Hazlehurst, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Hazlehurst · Jeff Davis County, Georgia
Population 4,072 (est. 2026: ~4,100)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 0.49% annual growth projection

Hazlehurst, Georgia

Jeff Davis County, Georgia · Population 4,088

Hazlehurst sits at the geographic heart of Jeff Davis County in the wiregrass region of southeast Georgia, roughly equidistant between Savannah and Macon along US-221. It functions as a classic small county seat — the place where residents come for the courthouse, the hospital, the schools, and the few local employers anchoring an otherwise rural economy. The surrounding landscape is pine timber and farm fields, and that land use shapes almost everything about life here. Hazlehurst is not a suburb of anything. The nearest metro of consequence is Jacksonville, Florida, about two hours south, or Augusta a few hours north. This is a self-contained community that lives by its own rhythms.

People & Demographics

Hazlehurst's population of 4,075 represents roughly 28 percent of Jeff Davis County's 14,779 residents — meaning the county's working population depends heavily on this one small city for services and employment. The median age of 36.1 reflects a relatively young community, consistent with a town that has a significant share of children: 1,228 residents are under 18, nearly 30 percent of the population.

Racially and ethnically, the city is majority white (1,954 residents), with a substantial Black population of 1,342 and a notable Hispanic and Latino community of 796 — the latter a sign of agricultural and poultry-industry labor patterns common across southeast Georgia. Asian residents number 10. There are 1,478 households, 1,004 of which are family households, and the average household size of 2.68 reflects the family-heavy character of the population.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Hazlehurst is $35,208 — significantly below Georgia's statewide median, which typically runs in the mid-$60,000s. Per capita income sits at $21,229. These numbers are not surprising for a rural south Georgia county seat, but they are real constraints on local spending, business viability, and quality-of-life investment.

Of the 4,075 residents, 1,584 are in the labor force, with 155 counted as unemployed — an unemployment rate around 9.8 percent by the survey data. Poverty touches 1,156 residents, a substantial share of the population. The economic base leans on healthcare (Jeff Davis Hospital is likely the largest single employer), public education, local government, and what remains of the timber and agricultural sectors that have historically defined this part of Georgia.

Housing

Housing in Hazlehurst is genuinely affordable by most measures. The median home value is $130,300, and median gross rent is $652 per month. Of 1,688 total housing units, 1,478 are occupied, leaving 210 vacant — a vacancy rate of about 12.4 percent, which is high enough to suggest some market softness but not the kind of extreme blight seen in deeply distressed rural towns.

Ownership and renting are close to split: 782 units are owner-occupied versus 696 renter-occupied. That near-even split is somewhat unusual for a town this size and suggests a meaningful population of renters — consistent with lower incomes and a younger demographic.

Schools

Hazlehurst is served by Jeff Davis County Schools, which consolidates all K–12 enrollment into four campuses:

Total enrollment across the system is roughly 3,075 students. The fact that the primary school is the largest campus points to the relatively young age structure of this community. All four schools serve the county as a whole, not just the city.

Getting Around

Hazlehurst is car-dependent, full stop. Of 1,412 workers, 1,250 drive alone to work and 99 carpool. Zero workers use public transit — there is none. Sixteen walk. Eleven work from home. The aggregate commute time across all workers is 24,525 minutes, working out to a mean one-way commute of roughly 17–18 minutes. That's short by metro standards but reflective of the limited local job market; workers who commute longer distances pull that average up.

Healthcare

Jeff Davis Hospital is the local healthcare anchor, located in Hazlehurst and serving the county. Clinical specialty and emergency services data are not available in current CMS Hospital Compare records. For a full list of individual licensed providers practicing in Hazlehurst, the CMS NPI Registry can be searched directly: NPI Provider Search — Hazlehurst, GA.

Library

The Jeff Davis County Library serves Hazlehurst and the surrounding county. Contact: (912) 375-2386. It is part of the Okefenokee Regional Library System, which provides broader resource sharing across southeast Georgia.

Natural Hazards

Jeff Davis County has been struck repeatedly by named storms, flooding, and severe weather events. The FEMA disaster declaration record is among the more active for a county of this size in Georgia:

The pattern is clear: southeast Georgia's hurricane corridor runs directly through Jeff Davis County. The 2024 season alone brought four separate federal declarations. Anyone owning property here needs to treat storm preparedness as a baseline, not an afterthought.

Government & Municipal Code

Hazlehurst's municipal code is published and maintained through Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/hazlehurst-city-georgia. Note that no local building code is recorded in current data — those considering construction or renovation should confirm applicable codes directly with city hall and defer to state minimum standards.

Weather

Current forecasts for Hazlehurst are available through the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast — Hazlehurst, GA. Active weather alerts can be tracked at NWS Alerts. The nearest weather observation station is HAZLEHURST, located 2.9 miles from town center.

References

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