Wheeler County | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 32°07′N 82°43′W / 32.12°N 82.72°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Georgia |
Founded | November 5, 1912 |
Named for | Joseph Wheeler |
Seat | Alamo |
Largest city | Alamo |
Area | |
• Total | 300 sq mi (800 km2) |
• Land | 295 sq mi (760 km2) |
• Water | 4.8 sq mi (12 km2) 1.6% |
Population (
2020) | |
• Total | 7,471 |
• Density | 25/sq mi (10/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−5 ( Eastern) |
• Summer ( DST) | UTC−4 ( EDT) |
Congressional district | 12th |
Website |
wheelercounty |
Wheeler County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,471. [1] The county seat is Alamo. [2] The county is one of the most impoverished counties in the nation. The American Community Survey's 2009–2013 average reports that the county's per-capita income of $8,948 makes it the poorest county in the United States by this metric. [3] The measurement however is misleading as Wheeler County is the site of Wheeler Correctional Facility, a large prison with a capacity of 2,874 prisoners, [4] about 40 percent of the county's total population. Most prisoners have little income. The prison was opened in 1998 and the prison population may also account for the increased population of the county in the early 2000s. [5]
Wheeler County is named after Confederate General Joseph Wheeler. [6] The constitutional amendment to create the county was proposed August 14, 1912, and ratified November 5, 1912.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 300 square miles (780 km2), of which 295 square miles (760 km2) is land and 4.8 square miles (12 km2) (1.6%) is water. [7]
The eastern portion of Wheeler County, defined by a line running from north of Alamo to the southern border of the county, due south of Mount Vernon, is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The bulk of the rest of the county is located in the Little Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin, except for a small southern portion of Wheeler County, east of Lumber City, which is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the larger Altamaha River basin. [8]
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1920 | 9,817 | — | |
1930 | 9,149 | −6.8% | |
1940 | 8,535 | −6.7% | |
1950 | 6,712 | −21.4% | |
1960 | 5,342 | −20.4% | |
1970 | 4,596 | −14.0% | |
1980 | 5,155 | 12.2% | |
1990 | 4,903 | −4.9% | |
2000 | 6,179 | 26.0% | |
2010 | 7,421 | 20.1% | |
2020 | 7,471 | 0.7% | |
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) | 4,157 | 55.64% |
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 2,875 | 38.48% |
Native American | 9 | 0.12% |
Asian | 17 | 0.23% |
Other/Mixed | 141 | 1.89% |
Hispanic or Latino | 272 | 3.64% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,471 people, 1,862 households, and 1,159 families residing in the county.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 1,583 | 69.28% | 689 | 30.15% | 13 | 0.57% |
2016 | 1,421 | 67.60% | 646 | 30.73% | 35 | 1.67% |
2012 | 1,366 | 63.09% | 772 | 35.66% | 27 | 1.25% |
2008 | 1,408 | 63.60% | 794 | 35.86% | 12 | 0.54% |
2004 | 1,192 | 58.03% | 847 | 41.24% | 15 | 0.73% |
2000 | 813 | 51.62% | 752 | 47.75% | 10 | 0.63% |
1996 | 460 | 33.90% | 751 | 55.34% | 146 | 10.76% |
1992 | 601 | 35.37% | 880 | 51.80% | 218 | 12.83% |
1988 | 709 | 51.64% | 658 | 47.92% | 6 | 0.44% |
1984 | 833 | 51.84% | 774 | 48.16% | 0 | 0.00% |
1980 | 550 | 25.16% | 1,599 | 73.15% | 37 | 1.69% |
1976 | 344 | 19.98% | 1,378 | 80.02% | 0 | 0.00% |
1972 | 1,093 | 78.80% | 294 | 21.20% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 251 | 15.00% | 488 | 29.17% | 934 | 55.83% |
1964 | 849 | 46.42% | 980 | 53.58% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 226 | 18.90% | 970 | 81.10% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 149 | 13.06% | 992 | 86.94% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 261 | 16.94% | 1,280 | 83.06% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 39 | 4.41% | 560 | 63.28% | 286 | 32.32% |
1944 | 151 | 22.60% | 517 | 77.40% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 117 | 19.02% | 495 | 80.49% | 3 | 0.49% |
1936 | 94 | 13.64% | 594 | 86.21% | 1 | 0.15% |
1932 | 29 | 2.51% | 1,127 | 97.41% | 1 | 0.09% |
1928 | 101 | 24.46% | 312 | 75.54% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 0 | 0.00% | 772 | 88.84% | 97 | 11.16% |
1920 | 101 | 22.39% | 350 | 77.61% | 0 | 0.00% |
1916 | 40 | 9.03% | 372 | 83.97% | 31 | 7.00% |