Graham, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Graham · Appling County, Georgia
Population 618 (est. 2026: ~700)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 1.78% annual growth projection

Graham, Georgia

Appling County, Georgia · Population 263

Graham sits in the piney flatlands of Appling County in southeastern Georgia, roughly midway between Baxley — the county seat — and the Altamaha River corridor. It is a small, majority-Black community of 263 people, unincorporated-feeling in scale but incorporated in name, set along roads lined with timber tracts and row crops typical of this part of the Coastal Plain. There is no downtown to speak of. The nearest real commercial hub is Baxley, about two miles away. The nearest metro is Savannah, roughly 90 miles to the east, and Brunswick sits about 80 miles to the southeast. Graham is the kind of place where people know their neighbors, children outnumber adults, and almost everyone drives somewhere else to work.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 estimates put Graham's population at 672 — considerably above the 263 figure used in some Census counts, reflecting the complexity of small-area estimates. Either way, the community is small. The median age is 17.5, which is extraordinarily young — well below Georgia's statewide median of roughly 37 — and 382 residents are under 18. That means children are the majority of this town. The average household size is 5.33 people, more than double Georgia's statewide average of around 2.6, pointing to multigenerational living arrangements as the norm rather than the exception.

The racial composition is 501 Black residents and 166 white residents, with 7 Hispanic or Latino residents. Of 126 total households, 99 are family households. Graham is a densely familial, predominantly African American community in a county of 18,444 people.

Economy & Employment

The economic picture is stark. Median household income is $32,222 — far below Georgia's statewide median of roughly $61,000. Per capita income is $9,941. Of the total population, 466 people fall below the federal poverty line, which in a population of 672 means the poverty rate is approximately 69%. That is one of the highest rates found in any incorporated place in Georgia.

Only 134 residents are in the labor force, and 10 of those are unemployed, putting the local unemployment rate at about 7.5%. With so many children in the population and so few working adults, a significant share of household income likely comes from transfer payments and extended family support networks. The data does not capture specific industries, but Appling County's economy runs primarily on timber, agriculture, and county/government employment centered in Baxley.

Housing

Graham has 141 total housing units, 126 of them occupied and 15 vacant. Owner-occupied units number 105, renters occupy 21 — an ownership rate of about 83%, which is high by any measure and speaks to deep-rooted family land tenure rather than a mobile population. The median home value is $59,700, a fraction of Georgia's statewide median of roughly $230,000. Median rent is $819 per month, which appears high relative to incomes — at the median household income of $32,222, that rent would consume nearly 30% of gross income even before utilities.

Schools

Graham students attend Appling County Schools. There is no school physically located in Graham itself; students travel to Baxley for all grade levels.

Given that 382 of Graham's residents are under 18, the local schools are serving a significant student population drawn from communities like Graham across the rural county.

Getting Around

124 workers commute out. 115 drive alone. 9 carpool. Zero use public transit, zero walk, zero work from home. The aggregate commute time across all workers is 2,500 minutes, averaging about 20 minutes per worker each way — consistent with a drive to Baxley or nearby work sites. Owning a vehicle is not optional here; there is no public transportation serving Graham.

Healthcare

Appling Healthcare is the county's hospital, located in Baxley. Specific quality ratings and emergency department status were not available in the data for this facility. For a searchable list of healthcare providers with addresses in Graham, the CMS NPI Registry can be queried directly: NPI Registry — Graham, GA.

Library

The Appling County Public Library is located 1.7 miles from Graham. Phone: (912) 367-8103. It serves as the primary public library resource for the county and the nearest access point for Graham residents to internet, reference materials, and public programs.

Natural Hazards

Appling County has been hit repeatedly and recently. FEMA disaster declarations on record include:

Southeastern Georgia sits in a zone that catches the inland punch of Gulf and Atlantic storms. The 2024 season alone brought three separate federal declarations to this county. Residents in Graham should treat storm preparedness as routine infrastructure, not exceptional planning.

Government & Municipal Code

Graham is an incorporated city in Georgia. Its municipal code is published through Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/graham-city-georgia. The municipality does not have a locally adopted building code on file with the state, which means construction and renovation projects default to state-level minimum standards.

Weather

Current forecasts and alerts for Graham are available through the National Weather Service:

The nearest weather observation station is Baxley 1.8 SSE, approximately 1.2 miles from Graham.

References

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)