Bethlehem, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Bethlehem · Barrow County, Georgia
Population 660 (est. 2026: ~800)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 7.12% annual growth projection

Bethlehem, Georgia

Barrow County, Georgia · Population 715

Bethlehem sits in the western corner of Barrow County, about 45 miles northeast of Atlanta along the US-78 corridor. It is a small, tight-knit community — fewer than 750 residents — that functions as a quiet residential pocket within a county that has grown steadily as Atlanta's exurban sprawl has pushed outward. Bethlehem is not an employment center; it is a place people come home to. Nearly every working adult drives somewhere else for their job, most of them toward Winder, Monroe, or the metro Atlanta edge. The town has an elementary school, a municipal code, and a deep-rooted sense of place that its modest size belies.

People & Demographics

Bethlehem's ACS-measured population of 598 skews young, with a median age of 32.6 — noticeably younger than the Georgia state median of around 37. That youth is reflected in the household composition: 179 of 196 total households are family households, and 138 residents are children under 18. Average household size runs at 3.05 persons, higher than most Georgia communities, pointing to multigenerational or large-family living patterns.

The racial and ethnic breakdown shows a majority white population of 426, with a substantial Hispanic and Latino community of 182 — roughly 30% of residents, a figure well above Barrow County's overall share. Black residents number 14, and Asian residents 4. This demographic profile gives Bethlehem a distinctly different character from many nearby small Georgia towns.

Economy & Employment

Median household income in Bethlehem is $67,250 — comparable to Barrow County's overall figures and close to Georgia's statewide median. Per capita income sits at $27,212, which, given the larger household sizes, suggests that multiple earners per household are common. Thirty-six residents fall below the federal poverty line.

Of 310 residents in the labor force, only 13 are unemployed — a low unemployment rate. Bethlehem itself generates very little local employment; the town's working adults scatter across the region each morning, largely toward Barrow County's main commercial hubs and the broader Atlanta metro.

Housing

Bethlehem has 210 total housing units, with 196 occupied and just 14 vacant — a 6.7% vacancy rate indicating a reasonably tight market. Owner-occupation is dominant: 164 units are owner-occupied versus 32 renter-occupied, putting the homeownership rate near 84%, which is high by any measure.

Median home value is $223,200. Median rent runs $1,042 per month. For a town this size in Barrow County, those figures reflect the broader pressure of Atlanta exurban demand. The housing stock is not large — anyone looking to rent here will find very limited options.

Schools

Bethlehem Elementary School serves grades pre-K through 5 with an enrollment of 850 students — a notable figure for a town of 715 residents, indicating the school draws from a broader attendance zone than just the town limits. Secondary students feed into Barrow County's middle and high schools in Winder, the county seat roughly five miles to the east.

Getting Around

Bethlehem is car-dependent without exception. Of 297 total workers, 222 drive alone and 51 carpool. Zero residents commute by public transit, and zero walk to work. Twenty-one work from home. The aggregate commute time for all workers totals 9,065 minutes, yielding an average one-way commute of roughly 30.5 minutes — consistent with a community whose jobs are elsewhere, primarily in Winder, Athens, or along the US-78 and GA-316 employment corridors toward metro Atlanta.

There is no bus service, no rail, and no realistic alternative to a personal vehicle for daily life here.

Healthcare

The nearest hospital serving Bethlehem is NGMC Barrow, LLC in Winder, which operates as part of the Northeast Georgia Medical Center system. For specialized or tertiary care, residents look to Athens or the northeast Atlanta suburbs.

Local provider listings for Bethlehem can be searched through the CMS NPI Registry.

Library

The nearest public library is Winder Public Library, approximately 5.3 miles from Bethlehem, reachable at (770) 867-2762. It serves as Barrow County's main branch and provides the full range of public library services for Bethlehem residents.

Parks & Recreation

Two significant National Park Service units sit within reasonable driving distance. Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area offers river access, hiking, and paddling across a series of units along the Chattahoochee corridor southwest of Bethlehem. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta, roughly 39 miles away, provides the nearest NPS visitor center in that direction, with the Island Ford Visitor Center at approximately 35 miles serving as the closest NPS contact point overall.

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park's visitor center is about 49 miles to the west for those interested in Civil War history and trail hiking.

Natural Hazards

Barrow County's FEMA disaster declaration history stretches back to 1977 and covers a wide range of hazard types. The county has been declared a disaster area or emergency zone 14 times on record:

Winter storms are the most frequent declared hazard. Residents should be prepared for ice events that can shut down roads quickly in this part of northeast Georgia, where infrastructure for winter maintenance is limited.

Government & Municipal Code

Bethlehem operates under a municipal code published through Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/bethlehem-town-georgia. The town does not have a locally adopted building code on file with Municode.

Weather

Current forecasts and conditions are available from the National Weather Service at forecast.weather.gov. Active weather alerts for the Bethlehem area can be monitored at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest observation station is Winder 4S, located approximately 0.5 miles from town.

References

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