Whigham, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Whigham · Grady County, Georgia
Population 539 (est. 2026: ~300)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -16.7% annual growth projection

Whigham, Georgia

Grady County, Georgia · Population 428

Whigham sits in the far southwest corner of Georgia, about 15 miles west of Cairo along US-84, close enough to the Florida state line that the landscape feels like the Deep South's quietest edge. It is a small agricultural town — one of the smallest incorporated places in Grady County — where the roads are mostly straight, the lots are spread out, and the nearest interstate is a meaningful drive away. Whigham is not a suburb of anything. It functions as its own self-contained community, drawing on Cairo for county services, Tallahassee (roughly 60 miles south) for the nearest urban core, and a network of small southwest Georgia towns that share similar rhythms of life.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 five-year estimates place Whigham's population at 621, with a median age of 43.3 — somewhat older than the Georgia statewide median, reflecting a pattern common to small rural towns where younger residents move toward larger job markets. The racial composition breaks down to 472 white residents and 124 Black residents, with 27 identifying as Hispanic or Latino.

The town counts 220 occupied households across 248 total housing units. Average household size is 2.49 people, and 139 of those households are family households. There are 88 children under 18 living in Whigham — just over 14% of the total population, a relatively modest share that aligns with the older median age.

Grady County as a whole holds 26,236 people, meaning Whigham accounts for a small fraction of the county's total. The county seat of Cairo is the center of gravity for most county services and commercial activity.

Economy & Employment

Of the 282 Whigham residents counted in the labor force, 15 were unemployed at the time of the survey — an unemployment rate of roughly 5.3%. Total workers with defined commutes numbered 263.

Median household income stands at $58,750, and per capita income comes in at $29,910. Those figures are worth some context: the Georgia statewide median household income runs considerably higher, placing Whigham below the state average but not dramatically so for a rural southwest Georgia community. Thirty-nine residents fell below the federal poverty line in the survey period.

The local economy connects closely to agriculture — southwest Georgia's peanut, cotton, and timber industries define the broader Grady County economic base — with county-level employment also drawing workers toward healthcare, education, and public services centered in Cairo.

Housing

Whigham's 248 total housing units include 220 occupied and 28 vacant — a vacancy rate of about 11.3%. Of occupied units, 152 are owner-occupied and 68 are renter-occupied, putting the homeownership rate at roughly 69%. That is a strong ownership share, typical of small rural Georgia towns.

Median home value is $140,000 — well below Georgia's statewide median, which makes Whigham genuinely affordable for buyers. Median gross rent runs $877 per month, which is moderate for the region. The combination of low home prices and solid ownership rates means most Whigham residents are building equity rather than paying into the rental market.

Schools

Whigham Elementary School serves grades pre-K through 8 with an enrollment of 439 students — a number that actually exceeds the town's reported population, drawing students from the surrounding rural area well beyond city limits. The school operates under the Grady County School System, which also runs the county's high school in Cairo. Students completing 8th grade in Whigham continue to Cairo for high school.

Among residents 25 and older (440 total), 128 hold a high school diploma as their highest credential, 74 have a bachelor's degree, 10 hold a master's degree, and 2 hold doctorates.

Getting Around

Whigham is car-dependent without exception. Of 263 workers, 214 drove alone to work and 27 carpooled. Zero workers used public transit, and zero walked to work. Nineteen worked from home. The aggregate travel time for all workers totals 5,620 minutes, which works out to an average one-way commute of just over 21 minutes — consistent with workers commuting to Cairo or nearby communities rather than a distant metro.

No public transit infrastructure serves Whigham.

Healthcare

Grady General Hospital in Cairo is the primary hospital serving Grady County and the communities around Whigham. For local provider lookup, the CMS NPI Registry lists providers in Whigham: Search NPI Registry for Whigham, GA.

For anything beyond primary or emergency care, residents look toward Tallahassee, Florida, which offers the region's most complete medical infrastructure.

Library

The nearest public library is Roddenbery Memorial Library, located 7.1 miles away in Cairo. It can be reached at (229) 377-3632 and serves as the Grady County public library system's main branch.

Natural Hazards

Grady County has a long and serious federal disaster declaration history, and Whigham sits squarely within that risk envelope. Since 1994, the county has been included in fifteen separate federal declarations:

The pattern is clear: southwest Georgia receives the inland effects of Gulf and Atlantic storms with regularity, and Whigham residents should treat hurricane preparedness as a routine seasonal responsibility rather than an occasional concern.

Government & Municipal Code

Whigham operates under a municipal code published through Municode: Whigham City Municipal Code

The town does not have a locally adopted building code on file in the available records.

Weather

Current forecasts for Whigham are available through the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast for Whigham, GA

Active weather alerts: NWS Alerts for Whigham, GA

The nearest weather observation station is Cairo 1SW, approximately 6.6 miles to the east.

References

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