Georgetown, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Georgetown · Chatham County, Georgia
Population 11,606 (est. 2026: ~10,200)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -3.86% annual growth projection

Georgetown, Georgia

Chatham County, Georgia · Population 11,916

Georgetown sits as a census-designated place on the western edge of Savannah's suburban reach, inside Chatham County. It occupies a coastal Georgia landscape that trades the tourist energy of downtown Savannah for quieter residential streets — but it remains close enough to Savannah's jobs, hospitals, and airports to function as part of that metropolitan orbit. The Savannah metro is the dominant economic and civic gravity here. Georgetown is not an isolated small town; it is a mid-sized suburban community whose residents commute into one of Georgia's fastest-growing coastal cities.

People & Demographics

Georgetown's ACS 2022 population estimate is 12,490, with a median age of 33.1 — notably younger than Georgia's statewide median, reflecting a community with significant working-age and family-stage households. The racial composition is: White 6,068; Black 4,951; Asian 393; Hispanic or Latino 717. The community is genuinely diverse, with no single group holding an overwhelming majority.

Of 5,046 occupied households, 3,362 are family households. The average household size of 2.47 aligns closely with Georgia norms. Children under 18 number 2,916 — roughly 23 percent of the population — making this a community where schools and family-oriented amenities matter.

Chatham County's total population is 295,291, meaning Georgetown accounts for roughly 4 percent of the county. It is one of several suburban CDPs orbiting Savannah.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Georgetown is $70,640, and per capita income sits at $38,865. Georgia's statewide median household income hovers around $61,000, so Georgetown runs meaningfully above that baseline — a signal that many residents are tapping into Savannah's professional and logistics economy.

Of 7,300 people in the labor force, 410 are unemployed — an unemployment rate of approximately 5.6 percent. The area's economic backbone is Savannah: the Port of Savannah, one of the busiest container ports in the United States, drives logistics, warehousing, and related professional services work that Georgetown residents access daily.

Poverty affects 967 residents, a relatively contained share of the total population given the community's income profile.

Housing

Georgetown has 5,576 total housing units, with 5,046 occupied and 530 vacant — a vacancy rate of roughly 9.5 percent. Owner-occupied units number 2,599; renter-occupied units come in close behind at 2,447. The near-even split between owners and renters is a defining housing characteristic here.

The median home value is $232,700. Median gross rent is $1,336 per month. Both figures reflect the influence of Savannah's rising coastal real estate market. For comparison, Georgia's statewide median home value sits closer to $230,000–$240,000 in this period, placing Georgetown essentially at parity with the state — but well below Savannah's higher-end zip codes.

There is no building code of record published through Georgetown's municipal code system.

Schools

Georgetown's school data points to Quitman County schools, which is a notable geographic flag — Quitman County is a separate, rural county located roughly 150 miles southwest of Chatham County. Students in Georgetown proper are served through the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, one of Georgia's larger urban districts. The Quitman County schools listed in the NCES data are:

These schools serve Quitman County's own students, not Georgetown CDP residents. Families in Georgetown access Savannah-Chatham County schools.

Getting Around

Georgetown is a car-dependent community. Of 6,812 total workers, 5,459 drove alone — about 80 percent. Another 823 carpooled. Public transit registered zero workers, a meaningful data point that underscores the absence of usable transit connections. Only 84 residents walked to work, and 422 worked from home.

Average commute time, derived from the aggregate travel time of 143,175 minutes across 6,812 workers, works out to roughly 21 minutes — consistent with a community that sits 15–20 minutes from Savannah's commercial core. A car is not optional here.

Healthcare

Georgetown residents have direct access to Savannah's hospital network, one of the stronger healthcare concentrations in coastal Georgia:

For local provider lookup: NPI Registry – Georgetown, GA providers

Library

The Quitman County Library serves the Quitman County area and can be reached at (229) 334-8972. Georgetown CDP residents are served by the Live Oak Public Libraries system, the regional library network covering Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty counties in coastal Georgia, with branches in and around Savannah.

Parks & Recreation

The Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains, Georgia — honoring the 39th President — lies approximately 41.8 miles from Georgetown. Plains is a small, historically significant town in Sumter County worth the drive for anyone interested in presidential history and southwest Georgia's rural character.

The Plains High School Visitor Center and Museum, also in Plains, is roughly 41.8 miles away and functions as the primary orientation point for visiting the Carter NHP.

Natural Hazards

Chatham County's FEMA disaster history is one of the most active in Georgia. The county sits squarely in the Atlantic hurricane belt, and the record reflects it:

Declarations since 1998 include Hurricane Matthew (2016), Hurricane Irma (2017), Hurricane Michael (2018), Hurricane Dorian (2019), COVID-19 (2020), Tropical Storm Debby (2024), and Hurricane Helene (2024) — the last two occurring within the same calendar year. Helene generated both an emergency declaration and a major disaster declaration within days of each other in late September 2024.

The pattern goes back to Hurricane Floyd (1999), severe storms and flooding (1998), and even a Hurricane Katrina evacuation declaration (2005), when Chatham County received displaced Gulf Coast residents.

Anyone living in Georgetown should carry flood insurance, maintain a hurricane plan, and treat seasonal storm watches as routine, not exceptional.

Government & Municipal Code

Georgetown's municipal code is published through Municode: https://library.municode.com/ga/georgetown-cdp-georgia

As a census-designated place rather than an incorporated municipality, Georgetown's governance runs through Chatham County. No local building code is on file through the Municode system.

Weather

Current forecast: NWS Forecast for Georgetown, GA Active alerts: Weather Alerts

The nearest weather observation station is Georgetown 4 E, located 2.8 miles away. The coastal Georgia climate means hot, humid summers, mild winters, and a genuine hurricane season from June through November.

References

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