Ila, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Ila · Madison County, Georgia
Population 490 (est. 2026: ~600)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 7.35% annual growth projection

Ila, Georgia

Madison County, Georgia · Population 350

Ila sits in the northeastern corner of Georgia's Madison County, a small incorporated town tucked into rolling Piedmont countryside roughly 80 miles northeast of Atlanta and about 20 miles north of Athens. It is the kind of place where the population fits comfortably inside a single school building — because that school, Ila Elementary, is actually here. The town proper holds just over 400 residents by the most recent count, making it one of Madison County's smaller municipalities alongside Comer and Colbert. The county seat, Danielsville, sits a few miles to the northwest. For anything resembling urban amenities — major hospitals, shopping, higher education — residents look south toward Athens and the University of Georgia corridor.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 estimate puts Ila's population at 406, spread across 137 households. The average household size of 2.96 people is notably higher than typical small Georgia towns, a reflection of the 124 children under 18 living here — nearly a third of the total population. The median age is 33.4, younger than Georgia's statewide median. Family households account for 99 of the 137 total, signaling a community built around families rather than retirees or single-person households.

Racially, the town is 401 white residents and 5 Black residents, with no Asian or Hispanic/Latino population recorded in this estimate. That profile is more homogeneous than Madison County as a whole and considerably more so than Georgia statewide.

Economy & Employment

The labor force in Ila numbers just 145 people, with 10 reported as unemployed — an unemployment rate of roughly 6.9% among those in the labor force. The median household income of $55,625 sits in a plausible range for rural northeast Georgia but trails the Georgia statewide median. Per capita income comes in at $19,793, which reflects both the modest wage base and the large number of children pulling the per-person figure down.

Poverty touches 86 residents, a significant share of the 406-person total. This is a working-class community where most employed adults are commuting out for work rather than finding it locally.

Housing

Ila has 158 total housing units, of which 137 are occupied and 21 sit vacant — a vacancy rate of about 13%. Owner-occupied units number 97 against 40 renter-occupied, putting the homeownership rate near 71% of occupied units. That tilts well toward ownership, consistent with the family-heavy demographic picture.

The median home value of $182,300 is accessible by Georgia standards, and considerably below the Athens-Clarke County market just to the south. Median gross rent runs $850 per month. For a town where per capita income is under $20,000, that rent figure demands attention from anyone budgeting carefully.

Schools

Ila's children attend Madison County Schools. The elementary school with Ila's name on it — Ila Elementary School — serves grades K–5 with an enrollment of 437 students, drawing from the broader area beyond the town itself. The full progression through the county system runs:

Other elementary options within the county system include Danielsville Elementary (679 students), Hull-Sanford Elementary (518), Colbert Elementary (447), and Comer Elementary (386). All secondary students from across Madison County consolidate at the single middle school and high school.

Getting Around

Ila is car country. Of 135 workers commuting out, 107 drive alone and 18 carpool. Zero residents commute by public transit, and zero walk to work. Just 2 work from home. The aggregate travel time for all workers is 5,945 minutes, which averages out to roughly 44 minutes per worker each way — a long haul consistent with driving to Athens or to employment centers along the Highway 29 and Highway 72 corridors.

There is no local transit. A car is not optional here.

Healthcare

No hospitals are located in Ila. The practical options are Madison County's own services in Danielsville or the fuller medical infrastructure in Athens, approximately 20 miles south. Athens Regional (now Piedmont Athens Regional) is the regional hospital anchor for this part of northeast Georgia. For a directory of individual healthcare providers registered in Ila, the CMS NPI Registry lists licensed providers by city.

Library

The nearest public library branch is the Winterville Branch Library, part of the Athens Regional Library System, located approximately 5.8 miles from Ila. Phone: (706) 742-7735. Madison County itself has a branch in Danielsville for county residents preferring the closer county system.

Natural Hazards

Madison County's FEMA disaster declaration history is a useful map of what nature actually does to this part of Georgia. The county has been declared a federal disaster area or emergency 14 times since 1973:

The pattern is clear: winter storms and tropical systems are the dominant threats. Hurricane Helene's 2024 impact on inland northeast Georgia was a reminder that named storms don't lose their destructive capacity before reaching this far from the coast.

Government & Municipal Code

Ila operates as an incorporated city under Georgia law. The municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/ila-city-georgia. The code does not include a local building code, meaning building activity defaults to state-level standards rather than locally adopted amendments.

Weather

The nearest official weather station is DANIELSVILLE 2.8 SSE, approximately 3.4 miles from Ila. Current forecasts for Ila's coordinates are available through the National Weather Service forecast page. Active weather alerts for the area can be checked at alerts.weather.gov.

Northeast Georgia's climate brings warm, humid summers, occasional drought stress, and winter storms that can arrive with limited warning — as the FEMA record demonstrates.

References

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