Adrian, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Adrian · Emanuel County, Georgia
Population 536 (est. 2026: ~700)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 10.07% annual growth projection

Adrian, Georgia

Emanuel County, Georgia · Population 552

Adrian sits in the heart of Emanuel County in east-central Georgia, about 55 miles west of Savannah and 25 miles southeast of Swainsboro, the county seat. It is a small, quiet town on the coastal plain — flat terrain, pine country, agricultural surroundings. The nearest significant metro is Augusta, roughly 80 miles to the north. Adrian functions as a residential community where most working adults commute out for employment, and where the basic texture of life is shaped by the rhythms of a rural Georgia small town.

People & Demographics

The Census ACS 2022 count places Adrian's population at 614, with 227 households and an average household size of 2.43. The median age is 43.3, indicating a community skewed toward middle age and older adults — children under 18 number just 71, or about 12 percent of the population. Of those 614 residents, 428 identify as white and 142 as Black. Eight residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. Emanuel County as a whole counts 22,768 people, meaning Adrian holds roughly 2.7 percent of the county's population.

Family households number 110, just under half of all 227 occupied households, which reflects a community where single-person and non-family arrangements are common.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Adrian is $45,795, with a per capita income of $22,482. Georgia's statewide median household income sits considerably higher, making Adrian a lower-income community by state standards. Of 281 residents in the labor force, 62 are unemployed — an unemployment rate of approximately 22 percent, which is sharply elevated. Sixty-eight residents fall below the poverty line.

The data does not specify dominant industries, but the commute patterns (see below) make clear that most employed residents work outside Adrian itself.

Housing

Adrian has 279 total housing units, of which 227 are occupied and 52 sit vacant — a vacancy rate of about 18.6 percent. Among occupied units, renters outnumber owners: 124 renter-occupied households versus 103 owner-occupied. That means roughly 55 percent of residents rent, which is notable for a small rural town where ownership rates often run higher.

The median home value is $65,500 — well below Georgia's statewide median — and median rent is $558 per month. For buyers and renters alike, Adrian is among the more affordable communities in the state, though that affordability reflects the economic conditions of the broader region. The elevated vacancy rate suggests some housing stock that has aged out of active use or been abandoned.

Schools

Adrian students attend Emanuel County schools, with the main cluster of campuses located in Swainsboro. As of NCES CCD 2022 data, the schools serving the county include:

Emanuel County Institute is a long-established public school in Swainsboro that operates on a separate campus and serves middle and high school grades, giving families in the county a choice between two secondary school tracks.

Getting Around

Of 219 workers counted in the commute data, 165 drive alone, 39 carpool, 3 walk, and 12 work from home. There is no public transit use recorded. Adrian is car-dependent by necessity — no transit infrastructure exists in this part of rural Georgia. The aggregate commute time across all workers is 5,990 minutes, which works out to an average of roughly 27 minutes per worker. That figure is consistent with driving to Swainsboro or other nearby towns for work.

Healthcare

Emanuel Medical Center is the hospital serving this area, located in Swainsboro. No independent rating or emergency designation data is available for this facility in the current dataset. Providers with NPI registrations in Adrian can be searched through the CMS NPI Registry.

Library

The nearest public library is Franklin Memorial Library, approximately 10.9 miles from Adrian. It can be reached at (478) 237-7791. The library is part of the regional public library system serving Emanuel County.

Natural Hazards

Emanuel County has a documented history of federally declared disasters, and that record matters for anyone considering property here. The county has been hit by or affected by:

The pattern is clear: this part of Georgia sits in the path of Atlantic and Gulf storms that push inland through the coastal plain. Helene alone generated two separate federal declarations in the same month. Flood insurance, storm preparation, and awareness of evacuation routes are practical concerns here, not hypothetical ones.

Government & Municipal Code

Adrian's municipal code is published through Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/adrian-city-georgia. No local building code is in place, which may be relevant for construction, renovation, or development projects within city limits.

Weather

The NWS forecast for Adrian is available at forecast.weather.gov. Active weather alerts for the area can be checked at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest official weather observation station is Garfield 2.7 N, located 8.3 miles from town.

References

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