Wenona, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Wenona · Crisp County, Georgia
Population 233 (est. 2026: ~500)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 22.75% annual growth projection

Wenona, Georgia

Crisp County, Georgia · Population 231

Wenona is a small census-designated place tucked into Crisp County in south-central Georgia, roughly 140 miles south of Atlanta along the I-75 corridor. The county seat, Cordele — self-styled "Watermelon Capital of the World" — sits just a few miles away and provides most of the services Wenona residents depend on day to day. This is deep rural Georgia: flat farmland, modest incomes, tight-knit households, and a landscape shaped as much by hurricanes tracking up from the Gulf as by the agricultural rhythms that have defined the region for generations. With 231 residents, Wenona is less a standalone town than a community within Crisp County's broader fabric.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 estimate puts Wenona's population at 220, spread across 97 households. The median age is 37.9 years — slightly older than many small rural communities — with 38 children under 18 living here. Family households dominate: 92 of 97 total households are family units, and the average household size is 2.27 people. The racial composition recorded in the ACS shows 195 residents identifying as white, with no Black, Asian, or Hispanic/Latino residents recorded in this sample period.

Crisp County as a whole holds 20,128 people, making Wenona home to roughly one percent of the county's population.

Economy & Employment

Per capita income in Wenona stands at $23,246, a modest figure in a county that itself sits well below Georgia's statewide averages. Of the 220 residents counted, 36 fall below the federal poverty line — about 16 percent of the population, a meaningful share even by rural Georgia standards.

The labor force numbers tell an interesting story: 88 residents are in the labor force, and recorded unemployment is zero. That figure likely reflects the small sample size more than a true absence of joblessness. The commuting data adds context — of those 88 workers, exactly 40 drove alone to work and 40 worked from home, with 8 carpooling. Remote work accounts for nearly half of all employment arrangements here, a notable share for a community this size and rural character.

Housing

Wenona has 113 total housing units. Of those, 97 are occupied and 16 are vacant — a vacancy rate of about 14 percent, common across rural south Georgia where population has thinned steadily over decades. Owner-occupied units number 57; renter-occupied units account for 40 — roughly a 59/41 split. The ACS sample did not produce reliable estimates for median home value or median rent, so direct cost comparisons are unavailable.

Schools

Wenona students attend Crisp County Schools, the consolidated county district headquartered in Cordele. The full school pipeline runs:

The district also operates Crisp RYDC (Regional Youth Detention Center), serving grades 6–10 with 16 students — a facility that handles court-involved youth from across the region.

Getting Around

Wenona is car-dependent, as is essentially every community in rural south Georgia. No public transit is recorded in the commuting data. Of 88 workers, 40 drove alone, 8 carpooled, and 40 worked from home. Cordele's position on I-75 makes access to Macon (roughly 55 miles north) and Valdosta (about 80 miles south) straightforward for residents who need to reach larger employment or service centers.

Healthcare

Crisp County's primary hospital is Crisp Regional Hospital in Cordele, which serves the county and surrounding communities. For a detailed look at individual healthcare providers in Wenona specifically, the CMS NPI Registry maintains a searchable database of licensed providers.

Library

The Cordele-Crisp Carnegie Library serves this community, located 3.0 miles away. Phone: (229) 276-1300. The Carnegie designation reflects the building's historical roots — one of the library structures funded by Andrew Carnegie's early 20th-century philanthropy, still operating as the county's public library anchor.

Parks & Recreation

Two national park units sit within reasonable driving distance of Wenona.

Andersonville National Historic Site, roughly 27 miles away, preserves the site of Camp Sumter — the Confederate prisoner-of-war camp where nearly 13,000 Union soldiers died during the Civil War. It also holds the National Prisoner of War Museum, which documents American POW experiences across all conflicts. The museum's visitor center is 27.4 miles from Wenona.

Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains, Georgia — about 37 miles away — interprets the life and presidency of the 39th president. The Plains High School Visitor Center and Museum, 37.1 miles distant, anchors the site.

Natural Hazards

Crisp County carries a long and serious FEMA disaster declaration record — 15 declarations since 1998. That history reflects south Georgia's exposure to Atlantic and Gulf storm systems, severe convective weather, and flooding events.

Major events include two separate Hurricane Helene declarations in late September 2024, Hurricane Debby in August 2024, Hurricane Michael (2018), Hurricane Irma (2017), and Hurricane Katrina evacuation support in 2005. Straight-line winds and tornadoes have struck the county in both 2017 and 2023. Severe storms and flooding go back at least to 1998. Residents living here should take storm preparedness seriously — this is not theoretical risk. The 2024 hurricane season alone produced three separate federal declarations within two months.

Government & Municipal Code

Wenona's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/wenona-cdp-georgia. The code does not include a local building code — construction and building standards are governed at the county level through Crisp County.

Weather

Current forecasts for Wenona are available through the National Weather Service. Active weather alerts can be tracked at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest official weather observation station is in Cordele, 4.1 miles away.

References

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