Macon-Bibb County, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Macon-Bibb County · Bibb County, Georgia
Population 156,543 (est. 2026: ~156,600)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 0.02% annual growth projection

Macon-Bibb County, Georgia

Bibb County, Georgia · Population 157,346

Macon sits at the geographic heart of Georgia, roughly 83 miles south of Atlanta along I-75. It is the county seat of Bibb County, and since 2014 the city and county have operated as a unified government — Macon-Bibb County — a consolidation that simplified decades of overlapping jurisdictions. This is one of the larger cities in Georgia by population, a genuine regional hub rather than a suburb or satellite. The Cherry Blossom Capital of the World is not a marketing fiction: Macon hosts one of the largest cherry blossom festivals in the country each spring, drawing visitors from across the Southeast. More durably, it is a city with deep roots in Black history, Southern music, and Civil War-era architecture — and it carries the economic complexities that come with being a mid-sized Southern city navigating post-industrial transition.

People & Demographics

The consolidated government serves a population of 157,346, with a median age of 36.5 years. The racial composition reflects Macon's history as a majority-Black city: of 156,554 residents counted in the 2022 ACS, 85,028 identify as Black and 58,258 as white. The Asian population numbers 3,428, and 5,853 residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. There are 59,480 occupied households, of which 35,720 are family households. The average household size is 2.53 persons. Children under 18 account for 37,914 residents — a meaningful share that shapes demand for schools, pediatric care, and parks.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Macon-Bibb is $48,897, and the per capita income is $30,115. Both figures sit considerably below Georgia's statewide medians, which reflect the pull of the Atlanta metro on the state's overall averages. The poverty picture is stark: 37,641 residents — roughly 24 percent of the population — fall below the federal poverty line. Of the 70,508 residents counted in the labor force, 5,286 are unemployed, an unemployment rate of approximately 7.5 percent. Major employment sectors include healthcare (anchored by three hospital systems), logistics and distribution (positioned along I-75 and near Middle Georgia Regional Airport), state and local government, and education. Mercer University, Middle Georgia State University, and Wesleyan College are significant institutional employers and anchor the knowledge economy.

Housing

Macon-Bibb has 71,828 total housing units, of which 59,480 are occupied and 12,348 are vacant — a vacancy rate of approximately 17 percent that reflects decades of population decline from the city's mid-20th-century peak. The split between owners and renters is close: 31,315 owner-occupied units versus 28,165 renter-occupied. The median home value is $155,200, which is low by Georgia and national standards and makes Macon one of the more affordable mid-sized cities in the state for buyers. Median gross rent is $967 per month. For renters earning the county median income, that rent burden is significant but not extreme; for the substantial share of residents near or below the poverty line, it remains a serious constraint.

Getting Around

Of 63,811 workers, 51,469 drive alone to work — about 80.7 percent. Carpooling accounts for another 5,159 commuters. Public transit use is minimal at 684 workers, reflecting the limited reach of Macon Transit Authority service outside the core city. Walking is reported by 1,391 workers. Remote work accounts for 4,221 workers. The aggregate travel time across all workers is 1,295,545 minutes, yielding an average one-way commute of roughly 20 minutes — short by the standards of the Atlanta metro but consistent with a mid-sized city where most destinations are within a 15-mile radius.

Healthcare

Three hospital systems operate in Macon-Bibb County, making it a genuine regional medical center for Middle Georgia. Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center is the flagship, a major academic medical center affiliated with Mercer University School of Medicine and the largest hospital serving the region. Coliseum Medical Centers provides additional acute-care capacity on the north side of Macon. Piedmont Macon North Hospital rounds out the hospital landscape. Residents of surrounding rural counties — Houston, Twiggs, Crawford, Jones, Monroe — routinely travel to Macon for specialty care. Individual provider lookup for Macon-area clinicians is available through the NPI Registry.

Natural Hazards

Bibb County has accumulated 15 FEMA disaster declarations since 1990 — a frequency that reflects both the county's position in central Georgia and the increasing pace of major weather events. Declared events include:

Macon's inland location does not eliminate hurricane risk — tropical systems regularly retain damaging winds and produce flooding well into central Georgia. Ice storms present a recurring winter hazard. Tornado risk is persistent across all seasons.

Government & Municipal Code

Macon-Bibb County operates under a consolidated city-county government, established in 2014. The full municipal code is published by Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/macon-bibb-county-georgia. No separate building code is recorded in the current code index.

Weather

National Weather Service forecasts for Macon-Bibb County are issued by the NWS Peachtree City office, which covers central Georgia. Macon sits in a transitional climate zone — humid subtropical, with hot summers, mild winters punctuated by occasional ice events, and vulnerability to tropical moisture from late summer through fall.

References

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