Greenville, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Greenville · Meriwether County, Georgia
Population 1,330 (est. 2026: ~1,300)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -0.3% annual growth projection

Greenville, Georgia

Meriwether County, Georgia · Population 794

Greenville sits at the geographic and governmental heart of Meriwether County in west-central Georgia, roughly 70 miles southwest of Atlanta along US-27. It is the county seat — a small town of under 800 people anchoring a largely rural county of about 20,600. The courthouse square is the physical and civic center. There is no bypass, no suburban fringe, no commuter corridor pulling it into Atlanta's orbit in any meaningful way. Greenville is its own thing: a deep-South county seat with a working-class majority, modest home prices, and a community shaped more by history and local institutions than by proximity to any metro economy.

People & Demographics

Greenville's ACS 2022 estimates put the population at 1,088, somewhat higher than the 794 figure from the decennial count — a common divergence in small towns where survey margins are wide. The median age is 39.7 years. The racial composition is predominantly Black, with 693 Black residents and 321 white residents out of the total. Hispanic or Latino residents number 25. There are 419 households, 297 of which are family households. Average household size runs 2.60 people. Children under 18 account for 229 residents.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Greenville is $53,092, and per capita income is $26,859. For reference, Georgia's statewide median household income runs considerably higher — Greenville falls into the lower tier of the state's income distribution. Of 592 residents in the labor force, 55 are unemployed, an unemployment rate of approximately 9.3%. Poverty touches 180 residents — a meaningful share of a community this size. The local economy does not have a dominant single employer visible in this data; Meriwether County's economic base is thin, and many residents work across county lines or in service and public-sector jobs.

Housing

Greenville's housing stock is 497 total units. Of those, 419 are occupied and 78 sit vacant — a vacancy rate of about 15.7%, which is on the higher side and typical of rural Georgia towns experiencing gradual population loss. Renters outnumber owners: 231 renter-occupied units versus 188 owner-occupied, meaning the majority of occupied housing — roughly 55% — is rented. The median home value is $97,700, which makes homeownership theoretically accessible to households at or above the local median income. Median gross rent is $834 per month.

Schools

Greenville's public schools serve the local community directly:

Both schools are part of the Meriwether County school system. Elementary-age students attend schools within the county system as well. The high school's enrollment of 252 reflects the small-town scale — most graduating classes number in the dozens.

Getting Around

Greenville is a car-dependent town. Of 535 workers, 419 drove alone to work and 62 carpooled. Forty-two people walked to work — notable for a community this size, likely reflecting proximity to the courthouse and local employers. Zero residents commute by public transit, and only 12 worked from home. The aggregate travel time for all workers is 17,165 minutes, which works out to a mean commute of roughly 32 minutes per worker — longer than a purely local commute, pointing to residents traveling to Newnan, LaGrange, or other nearby centers for employment.

Healthcare

Warm Springs Medical Center is the nearest hospital, located in Warm Springs — a few miles south of Greenville on US-27A. Warm Springs is historically significant as the site of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Little White House and the rehabilitation center he founded; the medical center carries that legacy. For provider search, the CMS NPI Registry lists licensed healthcare providers in Greenville: search NPI Registry for Greenville, GA. For more complex or emergency care, residents look to Newnan or the Columbus metro.

Library

The Greenville Area Public Library serves the community and can be reached at (706) 672-4004. It is part of the public library network serving Meriwether County residents.

Natural Hazards

Meriwether County has a long and varied FEMA disaster declaration record — 15 separate declarations going back to 1993. The list covers nearly every category of hazard that affects Georgia:

The 2023 tornado declaration and the 2024 Hurricane Helene emergency declaration are the most recent storm events. The county's history makes clear that residents deal with ice storms in winter, tornado risk in spring, and hurricane remnants in late summer and fall. This is not a region where severe weather is rare.

Government & Municipal Code

Greenville's municipal code is published through Municode and is publicly accessible at library.municode.com/ga/greenville. The code does not include a locally adopted building code — construction standards default to state-level requirements.

Weather

Current forecasts and conditions are available through the National Weather Service:

The nearest weather observation station is Greenville 0.4 E, approximately 1.5 miles from town center.

Education Attainment

Among residents 25 and older (775 people), 314 hold a high school diploma as their highest credential. Sixty-five hold a bachelor's degree and 14 hold a master's degree. No doctoral-level residents appear in the ACS estimates. College completion rates are below state averages, which aligns with the income and employment picture — this is a working-class community where four-year degrees are the exception rather than the norm.

References

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