Cedar Springs, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Cedar Springs · Early County, Georgia
Population 0
Source: Census ACS 2023

Cedar Springs, Georgia

Early County, Georgia · Population 75

Cedar Springs sits in the southwest corner of Georgia, tucked into Early County about a dozen miles from the Alabama state line. It is a census-designated place, not an incorporated municipality — no mayor, no city council, no city hall. The county seat of Blakely anchors the surrounding area, and the nearest metro of any size is Albany, roughly 50 miles to the northeast. With a population of 75 and a character shaped more by fields and pines than by commerce, Cedar Springs is the kind of place where nearly everyone knows everyone, and where residents drive somewhere else for nearly everything.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 estimates for Cedar Springs return a sample of 24 residents — a reflection of how small and statistically difficult to measure this community is. All 24 recorded residents identified as White. No children under 18 were counted in the sample period, and no family households were recorded — an artifact of small-sample survey methodology rather than a literal description of who lives here.

Early County as a whole holds 10,854 people, making it one of the smaller counties in Georgia by population. Cedar Springs represents a fraction of that figure, a loose cluster of households rather than a functioning town in the conventional sense.

Economy & Employment

The ACS data places all 24 surveyed residents in the labor force, with zero recorded unemployed — numbers that reflect sample size limitations more than a booming local economy. Early County's economy runs on agriculture, timber, and public-sector employment. Southwest Georgia broadly struggles with persistent poverty, and Early County is no exception, though the Cedar Springs sample recorded zero residents below the poverty line.

Income data for Cedar Springs specifically is not available from the ACS 2022 sample.

Housing

Cedar Springs has 51 total housing units. Of those, 24 are occupied and 27 are vacant — a vacancy rate just above 52 percent. That figure is striking. Georgia's overall vacancy rate hovers around 12 to 14 percent; Early County itself faces population loss and rural disinvestment that pushes vacancy higher than state norms, but Cedar Springs sits at a level that signals a community contracting rather than growing.

Every occupied unit is owner-occupied. There are no renters recorded in the ACS sample. Median home value and median rent figures are not available for this location.

Schools

The school data attached to Cedar Springs in the NCES records reflects Polk County schools around Cedartown — a data association error common with small CDPs. Students in Cedar Springs, Early County are served by Early County Schools, not those institutions. The listed schools — Cedartown High School (1,453 students, grades 9–12), Cedartown Middle School (1,035 students, grades 6–8), Cherokee Elementary (625 students), Westside Elementary (570 students), Northside Elementary (530 students), Youngs Grove Elementary (501 students), and Harpst Academy (46 students, grades 6–12) — are located in Cedartown, Georgia, approximately 200 miles north, and serve Polk County families.

Early County Schools, headquartered in Blakely, serves the students who actually live in Cedar Springs.

Getting Around

All 24 surveyed workers drove alone. No carpooling, no public transit, no walking, no remote work was recorded. This is consistent with rural southwest Georgia — public transportation infrastructure is essentially absent, and a personal vehicle is not optional. Blakely is the nearest town with a gas station, grocery store, and basic services.

Healthcare

LifeBrite Community Hospital of Early serves the county, providing the closest inpatient care to Cedar Springs. Specific ratings and emergency service details are not available in current data. For a broader search of licensed healthcare providers in the area, the NPI Registry can be queried directly at npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov.

Library

The Lucy Hilton Maddox Memorial Library serves Early County residents and sits approximately 1.0 mile from Cedar Springs. Phone: (229) 723-3079. For a community without local retail or services, the county library in Blakely functions as a meaningful civic anchor.

Natural Hazards

Early County has accumulated 15 federal disaster declarations since 1977 — a number that illustrates the region's consistent vulnerability to both Atlantic storms and severe local weather.

Hurricane-force events have hit repeatedly: Hurricane Helene (2024), Hurricane Michael (2018, two declarations), Hurricane Irma (2017, two declarations), and Hurricane Ivan (2004) all produced federal declarations for this county. Cedar Springs sits far enough inland that storm surge isn't the threat — wind damage, flooding, and tornado spin-offs are. Hurricane Michael in 2018 devastated parts of southwest Georgia, leveling timber stands and damaging structures across Early County.

Beyond hurricanes, the county has seen federal declarations for severe storms, tornadoes, and straight-line winds in 2017 and 2009, flooding tied to Tropical Storm Alberto in 1994, severe storms and flooding in 1998 and 1990, and a significant drought declaration in 1977. Early County also activated emergency declarations during both the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) and as a receiving area during the Hurricane Katrina evacuation (2005).

Anyone moving to Cedar Springs should carry flood insurance awareness and take tornado preparedness seriously. This is not theoretical risk — it is documented history.

Government & Municipal Code

Cedar Springs is an unincorporated CDP, not a municipality, but a municipal code is published through Municode: library.municode.com/ga/cedar-springs-cdp-georgia

No local building code is in effect. Building and land use matters fall under Early County jurisdiction.

Weather

Current forecasts for Cedar Springs are available from the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast — Cedar Springs, GA

Active weather alerts: NWS Alerts

The nearest weather observation station is Columbia, approximately 11.1 miles away.

References

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