Ambrose, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Ambrose · Coffee County, Georgia
Population 287 (est. 2026: ~700)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 33.1% annual growth projection

Ambrose, Georgia

Coffee County, Georgia · Population 327

Ambrose sits in the flatlands of south-central Georgia, a small incorporated city in Coffee County roughly midway between Douglas — the county seat — and the Alapaha River lowlands. It's the kind of place where the surrounding county defines the practical reality of daily life: people shop in Douglas, kids ride buses to schools that serve a broader rural district, and neighbors know each other's names. With 327 residents, Ambrose is not a bedroom community or a commuter hub. It's a small, working-class Georgia town with deep roots, modest means, and a median age that suggests a settled, older population more than a community in demographic flux.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 estimate puts Ambrose's counted population at 221, with 94 occupied households and an average household size of 2.35. The median age is 42 — older than the typical Georgia small-town profile. Racial composition breaks down to 116 white residents, 55 Black residents, and 38 Hispanic or Latino residents. Children under 18 number just 36, which lines up with the older median age and the relatively small share of family households (52 of 94 total). Coffee County as a whole holds 43,092 people, meaning Ambrose accounts for less than 1% of the county population — a village-scale community embedded in a rural county.

Economy & Employment

The economic picture in Ambrose is one of concentrated financial hardship. Median household income sits at $24,722 and per capita income at $24,172 — well below Georgia's statewide median household income, which runs above $65,000. Of the 221 residents counted, 92 fall below the federal poverty line. That's roughly 42% of the counted population living in poverty — a rate that stands far above both Coffee County averages and Georgia as a whole.

Of 106 people in the labor force, 12 are unemployed — an unemployment rate around 11%. The labor force participation rate itself is modest, consistent with a population that skews older and includes many residents outside prime working age.

Housing

Ambrose has 122 total housing units, 94 of them occupied and 28 vacant — a vacancy rate near 23%, high by any measure and typical of small rural Georgia towns experiencing slow population loss. Renters outnumber owners: 51 renter-occupied units versus 43 owner-occupied. Median gross rent is $707 per month. Median home value data was not available in the ACS estimates for this place. The rental-majority split is notable for a town this size and reflects the economic conditions — homeownership requires capital and credit access that a median income of $24,722 makes difficult to accumulate.

Schools

Ambrose is home to Ambrose Elementary School, serving grades pre-K through 5 with 396 students — a student body that significantly outnumbers the town's own population, confirming it draws from the surrounding rural area. For middle and high school, students attend Coffee County district schools in or near Douglas. The Coffee County school district serves the broader county, and Douglas is the hub for upper-grade education.

Getting Around

Ambrose is a car-required community. Of 89 counted workers, 78 drive alone to work. Two walk. No one uses public transit, and no one reported carpooling or working from home in the ACS estimates. The aggregate commute time for all workers totals 2,035 minutes, which works out to roughly 23 minutes per worker — consistent with driving to Douglas or other nearby employment centers. There is no local transit infrastructure.

Healthcare

No hospitals are located in Ambrose. Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, approximately 10–12 miles away, serves as the primary hospital for Coffee County residents. For a directory of individual healthcare providers registered in Ambrose with the CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, the NPI Registry can be searched directly: NPI Registry — Ambrose, GA.

Library

Ambrose Public Library serves the community locally. Phone: (912) 359-2536. For residents who need broader collections or extended services, the Coffee County Public Library system in Douglas provides the regional resource base.

Natural Hazards

Coffee County has a substantial FEMA disaster declaration history, and Ambrose sits squarely within that exposure zone. South Georgia's vulnerability to Gulf and Atlantic storm systems shows clearly in the record:

The pattern is clear: Coffee County faces repeated tropical storm impacts, flooding, and wind events. Residents should maintain awareness of evacuation routes toward Douglas and northward, and treat each hurricane season as a genuine operational concern, not a background risk.

Government & Municipal Code

Ambrose operates as an incorporated city under Georgia law. The municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/ambrose-city-georgia. Ambrose does not have a locally adopted building code on file in the Municode system.

Weather

Current National Weather Service forecasts for Ambrose are available at forecast.weather.gov. Active weather alerts for the area can be monitored at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest surface observation station is PRIDGEN, approximately 8.4 miles away.

References

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