Cordele, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Cordele · Crisp County, Georgia
Population 10,107 (est. 2026: ~9,700)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -1.12% annual growth projection

Cordele, Georgia

Crisp County, Georgia · Population 10,220

Cordele sits at the crossroads of Interstate 75 and U.S. Highway 280 in the flat agricultural heartland of south-central Georgia, roughly 140 miles south of Atlanta and 90 miles north of Valdosta. It is the county seat and commercial hub of Crisp County, which means that nearly everything of consequence in the county — courts, schools, the regional hospital — happens here. The surrounding landscape is row-crop farmland, and the town's identity has long been tied to watermelon production; it has branded itself the "Watermelon Capital of the World." That agricultural character shapes the economy, the income levels, and the daily pace of a community that is small but functions as a genuine regional center for the rural counties around it.

People & Demographics

Cordele's population of 10,210 represents just over half of Crisp County's 20,128 residents. The city is predominantly Black — 7,119 residents, or roughly 70% of the population — with 2,947 white residents and 201 Hispanic or Latino residents. The Asian population is 2. The median age is 36.7 years, a relatively young community. There are 2,729 children under 18, spread across 4,039 households. Average household size is 2.49 persons, and 2,623 of those households are family households.

Economy & Employment

The economy here is modest and under pressure. Median household income is $33,166 — well below Georgia's statewide median, which hovers near $65,000. Per capita income sits at $22,633. Of the 10,210 residents, 3,215 live below the poverty line, a poverty rate approaching 31%, which is roughly three times the national average.

The labor force numbers 4,714 people, with 414 unemployed — an unemployment rate of approximately 8.8% within the labor force. Public sector employment, healthcare at Crisp Regional Hospital, retail along the commercial corridors off I-75, and agriculture-linked industries are the primary economic drivers. The interstate interchange generates steady truck-stop and hospitality activity, and Cordele functions as a service town for a wide swath of rural south Georgia.

Housing

Housing in Cordele is among the most affordable in Georgia by sticker price. The median home value is $92,800, and median gross rent runs $756 per month. Of 4,887 total housing units, 4,039 are occupied, leaving 848 vacant — a vacancy rate of about 17%, which signals soft demand and some population attrition. Renters outnumber owners significantly: 2,520 renter-occupied units versus 1,519 owner-occupied. That 62%-to-38% renter-to-owner ratio is unusually high and reflects both the income constraints and the transient workforce that passes through the area. At these price levels, housing cost burden is low in dollar terms, but it can still bite when incomes are as compressed as they are here.

Schools

All public schools in Cordele operate under the Crisp County School System, which consolidates the entire county into a single district. The schools serving the community:

Total K–12 enrollment across the district is approximately 3,591 students, making it a mid-sized rural district. For post-secondary options, the nearest college data was not available in structured form; Cordele is within reasonable driving distance of Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus (roughly 35 miles west).

Getting Around

Cordele is car country. Of 4,083 total workers, 3,321 drive alone and 446 carpool. Zero residents report using public transit. Fourteen walk to work. Remote work accounts for 147 workers. The aggregate commute time across all workers is 84,285 minutes, which works out to roughly 20.6 minutes per worker — a short average by Georgia standards, reflecting that most jobs are close to home or within the county. The I-75 corridor makes access to Macon (about 60 miles north) or Valdosta (about 90 miles south) straightforward for those who need a larger metro for specialty services.

Healthcare

Crisp Regional Hospital serves Cordele and the surrounding region. It appears in CMS records under both "Crisp Regional Hospital" and "Crisp Regional Hospital — Cordele," indicating a main campus in town. Detailed star ratings were not available in the sourced data. For a full directory of individual physicians and providers registered with CMS in Cordele, the NPI Registry lists licensed providers by city.

Library

The Cordele-Crisp Carnegie Library serves the community and can be reached at (229) 276-1300. As a Carnegie library, it carries historical distinction — part of the network of libraries funded by Andrew Carnegie in the early 20th century, and still operating as the county's primary public library resource.

Parks & Recreation

Two National Park Service sites anchor the broader region's heritage tourism:

Lake Blackshear, just outside town, offers fishing, boating, and camping for residents seeking recreation closer to home.

Natural Hazards

Crisp County has a long and serious FEMA disaster declaration history. The county has been included in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1998:

The pattern is clear: south Georgia's position in the path of Gulf and Atlantic storms means Crisp County deals with hurricane remnants, tornadoes, and severe flooding on a near-regular basis. Hurricane Helene alone generated two separate federal declarations in a single month in 2024. Residents should maintain readiness plans and follow active weather alerts for the area.

Government & Municipal Code

Cordele's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/cordele. No municipal building code was identified in the sourced data — residents undertaking construction or renovation should confirm applicable codes directly with the city or county building department.

Weather

Current conditions and forecasts for Cordele are available through the National Weather Service forecast page. The nearest official weather observation station is CORDELE, located 4.1 miles from the city center. Given the FEMA declaration history, monitoring NWS alerts during storm seasons is a practical necessity here, not a formality.

References

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