Edison, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Edison · Calhoun County, Georgia
Population 1,330 (est. 2026: ~1,400)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 0.75% annual growth projection

Edison, Georgia

Calhoun County, Georgia · Population 1,230

Edison sits in the flat, piney terrain of southwest Georgia's Calhoun County, about 45 miles southeast of Albany and roughly 40 miles north of the Florida line. It is a small Black Belt town — the kind of place where the courthouse, the school, and the churches anchor daily life, and where most residents have deep roots. With just over 1,200 people, Edison is home to about one in five Calhoun County residents. The county seat is Morgan, but Edison is the county's largest incorporated place.

People & Demographics

Edison's population of 1,229 skews older than many small Georgia towns, with a median age of 43.2. The racial composition is predominantly Black — 901 residents, or roughly 73% of the population — with 319 white residents. Hispanic or Latino residents number 9. There are 392 households, 259 of them family households, with an average household size of 2.99 people. Children under 18 account for 270 residents, about 22% of the total.

Economy & Employment

The economic picture in Edison is tight. Median household income sits at $36,250 — well below the Georgia statewide median, which was approximately $61,000 in 2022. Per capita income is $17,917. Of the 1,229 residents, 451 fall below the federal poverty line — approximately 37%, a rate substantially higher than the state average.

The labor force numbers 522 people. Of those, 90 are unemployed, an unemployment rate of roughly 17%. The dominant employment sectors in this part of southwest Georgia are agriculture, government services, and health care — but the data available here does not break down Edison's employment by industry. Many residents commute out of town for work.

Housing

Housing in Edison is among the most affordable in Georgia by raw numbers, though "affordable" reflects both low costs and low incomes. The median home value is $59,800 — a fraction of the Georgia statewide median. Median gross rent is $669 per month.

Of 459 total housing units, 392 are occupied and 67 are vacant — a vacancy rate of about 14.6%. Owner-occupied units number 233; renter-occupied units number 159, putting the ownership rate at roughly 59%. For buyers, entry-level costs are low. For renters, the $669 median rent against a $36,250 household income still represents a meaningful burden.

Schools

Edison is served by Calhoun County's public school system, along with a charter school that draws students across grades. Local schools include:

Pataula Charter Academy is notably the largest single school, enrolling more students than all three Calhoun County district schools combined.

Educational attainment among adults 25 and older reflects regional patterns: of 815 adults in that age group, 248 hold a high school diploma, 71 hold a bachelor's degree, and 8 hold a master's degree. No residents reported doctoral degrees.

Getting Around

Edison is car-dependent, full stop. Of 432 workers, 377 drove alone to work, and 47 carpooled. Eight people walked. No residents used public transit, and none worked from home. There is no bus service or regional transit infrastructure. Aggregate commute time for all workers totals 7,485 minutes, suggesting an average one-way commute of roughly 17 minutes — consistent with traveling to nearby towns like Blakely, Bainbridge, or Albany for employment.

Healthcare

No hospitals are located within Edison. The nearest full-service hospital is in Albany, roughly 45 miles northwest. For local provider listings, the CMS NPI Registry can be searched for practitioners in Edison: NPI Registry — Edison, GA.

Library

The Calhoun County Library serves Edison residents and can be reached at (229) 835-2012. It is part of the regional public library system for southwest Georgia and serves as a primary community resource for residents without home internet access.

Parks & Recreation

The Jimmy Carter National Historical Park is located approximately 38 miles from Edison, centered on Plains, Georgia — the birthplace and home of the 39th President. The Plains High School Visitor Center and Museum operates as part of that park system and offers exhibits on Carter's early life and presidency.

Southwest Georgia's open landscape also supports hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation across the region, though Edison itself has no federally designated recreation areas within its limits.

Natural Hazards

Calhoun County has a well-documented disaster history. FEMA has issued 14 declarations affecting the county since 1994, touching nearly every major weather threat that moves through the Deep South:

The pattern is clear — this is hurricane corridor territory. Storms that make landfall on the Gulf Coast or Florida's panhandle regularly push inland with destructive force through this part of Georgia. Residents and property owners should treat this history as a planning baseline, not an anomaly.

Government & Municipal Code

Edison's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/edison. The code does not include a local building code — construction standards default to state and county-level requirements.

Weather

Current forecasts for Edison are available through the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast — Edison, GA. Active weather alerts can be monitored at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest weather observation station is located 0.7 miles from town, designated EDISON.

References

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