Baker County, Georgia
County in Georgia, United States

County in Georgia
Baker County, Georgia
County
Baker County Courthouse in Newton.
Baker County Courthouse in Newton.
Official seal of Baker County, Georgia
Seal
Map of Georgia highlighting Baker County
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Coordinates: 31°20′N 84°27′W / 31.33°N 84.45°W / 31.33; -84.45
Country United States
State Georgia
FoundedDecember 12, 1825; 201 years ago (1825)
Named afterJohn Baker
SeatNewton
Largest cityNewton
Area
 • Total
349 sq mi (900 km2)
 • Land342 sq mi (890 km2)
 • Water7.2 sq mi (19 km2)  2.1%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
2,876
 • Density8/sq mi (3.1/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district2nd
Websitehttps://www.bakercountyga.com/

Baker County is a county in Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,876, making it the fifth-least populous county in Georgia.[1] The county seat and only municipality is Newton.[2] The county was created December 12, 1825, from the eastern portion of Early County by an act of the Georgia General Assembly and is named for Colonel John Baker, a hero of the American Revolutionary War.[3]

Baker County is included in the Albany, GA metropolitan statistical area.

The Baker County Courthouse (Georgia) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Three other properties in Newton are also listed on the register: Notchaway Baptist Church and Cemetery, Pine Bloom Plantation, and Tarver Plantation.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 349 square miles (900 km2), of which 342 square miles (890 km2) is land and 7.2 square miles (19 km2) (2.1%) is water.[4]

The eastern half of Baker County is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The western half of the county is located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Communities

City

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18301,253—
18404,226237.3%
18508,12092.1%
18604,985−38.6%
18706,84337.3%
18807,3076.8%
18906,144−15.9%
19006,7049.1%
19107,97318.9%
19208,2984.1%
19307,818−5.8%
19407,344−6.1%
19505,952−19.0%
19604,543−23.7%
19703,875−14.7%
19803,808−1.7%
19903,615−5.1%
20004,07412.7%
20103,451−15.3%
20202,876−16.7%
2024 (est.)2,732[7]−5.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1790-1880[9] 1890-1910[10]
1920-1930[11] 1930-1940[12]
1940-1950[13] 1960-1980[14]
1980-2000[15] 2010[16] 2020[17]
Baker 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.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000[18] Pop 2010[19] Pop 2020[17] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 1,889 1,642 1,514 46.37% 47.58% 52.64%
Black or African American alone (NH) 2,038 1,600 1,128 50.02% 46.36% 39.22%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 9 9 1 0.22% 0.26% 0.03%
Asian alone (NH) 0 24 18 0.00% 0.70% 0.63%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 1 2 0 0.02% 0.06% 0.00%
Other race alone (NH) 2 1 2 0.05% 0.03% 0.07%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 24 28 70 0.59% 0.81% 2.43%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 111 145 143 2.72% 4.20% 4.97%
Total 4,074 3,451 2,876 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,876 and 788 families residing there. Of the residents, 20.9% were under the age of 18 and 22.8% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 47.0 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.6 males. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 100.0% lived in rural areas.[20][21][22]

The racial makeup of the county was 53.4% White, 39.3% Black or African American, 0.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.5% from some other race, and 4.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.0% of the population.[22]

There were 1,187 households in the county, of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 33.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[21]

There were 1,447 housing units, of which 18.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.2% were owner-occupied and 28.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.[21]

Education

Baker County School System school building

Baker County School System operates public schools.[23]

Politics

As of the 2020s, Baker County is a Republican stronghold, voting 60% for Donald Trump in 2024. Like most Deep South counties, Baker County was historically Democratic voting. Starting in 1964, the county began to see a realignment, with Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon carrying it in 1964 and 1972, and American Independent candidate George Wallace winning the county in 1968 as a third-party candidate. In 1956, Adlai Stevenson received over 96 percent of the county's vote.[24] The county voted Democratic consistently from 1976 until 2012, but by closer margins than in 1956, and the county shifted more to the right throughout the early 2000s. In 2008 Barack Obama won with just 50.1 percent to John McCain's 49.1 percent,[25] while Donald Trump won the county by almost ten percent in 2016, despite declining on Mitt Romney’s performance statewide. Brian Kemp repeated this feat by double digits in the 2018 gubernatorial race, and in 2020, Trump won Baker County by nearly sixteen percentage points.[26]

For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Baker County is part of Georgia's 2nd congressional district, currently represented by Sanford Bishop. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Baker County is part of District 12.[27] For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Baker County is part of District 154.[28]

United States presidential election results for Baker County, Georgia[29]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
№  % №  % №  %
1912 5 2.66% 183 97.34% 0 0.00%
1916 94 17.77% 435 82.23% 0 0.00%
1920 80 36.20% 141 63.80% 0 0.00%
1924 21 7.69% 245 89.74% 7 2.56%
1928 99 17.65% 462 82.35% 0 0.00%
1932 2 0.31% 647 99.23% 3 0.46%
1936 13 2.12% 599 97.72% 1 0.16%
1940 30 5.10% 557 94.73% 1 0.17%
1944 31 6.09% 478 93.91% 0 0.00%
1948 7 2.47% 218 77.03% 58 20.49%
1952 155 13.36% 1,005 86.64% 0 0.00%
1956 32 3.93% 783 96.07% 0 0.00%
1960 66 8.40% 720 91.60% 0 0.00%
1964 914 60.33% 600 39.60% 1 0.07%
1968 99 5.78% 548 31.97% 1,067 62.25%
1972 965 73.66% 345 26.34% 0 0.00%
1976 305 20.79% 1,162 79.21% 0 0.00%
1980 510 32.61% 1,035 66.18% 19 1.21%
1984 675 49.41% 691 50.59% 0 0.00%
1988 629 46.66% 707 52.45% 12 0.89%
1992 391 26.63% 864 58.86% 213 14.51%
1996 408 27.66% 955 64.75% 112 7.59%
2000 615 40.49% 893 58.79% 11 0.72%
2004 821 46.52% 936 53.03% 8 0.45%
2008 828 49.02% 846 50.09% 15 0.89%
2012 785 49.34% 794 49.91% 12 0.75%
2016 775 53.82% 650 45.14% 15 1.04%
2020 897 57.68% 652 41.93% 6 0.39%
2024 883 59.82% 590 39.97% 3 0.20%
United States Senate election results for Baker County, Georgia2
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
№  % №  % №  %
2020 873 56.91% 648 42.24% 13 0.85%
2020 809 56.22% 630 43.78% 0 0.00%
United States Senate election results for Baker County, Georgia3
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
№  % №  % №  %
2020 413 27.28% 457 30.18% 644 42.54%
2020 815 56.60% 625 43.40% 0 0.00%
2022 711 56.93% 526 42.11% 12 0.96%
2022 651 57.51% 481 42.49% 0 0.00%

See also

References

  1. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Baker County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Candler, Allen Daniel; Evans, Clement Anselm (1906). Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons. State historical association. p. 114.
  4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  5. ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  6. ^ Baker County Historical Society (1991). The History of Baker County. Newton, Baker County, Georgia, USA: Baker County Historical Society. pp. 54–69. LCCN 92080765.
  7. ^ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  8. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
  9. ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1880.
  10. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1910. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  11. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1930.
  12. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1940.
  13. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1950.
  14. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1980.
  15. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 2000.
  16. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Baker County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
  18. ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Baker County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
  19. ^ "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Baker County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
  20. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  21. ^ a b c "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  22. ^ a b "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  23. ^ Baker County School System Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  24. ^ David Leip's Presidential Atlas: 1956 statistics
  25. ^ The New York Times Electoral Map (Zoom in on Georgia)
  26. ^ "Pivot Counties in Georgia", ballotpedia.org, retrieved September 23, 2024
  27. ^ "Georgia General Assembly". www.legis.ga.gov. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  28. ^ "Georgia General Assembly". www.legis.ga.gov. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  29. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 18, 2018.

Further reading

  • John P. Campbell, ed. (1854). "Georgia: Baker County". Southern Business Directory. Charleston, SC: Press of Walker & James – via HathiTrust.
  • Adiel Sherwood (1860), "Baker County", A Gazetteer of Georgia (4th ed.), Georgia – via HathiTrust{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Allen D. Candler; Clement A. Evans, eds. (1906). "Baker County". Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Vol. 1. Atlanta: State Historical Association. p. 114 – via HathiTrust.

31°20′N 84°27′W / 31.33°N 84.45°W / 31.33; -84.45

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