a Democratic Party stronghold, voting 58% forKamala Harris in2024. Chatham County was one of the earliest counties in Georgia to turn Republican and shake off itsSolid South roots. From 1952 to 2000, the county voted for the Republican candidate for president all but four times. In 1968,Hubert Humphrey carried Chatham County by 95 votes over second-placeRichard Nixon, and Chatham was one of only eight Georgia counties in whichGeorge Wallace came in as low as third place.Jimmy Carter won a majority in both of his runs for president, and in 1996,Bill Clinton became the first non-Georgian Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a majority.
The county has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 2004, whenJohn Kerry carried it by fewer than 150 votes and won a plurality. It would swing dramatically to supportBarack Obama in 2008, making Obama only the second non-Georgian Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt to win a majority of the county's votes. Since then, Chatham has tended to vote substantially more for Democrats at the presidential level than the state as a whole. In the last four presidential elections, Democrats have recorded the biggest margins for non-Georgian Democrats since Roosevelt's landslides. This culminated inJoe Biden's winning 58.6% of the vote in the 2020 election, outdoing Jimmy Carter's 57% in 1976 for the best performance of a Democrat in the county since Franklin Roosevelt in 1944. Since 2008, Chatham has been one of the most reliably Democratic urban counties in the state outside the Atlanta area, and one of the few Democratic pockets in heavily Republican South Georgia.
