Pelham, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Pelham · Mitchell County, Georgia
Population 3,465 (est. 2026: ~3,400)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -0.92% annual growth projection

Pelham, Georgia

Mitchell County, Georgia · Population 3,507

Pelham sits in the flat, fertile agricultural plain of southwest Georgia, about 25 miles south of Albany and 40 miles north of Tallahassee, Florida. It's the county seat of Mitchell County — a rural stretch of the coastal plain where pecan groves, row crops, and small-town life define the landscape. With just over 3,500 residents, Pelham is one of those places where everybody knows the school football schedule, the county courthouse is a landmark, and the nearest Walmart is a drive. It's a working-class community with deep roots, a young median age, and real economic challenges that don't get papered over.

People & Demographics

Pelham's population of 3,501 skews young — the median age is 30.9, noticeably below Georgia's statewide median. That youth is visible in the numbers: 966 residents are under 18, meaning more than one in four people in town is a child. The racial composition is majority Black at 1,959 residents, alongside 1,542 white residents and 70 Hispanic or Latino residents. Asian residents are not represented in the ACS estimates.

Of the 1,357 occupied households, 808 are family households. The average household size is 2.50 people. Mitchell County as a whole holds 21,755 people, making Pelham home to roughly 16% of the county's population.

Economy & Employment

The economic picture in Pelham is tight. Median household income sits at $34,761 — well below Georgia's statewide median, which hovers around $65,000. Per capita income is $16,961. Of the 3,501 residents counted, 1,096 fall below the federal poverty line, representing roughly 31% of the population.

The labor force numbers 1,288, with 169 people counted as unemployed — an unemployment rate of about 13% among the labor force. Agriculture remains a backbone of the broader Mitchell County economy, with pecans and other crops anchoring the region. Pelham's location makes Albany the nearest significant employment center for workers who travel out of town.

Housing

Housing in Pelham is genuinely affordable by any Georgia standard. The median home value is $94,200, and median rent runs $699 per month. There are 1,452 total housing units; 1,357 are occupied and 95 sit vacant — a vacancy rate of about 6.5%.

The split between owners and renters is nearly even: 657 units are owner-occupied, 700 are renter-occupied. That slight renter majority is notable and reflects the lower-income profile of the community. For anyone priced out of markets like Albany or Thomasville, Pelham's housing costs are accessible — the tradeoff is distance from higher-wage employment.

Schools

Pelham operates its own city school system, separate from Mitchell County Schools. Four schools serve students here:

The city system is small enough that most families know the principals and teachers by name. Pelham High School's enrollment of 432 is typical for a rural Georgia 1A or 2A classification.

Getting Around

Pelham is car-dependent, full stop. Of 1,043 workers, 859 drive alone to work and 184 carpool. Public transit, walking, and working from home each register at zero. The aggregate commute time across all workers is 20,970 minutes, averaging out to roughly 20 minutes per worker — consistent with people commuting to nearby towns rather than deep into Albany daily.

Healthcare

Mitchell County's hospital is Archbold Mitchell, located in Pelham. Archbold Mitchell is part of the Thomasville-based Archbold Medical Center system, which provides regional hospital services across southwest Georgia. For specialists, residents typically travel to Albany or Tallahassee.

Local healthcare providers in Pelham can be searched through the CMS NPI Registry: Search Pelham, GA providers.

Library

The Pelham Carnegie Library serves as the public library for the community. Carnegie libraries are a relatively rare asset — Pelham's is one of a dwindling number of original Carnegie-funded buildings still operating as libraries in Georgia. Contact: (229) 294-6030.

Natural Hazards

Mitchell County has a long FEMA disaster declaration history — 15 federal declarations since 1998. That record isn't a bureaucratic footnote; it reflects the genuine exposure of southwest Georgia to severe weather.

Major storms on record include Hurricane Helene (2024), Hurricane Debby (2024), Hurricane Michael (2018), and Hurricane Irma (2017). Michael in particular devastated rural southwest Georgia's agricultural economy, wiping out pecan orchards that take decades to mature. The county also received declarations for severe tornadoes and straight-line winds in 2017, 2009, and 2007, and earlier flooding events in 1998 and 2000. Mitchell County also served as an evacuation destination during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, receiving a federal emergency declaration in that role.

Anyone living or buying property in Pelham should treat hurricane and severe storm preparedness as a routine part of life, not an edge case.

Government & Municipal Code

Pelham operates under a city charter with its municipal code published through Municode. The full code is available at library.municode.com/ga/pelham-city-georgia.

Note: Pelham does not have a local building code on file in the available data. Construction and renovation projects may fall under state-level codes by default — confirm directly with the city before starting any permitted work.

Weather

Pelham's climate is deep South — hot, humid summers with hurricane-season exposure from June through November, and mild winters. Snow is rare. The NWS forecast for the Pelham area is available at:

weather.gov forecast for Pelham, GA

Active weather alerts: alerts.weather.gov

The nearest weather observation station is Cairo 9.2 NNW, approximately 2.5 miles from town.

References

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