Houston County | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Houston County courthouse in Perry | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofGeorgia | |
 Georgia's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:32°28′N83°40′W / 32.46°N 83.67°W /32.46; -83.67 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Founded | May 15, 1821; 203 years ago (1821-05-15) |
| Named after | John Houstoun |
| Seat | Perry |
| Largest city | Warner Robins |
| Area | |
• Total | 380 sq mi (1,000 km2) |
| • Land | 376 sq mi (970 km2) |
| • Water | 4.4 sq mi (11 km2) 1.2% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 163,633 |
| • Density | 373/sq mi (144/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional districts | 8th,2nd |
| Website | www |
Houston County (/ˈhaʊstən/HOW-stən) is acounty located in thecentral portion of theU.S. state ofGeorgia. The population was 163,633 at the2020 census.[1] Itscounty seat isPerry; the city ofWarner Robins is substantially larger in both area and population.[2]
The county was created on May 15, 1821, along with four other counties in the state, and later reduced in size with the formation ofBibb,Crawford,Pulaski,Macon, andPeach counties.[3] It was named after Georgia governorJohn Houstoun, with the spelling being a common 19th-century variation that later evolved to "Houston".[4] The pronunciation, however, remains to this day "howston."[5] The geographic center of the county was given the name Wattsville, which was later changed to Perry.[5]
Houston County is included in theWarner Robins, GA metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in theMacon-Warner Robins-Fort Valleycombined statistical area. Flat Creek Public Fishing Area is in Houston County, south west ofPerry.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 380 square miles (980 km2), of which 376 square miles (970 km2) is land and 4.4 square miles (11 km2) (1.2%) is water.[6] The county is located in the upperAtlantic coastal plain region of the state.
The vast majority of Houston County is located in the LowerOcmulgee River sub-basin of theAltamaha River basin. The very northern edge of the county, north ofCenterville andWarner 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 ofInterstate 75, is located in the MiddleFlint River sub-basin of theACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin).[7]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1830 | 7,369 | — | |
| 1840 | 9,711 | 31.8% | |
| 1850 | 16,450 | 69.4% | |
| 1860 | 15,611 | −5.1% | |
| 1870 | 20,406 | 30.7% | |
| 1880 | 22,414 | 9.8% | |
| 1890 | 21,613 | −3.6% | |
| 1900 | 22,641 | 4.8% | |
| 1910 | 23,609 | 4.3% | |
| 1920 | 21,964 | −7.0% | |
| 1930 | 11,280 | −48.6% | |
| 1940 | 11,303 | 0.2% | |
| 1950 | 20,964 | 85.5% | |
| 1960 | 39,154 | 86.8% | |
| 1970 | 62,924 | 60.7% | |
| 1980 | 77,605 | 23.3% | |
| 1990 | 89,208 | 15.0% | |
| 2000 | 110,765 | 24.2% | |
| 2010 | 139,900 | 26.3% | |
| 2020 | 163,633 | 17.0% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 171,974 | [8] | 5.1% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1880[10] 1890-1910[11] 1920-1930[12] 1930-1940[13] 1940-1950[14] 1960-1980[15] 1980-2000[16] 2010[17] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 86,211 | 52.69% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 51,992 | 31.77% |
| Native American | 339 | 0.21% |
| Asian | 4,905 | 3.0% |
| Pacific Islander | 124 | 0.08% |
| Other/Mixed | 8,255 | 5.04% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 11,807 | 7.22% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 163,633 people, 58,417 households, and 39,810 families residing in the county.
Houston County Schools operates public schools.[19]
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 the2018 gubernatorial election, while she did not carry Houston County,Stacey Abrams improved on Democratic margins in the county, improving five percent compared toHillary Clinton's2016 presidential run and by four percent compared toBarack Obama's2008 run. Houston was one of five counties not carried by Abrams which improved their Democratic margins.[20] In 2020,Joe Biden improved Democratic margins to their best sinceJimmy Carter carried it in 1980. He also became the first non-Georgian Democrat to win 40 percent of the county's vote since 1960.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 45,090 | 55.14% | 35,907 | 43.91% | 784 | 0.96% |
| 2020 | 41,540 | 55.48% | 32,239 | 43.06% | 1,093 | 1.46% |
| 2016 | 35,430 | 58.65% | 22,553 | 37.34% | 2,423 | 4.01% |
| 2012 | 34,662 | 59.58% | 22,702 | 39.02% | 811 | 1.39% |
| 2008 | 33,392 | 59.59% | 22,094 | 39.43% | 548 | 0.98% |
| 2004 | 29,862 | 66.03% | 15,054 | 33.29% | 310 | 0.69% |
| 2000 | 23,174 | 62.65% | 13,301 | 35.96% | 513 | 1.39% |
| 1996 | 17,050 | 52.18% | 12,760 | 39.05% | 2,868 | 8.78% |
| 1992 | 14,119 | 43.11% | 12,270 | 37.47% | 6,359 | 19.42% |
| 1988 | 15,748 | 64.02% | 8,664 | 35.22% | 185 | 0.75% |
| 1984 | 14,255 | 60.71% | 9,226 | 39.29% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 9,005 | 43.51% | 10,915 | 52.74% | 775 | 3.74% |
| 1976 | 5,404 | 29.10% | 13,164 | 70.90% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1972 | 13,576 | 84.16% | 2,556 | 15.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 4,285 | 29.64% | 2,833 | 19.60% | 7,339 | 50.76% |
| 1964 | 6,532 | 60.53% | 4,258 | 39.46% | 1 | 0.01% |
| 1960 | 1,757 | 30.35% | 4,033 | 69.65% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 1,060 | 19.12% | 4,483 | 80.88% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 511 | 15.48% | 2,789 | 84.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 204 | 9.85% | 1,437 | 69.35% | 431 | 20.80% |
| 1944 | 190 | 26.21% | 535 | 73.79% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 149 | 19.30% | 622 | 80.57% | 1 | 0.13% |
| 1936 | 37 | 4.44% | 796 | 95.56% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 27 | 5.54% | 460 | 94.46% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1928 | 92 | 22.17% | 323 | 77.83% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 75 | 4.39% | 1,611 | 94.27% | 23 | 1.35% |
| 1920 | 39 | 5.12% | 723 | 94.88% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 52 | 5.98% | 806 | 92.64% | 12 | 1.38% |
| 1912 | 24 | 3.00% | 760 | 95.00% | 16 | 2.00% |
| 1908 | 27 | 2.58% | 855 | 81.58% | 166 | 15.84% |
| 1904 | 78 | 8.99% | 768 | 88.48% | 22 | 2.53% |
| 1900 | 81 | 9.11% | 798 | 89.76% | 10 | 1.12% |
| 1896 | 192 | 17.63% | 875 | 80.35% | 22 | 2.02% |
| 1892 | 507 | 20.48% | 1,953 | 78.88% | 16 | 0.65% |
| 1888 | 466 | 32.86% | 949 | 66.93% | 3 | 0.21% |
| 1884 | 433 | 24.99% | 1,300 | 75.01% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1880 | 909 | 39.68% | 1,382 | 60.32% | 0 | 0.00% |
Interstate 75
U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 129
U.S. Route 341
State Route 7
State Route 7 Spur
State Route 11
State Route 11 Business
State Route 11 Connector
State Route 26
State Route 49
State Route 96
State Route 127
State Route 224
State Route 247
State Route 247 Connector
State Route 247 Spur
State Route 329
State Route 401 (unsigned designation for I-75)Places adjacent to Houston County, Georgia | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofHouston County, Georgia,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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