PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Georgia

38 persistent-poverty counties

Georgia has 38 persistent-poverty counties and 85 nonmetro counties — home to 741,875 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 13.5% and child poverty is 18.7%.

Persistent-poverty counties

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

742K

Residents in PPCs

159

Total counties

Georgia by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Georgia at a glance

Poverty rate

13.5%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

18.7%

Under 18

PPC share

23.9%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

53.5%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

1.52

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.28

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Georgia's 164 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 159 in Georgia.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

1 Hancock 0.73
2 Telfair 0.72
3 Atkinson 0.70
4 Treutlen 0.70
5 Jenkins 0.69

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

1 Terrell 33.0%
2 Hancock 31.5%
3 Telfair 31.0%
4 Baker 29.4%
5 Taylor 29.4%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

1 Terrell 33.0%
2 Hancock 31.5%
3 Telfair 31.0%
4 Baker 29.4%
5 Taylor 29.4%

Every county in Georgia

All 159 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County	RUCC	PPC	Flags	Poverty	Child poverty	Population	Risk
Appling	7	—	Low ed.	23.8%	34.4%	18,426	0.32
Atkinson	9	Yes	Low ed.	25.0%	39.6%	8,261	0.70
Bacon	9	Yes	Low emp.	20.9%	26.1%	11,129	0.68
Baker	8	Yes	Low emp., Pop. loss	29.4%	28.0%	2,830	0.68
Baldwin	4	—	—	22.0%	22.0%	43,669	0.20
Banks	8	—	—	12.8%	15.4%	18,757	0.31
Barrow	1	—	—	10.2%	12.3%	86,982	0.04
Bartow	1	—	—	10.1%	12.0%	111,153	0.04
Ben Hill	7	Yes	Low ed.	25.7%	33.7%	17,138	0.63
Berrien	8	—	—	22.1%	29.6%	18,257	0.35
Bibb	3	—	Housing	24.8%	38.8%	156,543	0.17
Bleckley	6	—	—	20.5%	28.0%	12,414	0.27
Brantley	3	—	Low emp., Low ed.	16.9%	20.5%	18,171	0.14
Brooks	3	Yes	Housing	25.4%	38.5%	16,285	0.48
Bryan	2	—	—	7.2%	8.1%	46,681	0.07
Bulloch	4	Yes	Retire.	22.5%	23.9%	81,372	0.50
Burke	2	—	—	19.2%	27.2%	24,427	0.11
Butts	1	—	Low ed.	12.9%	16.8%	26,074	0.05
Calhoun	8	Yes	Low emp., Low ed.	22.7%	32.1%	5,528	0.65
Camden	4	—	—	15.0%	22.4%	56,036	0.17
Candler	9	—	—	17.5%	28.0%	10,972	0.37
Carroll	1	—	—	15.6%	20.8%	122,187	0.06
Catoosa	2	—	—	8.7%	12.7%	68,356	0.07
Charlton	8	—	Low emp., Low ed., Housing	22.5%	35.9%	12,711	0.35
Chatham	2	—	Housing	14.3%	21.0%	298,143	0.09
Chattahoochee	2	—	Low emp., Pop. loss	16.2%	16.9%	9,181	0.10
Chattooga	6	—	Low emp., Low ed.	20.1%	32.8%	24,975	0.27
Cherokee	1	—	Retire.	6.5%	7.8%	274,539	0.03
Clarke	3	Yes	Housing, Retire.	25.9%	23.6%	129,267	0.48
Clay	9	Yes	Pop. loss	23.0%	30.1%	2,853	0.69
Clayton	1	—	Housing	16.8%	25.1%	298,771	0.07
Clinch	8	Yes	Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss	22.9%	22.0%	6,722	0.65
Cobb	1	—	—	8.5%	11.1%	769,152	0.03
Coffee	7	—	Low ed.	19.8%	25.8%	43,161	0.30
Colquitt	6	—	Low ed.	23.9%	38.5%	45,907	0.28
Columbia	2	—	—	6.8%	9.0%	159,638	0.06
Cook	6	Yes	Housing	20.5%	21.2%	17,363	0.57
Coweta	1	—	—	8.2%	9.8%	150,071	0.03
Crawford	3	—	—	13.3%	18.3%	12,183	0.13
Crisp	6	Yes	Housing	24.1%	39.4%	19,995	0.58
Dade	2	—	—	8.5%	9.7%	16,196	0.07
Dawson	1	—	Retire.	9.2%	13.0%	28,704	0.04
Decatur	6	Yes	Housing	24.8%	43.1%	29,118	0.59
DeKalb	1	—	Housing	13.5%	19.9%	762,105	0.05
Dodge	7	—	—	22.2%	23.9%	19,909	0.31
Dooly	8	Yes	Low emp., Low ed.	19.7%	43.5%	11,026	0.64
Dougherty	3	Yes	Pop. loss, Housing	26.4%	38.5%	83,915	0.48
Douglas	1	—	Housing	11.3%	15.0%	146,141	0.05
Early	8	Yes	Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing	21.1%	33.3%	10,683	0.65
Echols	3	—	Low ed.	12.4%	12.6%	3,705	0.12
Effingham	2	—	—	7.4%	7.9%	67,265	0.07
Elbert	6	—	Pop. loss	20.6%	35.6%	19,725	0.27
Emanuel	7	Yes	Low ed.	24.7%	34.6%	22,961	0.62
Evans	8	Yes	—	18.4%	25.8%	10,740	0.64
Fannin	8	—	Housing, Retire.	12.0%	21.5%	25,605	0.31
Fayette	1	—	—	5.5%	5.9%	120,689	0.02
Floyd	3	—	Housing	16.8%	25.8%	98,985	0.14
Forsyth	1	—	—	4.5%	5.4%	260,062	0.02
Franklin	8	—	—	20.4%	33.2%	23,840	0.34
Fulton	1	—	Housing	12.9%	18.2%	1,068,507	0.05
Gilmer	6	—	Retire.	14.7%	19.8%	31,976	0.25
Glascock	9	—	Housing	12.2%	10.2%	2,913	0.35
Glynn	3	—	Retire.	16.3%	27.6%	84,987	0.14
Gordon	4	—	—	12.9%	14.7%	58,336	0.16
Grady	6	—	Housing	20.6%	34.3%	26,056	0.27
Greene	8	—	Retire.	8.8%	19.3%	19,586	0.30
Gwinnett	1	—	Housing	10.5%	14.0%	966,972	0.04
Habersham	6	—	—	13.6%	16.1%	46,948	0.24
Hall	3	—	Housing	12.7%	20.2%	208,395	0.13
Hancock	9	Yes	Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing	31.5%	67.7%	8,630	0.73
Haralson	1	—	—	15.1%	26.2%	30,720	0.06
Harris	2	—	—	7.4%	7.1%	35,509	0.07
Hart	6	—	—	11.5%	11.5%	26,484	0.23
Heard	1	—	Low ed.	18.7%	26.5%	11,616	0.07
Henry	1	—	Housing	9.4%	14.3%	245,417	0.04
Houston	3	—	—	10.1%	12.7%	166,902	0.12
Irwin	9	—	—	18.1%	31.6%	9,385	0.37
Jackson	4	—	Retire.	8.3%	8.1%	80,640	0.15
Jasper	1	—	—	14.0%	13.8%	15,345	0.06
Jeff Davis	9	—	Low ed.	26.6%	38.1%	14,838	0.41
Jefferson	8	—	Low ed., Pop. loss	18.8%	28.3%	15,468	0.34
Jenkins	9	Yes	Low emp., Low ed.	23.6%	12.4%	8,674	0.69
Johnson	9	—	Low emp., Low ed.	17.5%	25.5%	9,192	0.37
Jones	3	—	—	13.5%	18.2%	28,526	0.13
Lamar	6	—	—	10.5%	10.3%	19,098	0.23
Lanier	3	—	Low emp., Housing	27.7%	39.8%	10,094	0.19
Laurens	4	—	Housing	22.4%	30.8%	49,619	0.20
Lee	3	—	—	7.0%	8.0%	33,337	0.10
Liberty	3	—	Low emp., Housing	14.5%	19.4%	66,826	0.13
Lincoln	2	—	Pop. loss	18.1%	31.3%	7,773	0.11
Long	3	—	Housing	16.0%	16.7%	17,512	0.14
Lowndes	3	—	Housing	20.3%	27.2%	119,055	0.16
Lumpkin	1	—	—	15.7%	16.2%	33,931	0.06
Macon	8	Yes	Low emp., Low ed., Housing	25.5%	32.7%	11,953	0.66
Madison	3	—	—	18.9%	24.8%	30,914	0.15
Marion	2	—	Low ed.	16.9%	26.8%	7,474	0.11
McDuffie	2	—	—	19.0%	35.3%	21,687	0.11
McIntosh	3	—	—	22.4%	30.8%	11,187	0.16
Meriwether	1	—	Low ed., Pop. loss	19.7%	27.0%	20,757	0.08
Miller	9	—	Pop. loss	24.1%	37.0%	5,873	0.40
Mitchell	6	Yes	Low emp., Pop. loss, Housing	25.5%	35.0%	21,441	0.59
Monroe	3	—	—	11.4%	15.6%	28,919	0.12
Montgomery	9	—	—	16.4%	24.7%	8,675	0.37
Morgan	1	—	—	7.4%	8.7%	20,614	0.03
Murray	3	—	—	13.0%	17.5%	40,282	0.13
Muscogee	2	—	Housing	18.8%	25.7%	204,383	0.11
Newton	1	—	Housing	12.3%	16.3%	115,530	0.05
Oconee	3	—	—	6.1%	6.8%	42,788	0.10
Oglethorpe	3	—	—	11.2%	17.7%	15,221	0.12
Paulding	1	—	—	6.1%	6.9%	174,292	0.02
Peach	3	—	—	17.7%	26.0%	28,269	0.15
Pickens	1	—	Retire.	13.3%	21.9%	34,197	0.05
Pierce	8	—	—	13.2%	18.7%	19,996	0.32
Pike	1	—	—	9.6%	8.7%	19,540	0.04
Polk	4	—	Low ed., Housing	19.4%	29.1%	43,365	0.19
Pulaski	8	—	Low emp., Housing	18.3%	28.8%	9,893	0.34
Putnam	8	—	Retire.	18.6%	30.4%	22,524	0.34
Quitman	8	—	Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Retire.	15.5%	30.7%	2,092	0.32
Rabun	9	—	Retire.	14.8%	24.7%	17,107	0.36
Randolph	8	Yes	Pop. loss, Housing	26.8%	32.0%	6,270	0.67
Richmond	2	—	Housing	21.1%	33.1%	206,040	0.12
Rockdale	1	—	Housing	10.7%	14.9%	94,293	0.04
Schley	8	—	Housing	13.2%	11.5%	4,539	0.32
Screven	8	—	Pop. loss	18.1%	35.4%	14,057	0.33
Seminole	8	Yes	Retire.	19.0%	15.5%	9,117	0.64
Spalding	1	—	Housing	18.7%	31.1%	68,215	0.07
Stephens	7	—	—	13.9%	14.1%	26,842	0.28
Stewart	2	Yes	Low emp., Low ed.	27.8%	37.9%	4,978	0.45
Sumter	6	Yes	Pop. loss, Housing	22.7%	32.4%	29,174	0.58
Talbot	2	—	Low ed.	21.6%	36.3%	5,753	0.12
Taliaferro	8	Yes	Pop. loss	21.4%	35.0%	1,740	0.65
Tattnall	8	Yes	Low emp., Low ed.	22.7%	29.0%	24,215	0.65
Taylor	8	Yes	Low ed., Housing	29.4%	39.6%	7,786	0.68
Telfair	9	Yes	Low emp., Low ed.	31.0%	51.3%	12,174	0.72
Terrell	3	Yes	Pop. loss	33.0%	49.9%	8,941	0.51
Thomas	4	—	—	17.9%	24.5%	45,696	0.18
Tift	5	—	—	20.9%	30.1%	41,322	0.23
Toombs	7	Yes	Housing	19.7%	25.1%	26,943	0.60
Towns	9	—	Housing, Retire.	12.9%	19.0%	12,739	0.35
Treutlen	9	Yes	Low ed.	25.0%	40.3%	6,387	0.70
Troup	4	—	Housing	18.5%	26.1%	69,821	0.19
Turner	9	Yes	Low ed.	21.6%	25.7%	8,915	0.69
Twiggs	3	—	Low ed., Pop. loss	14.9%	14.7%	7,869	0.13
Union	8	—	Retire.	10.4%	17.4%	25,598	0.30
Upson	6	—	—	21.3%	30.4%	27,856	0.27
Walker	2	—	—	13.8%	18.7%	68,449	0.09
Walton	1	—	—	12.2%	20.0%	100,361	0.05
Ware	5	Yes	—	22.8%	35.1%	35,958	0.54
Warren	8	Yes	Low ed., Pop. loss	21.8%	32.2%	5,175	0.65
Washington	7	—	Low ed.	15.5%	18.8%	19,893	0.29
Wayne	6	—	Low ed.	20.5%	28.4%	30,519	0.27
Webster	8	—	Housing	26.4%	42.7%	2,348	0.37
Wheeler	9	Yes	Low emp., Low ed.	21.5%	25.3%	7,434	0.69
White	8	—	—	11.7%	18.7%	28,454	0.31
Whitfield	3	—	Low ed.	13.7%	22.1%	103,118	0.13
Wilcox	9	Yes	Low emp., Low ed.	23.1%	36.0%	8,784	0.69
Wilkes	8	—	Low ed., Pop. loss	17.0%	21.0%	9,553	0.33
Wilkinson	8	—	Pop. loss	20.3%	28.9%	8,795	0.34
Worth	3	—	Pop. loss	20.2%	28.2%	20,575	0.16

Find a food pantry in Georgia

Search Georgia's 164 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Georgia pantry directory

Georgia SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Georgia SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Georgia food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology