Bluffton, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Bluffton · Clay County, Georgia
Population 351 (est. 2026: ~300)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -0.28% annual growth projection

Bluffton, Georgia

Clay County, Georgia · Population 113

Bluffton sits in the far southwestern corner of Georgia, tucked into Clay County along the Chattahoochee River valley. It is one of the smallest incorporated towns in one of the smallest and poorest counties in the state. Clay County's total population of 2,848 makes it the second-least-populous county in Georgia, and Bluffton — with 113 residents — is its quiet, rural counterpart to the county seat of Fort Gaines, roughly half a mile to the east. There are no stoplights. There are no chains. What exists here is a tight-knit community shaped heavily by young families, deep poverty, and the recurring force of Gulf storms tracking northward.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 estimates place Bluffton's population at 295, reflecting survey-period variation from the headline figure of 113. What stands out immediately is the median age: 17.8 years. That is not a typo. Bluffton is overwhelmingly young — 164 of the town's residents are children under 18. The average household size of 5.67 confirms that these are large, multigenerational or family-dense households packed into a small number of units.

Racially, the town is 210 White and 84 Black residents. No Asian or Hispanic/Latino population appears in the ACS data.

There are 52 total households, 39 of which are family households. The concentration of children relative to adults gives Bluffton a demographic profile unlike almost any town of its size in Georgia.

Economy & Employment

The per capita income in Bluffton is $15,517 — a figure that reflects the broader economic hardship of Clay County, one of the most economically distressed counties in the Southeast. For context, Georgia's per capita income runs considerably higher; Bluffton is well below any state benchmark.

Of 111 residents in the labor force, zero are recorded as unemployed in the ACS estimates — which in a town this small likely reflects a combination of informal employment, agricultural work, and statistical limitations at small sample sizes rather than a genuinely robust job market. Seven residents fall below the poverty line per the available data, though poverty rates in Clay County as a whole are significantly higher than state averages.

The municipal code for Bluffton is published through Municode and is publicly accessible.

Housing

Bluffton has 62 total housing units, of which 52 are occupied and 10 are vacant — a vacancy rate of roughly 16%. Owner-occupied units number 32; 20 households rent. That split, roughly 62% owners to 38% renters, suggests modest but real homeownership rates for such a low-income community.

Median home value and median rent figures are not available in the ACS data at this geography. Given the per capita income of $15,517 and the county context, housing costs are presumably low in absolute terms, but the income base is equally constrained.

No building code is currently on file for Bluffton through Municode.

Schools

Students in Bluffton attend Clay County schools. The two schools serving the county are:

Given that Bluffton's own population under 18 is 164, a large share of the county's school-age children live within or near town limits. High school students travel to Fort Gaines.

Getting Around

Of 106 workers commuting from Bluffton, 44 drove alone and 61 carpooled — a carpooling rate of nearly 58%, which is exceptionally high and speaks directly to the economics of the area. One resident worked from home. No one used public transit or walked to work.

The aggregate commute time across all workers totals 3,210 minutes, suggesting an average one-way trip of roughly 30 minutes. There is no local public transit. A personal vehicle, or a reliable carpool, is essential for daily life here.

Healthcare

No hospitals or clinical providers with NPI registrations specific to Bluffton appear in available data. The nearest significant medical facilities are in Fort Gaines or further afield in Eufaula, Alabama, across the state line. Residents seeking specialty care likely travel to Albany, Georgia, approximately an hour northeast.

Provider lookup for the Bluffton area: CMS NPI Registry — Bluffton, GA

Library

The Clay County Library serves Bluffton residents and is located 1.1 miles from town. Phone: (229) 768-2248. For a community this small and this economically stressed, the county library functions as a significant public resource for internet access, children's programming, and basic literacy services.

Parks & Recreation

The Jimmy Carter National Historical Park is a National Park Service site located in the region, honoring the life and legacy of the 39th President. The Plains High School Visitor Center and Museum — located 47.8 miles from Bluffton — serves as a primary gateway to that history. The Chattahoochee River corridor near Fort Gaines also provides fishing and outdoor access for residents of the immediate area.

Natural Hazards

Clay County has been hit repeatedly, and the FEMA disaster declaration record documents it plainly. Since 1994, the county has received 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations, covering:

Southwestern Georgia sits in the inland track corridor for Gulf of Mexico hurricanes. Storms that make landfall on the Florida Panhandle or Alabama coast regularly arrive over Clay County with enough residual wind and rain to cause structural damage, flooding, and power outages. Hurricane Michael in 2018 was particularly destructive across this region. Helene in September 2024 added another declaration to the list.

Residents should maintain readiness for hurricane-season impacts even this far inland.

Government & Municipal Code

Bluffton's municipal code is published and maintained through Municode: https://library.municode.com/ga/bluffton-town-georgia

No local building code is currently adopted or on file.

Weather

Current forecasts and conditions are tracked through the National Weather Service:

The nearest weather observation station is Fort Gaines 2, located 0.6 miles away.

References

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