Sparks, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Sparks · Cook County, Georgia
Population 2,225 (est. 2026: ~1,700)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -7.6% annual growth projection

Sparks, Georgia

Cook County, Georgia · Population 2,043

Sparks sits in the flat agricultural heart of South Georgia, about eight miles north of Adel along U.S. Highway 41. It is a small incorporated town inside Cook County — a county of roughly 17,229 people that still runs largely on farming, poultry processing, and the industries that support both. Sparks is not a suburb and not a commuter town. It is a self-contained rural community where the median age is 28.8 years, households are large, and the cost of living is low enough that working-class families can still own property. The nearest metro area is Valdosta, about 45 miles to the south.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 estimates put the Sparks population at 2,459. The racial composition is majority Black at 1,292 residents, with 801 white residents and 534 Hispanic or Latino residents. That demographic mix — about 53% Black, 33% white, 22% Hispanic — reflects the broader pattern of small South Georgia towns shaped by agricultural labor history and ongoing immigrant labor in food processing.

The median age of 28.8 is notably young. For comparison, Georgia's statewide median age is around 37. The town's 613 households average 3.97 people each — well above the national average of roughly 2.5 — and 929 of the estimated 2,459 residents are children under 18. That means roughly 38% of the population is under 18, which puts enormous weight on the local school system and community services.

Family households account for 482 of the 613 total — about 79% — suggesting a community structure built around families rather than single-person or non-family living arrangements.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Sparks is $37,226, and per capita income is $14,124. Georgia's statewide median household income runs around $61,000, which means Sparks households earn roughly 61 cents for every dollar earned by the average Georgia household. That gap is significant.

Of 779 residents counted in the labor force, 60 are unemployed — an unemployment rate of approximately 7.7%. The poverty count stands at 685 residents, which represents roughly 28% of the estimated population — a rate substantially higher than Georgia's statewide poverty rate of around 14%.

The economic profile points toward an economy anchored in agriculture, food processing, and service work. Those are the industries that employ rural Cook County at scale. There is no data suggesting a significant white-collar or professional sector within Sparks itself.

Housing

Sparks has 787 total housing units, of which 613 are occupied and 174 are vacant — a vacancy rate of about 22%. That is high, and it usually signals a combination of aging stock, out-migration, and limited new construction investment.

Of occupied units, renters outnumber owners: 344 renter-occupied versus 269 owner-occupied. That 56%-to-44% renter majority is somewhat unusual for a rural Georgia town, where ownership rates tend to be higher.

The median home value is $73,300. Median rent is $936 per month. That rent figure deserves attention: at a $37,226 median household income, a household paying $936 monthly is spending over 30% of gross income on rent — the standard affordability threshold. For households below median, the math is tighter still. Home values, however, remain accessible by almost any measure; $73,300 is a fraction of the statewide median home value.

Schools

Sparks falls within the Cook County School District. Two schools serve elementary and middle grades:

Both are county-level schools drawing from Sparks and the broader Cook County area. High school students attend Cook County High School in Adel.

Getting Around

Of 716 workers counted in commute data, 584 drove alone — about 82%. Another 101 carpooled. Only 5 used public transit, and 23 worked from home. Zero workers walked to work per the ACS estimates.

Aggregate commute travel time totals 13,825 minutes across all workers, which averages out to roughly 19 minutes per worker. That is a relatively short average commute, consistent with employment concentrated in Adel and the immediate Cook County area rather than longer-distance metro commutes. A car is essentially mandatory here — public transit is nearly nonexistent.

Healthcare

The closest hospital facility associated with this area is Southwell Medical, a Campus of TRMC, which serves Cook County. Detailed rating and emergency service data were not available in the current dataset. The main Tift Regional Medical Center campus is located in Tifton, approximately 25 miles north of Sparks — that is the regional referral hospital for serious and emergency care.

For local provider lookup, the CMS NPI Registry can be searched directly for Sparks-based providers: NPI Registry — Sparks, GA

Library

The Cook County Library is located approximately 1.4 miles from Sparks, reachable at (229) 896-3652. It serves as the primary public library resource for residents of Sparks and the surrounding county.

Natural Hazards

Cook County has a substantial FEMA disaster declaration history — 15 declarations since 2004, covering nearly every major storm system to track through South Georgia:

The pattern is clear: this part of Georgia sits in a corridor regularly struck by Gulf and Atlantic storm systems. Flooding, wind damage, and tropical storm impacts are not rare occurrences — they are recurring facts of life. Anyone moving to Sparks should factor hurricane preparedness, flood insurance, and storm shelter planning into basic household planning.

Government & Municipal Code

Sparks operates under a municipal code published through Municode: Sparks Town Code — Municode Library

Note: No local building code is on file for Sparks. Construction and building standards default to county and state requirements.

Weather

Current forecasts and active alerts for the Sparks area are available through the National Weather Service:

The nearest weather observation station is in Adel, 1.4 miles away.

References

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