Kingsland, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Kingsland · Camden County, Georgia
Population 19,101 (est. 2026: ~20,900)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 2.75% annual growth projection

Kingsland, Georgia

Camden County, Georgia · Population 18,337

Kingsland sits at the southeastern tip of Georgia, pressed against the Florida state line and framed by the salt marshes and barrier islands of the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Camden County and the largest city in a county of 54,768 people — a county that stretches from the Okefenokee's edge to Cumberland Island's shore. The town's identity is shaped by three forces: the sprawling Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay a few miles to the east, the outdoor draw of Cumberland Island National Seashore just offshore, and the steady pressure of Florida's Jacksonville metro pulling commuters and commerce south on Interstate 95. Kingsland is not a resort town and not quite a suburb — it occupies the functional middle ground of a working military and coastal community that has grown fast and continues to grow.

People & Demographics

Kingsland's ACS 2022 population count of 18,563 reflects a young, family-oriented community. The median age of 33.1 years is notably lower than Georgia's statewide median, a pattern typical of towns anchored by an active-duty military installation. The average household size of 2.83 people per household, combined with 4,979 children under 18, confirms that young families are the dominant demographic unit here.

Racially, the population is majority white at 12,007 residents, with a Black population of 4,259 and an Asian population of 337. The Hispanic and Latino population stands at 1,662 — about 9% of the total — reflecting both long-standing regional demographics and the diversity that accompanies a large naval base. Of 6,561 total households, 4,885 are family households, a high family share that aligns with the town's military and working-class character.

Economy & Employment

The median household income of $73,839 places Kingsland meaningfully above Georgia's statewide median, a figure driven in part by federal military employment at Kings Bay, which provides stable, well-compensated jobs to a large share of the workforce. Per capita income of $31,573 is more modest, reflecting the town's large household sizes and the presence of lower-wage service and retail employment alongside federal positions.

Of 8,998 people in the labor force, 296 are counted as unemployed — an unemployment rate of roughly 3.3%. Some 2,411 residents fall below the poverty line, about 13% of the population, a share that suggests economic stratification between the military and civilian economies.

Housing

Kingsland's housing stock of 7,106 total units runs 6,561 occupied, leaving a vacancy rate of just 7.7% — tight for a town of this size and a sign of sustained demand. Owner-occupied units at 4,537 outnumber renter-occupied at 2,024 by better than two to one, reflecting the aspirations of a military family community where homeownership is a realistic near-term goal.

The median home value of $206,300 sits well below Georgia's major metro averages, making Kingsland a legitimate option for buyers priced out of the Jacksonville or Savannah markets. Median rent of $1,125 per month is moderate but has climbed alongside broader coastal Georgia demand. For buyers and renters on military housing allowances, Kingsland generally pencils out more favorably than the markets to the south.

Schools

Public education in Kingsland runs through the Camden County school district. Schools serving Kingsland students include:

Camden County High School, with nearly 2,700 students, is one of the larger high schools in southeast Georgia. The consolidated district structure means all secondary students county-wide feed into a single high school, a common arrangement in rural and small-metro Georgia counties.

Getting Around

Kingsland is a car-required town. Of 8,588 total workers, 7,316 drive alone to work. Another 679 carpool. Public transit registers zero, and walking to work registers zero. The built environment — commercial strips along US-17 and I-95 interchange development — does not support alternatives.

Some 533 residents work from home, a number that reflects remote-work adoption in the post-pandemic period. The aggregate commute time across all workers is 208,785 minutes, producing a mean one-way commute of roughly 24 minutes. That figure is compressed by the large share of workers employed at Kings Bay and local commercial employers — distances that keep commutes short even without transit options.

Healthcare

Southeast Georgia Health System's Camden Campus serves as the local hospital, located within the Kingsland area and providing the primary acute care access point for Camden County residents. For specialized or tertiary care, residents look south to Jacksonville, Florida, roughly 40 miles from Kingsland, which offers a full range of major health systems.

For a searchable directory of individual licensed healthcare providers in Kingsland, the CMS NPI Registry query returns local practitioners: Search Kingsland, GA providers.

Library

The Camden County Public Library serves Kingsland and the broader county. Phone: (912) 729-3741. The library is part of the public library system serving a county that, outside Kingsland, is largely rural.

Parks & Recreation

The coastal position of Kingsland gives residents access to federal public lands that most of the country can only visit. Cumberland Island National Seashore — the largest undeveloped barrier island on the East Coast — is reached by ferry from nearby St. Marys, roughly 10 miles from Kingsland. Backcountry camping on the island is available at Sea Camp Campground (12.2 miles), Stafford Beach Campground (12.7 miles), and Hickory Hill Wilderness Campsite (12.9 miles).

Two visitor access points — the Mainland Museum and Mainland Visitor Center (each 8.7 miles) — serve as entry points for Cumberland Island planning. The Sea Camp Ranger Station (11.8 miles) handles island-side orientation and permits.

Beyond Cumberland, the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and Fort Frederica National Monument on St. Simons Island are within reasonable driving distance, rounding out a public lands portfolio that is extraordinary for a town this size.

Natural Hazards

Camden County carries one of the longer FEMA disaster declaration histories in Georgia, and the list reads as a clear record of what it means to live on the Southeast Atlantic coast. Major declarations affecting the county include:

The 2024 season alone produced four separate federal declarations. Flood insurance, storm shutters, and evacuation planning are not optional considerations in Kingsland — they are practical necessities in a county that has been federally declared a disaster area multiple times in the last decade.

Government & Municipal Code

Kingsland's municipal code is published and maintained through Municode: library.municode.com/ga/kingsland. The municipality does not have a local building code on file in the Municode system, meaning construction and renovation projects are governed by state and county building standards rather than a city-specific code.

Weather

Current forecasts and conditions for Kingsland are available through the National Weather Service:

The nearest observation station is Kingsland 1.4 WNW, approximately 1.7 miles from the town center. The climate is subtropical humid — hot and wet from May through September, with hurricane season running June through November demanding attention from every household in the county.

References

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