Oliver, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Oliver · Screven County, Georgia
Population 244 (est. 2026: ~200)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -12.3% annual growth projection

Oliver, Georgia

Screven County, Georgia · Population 210

Oliver sits in the flatlands of Screven County, roughly midway between Savannah and Augusta along the old agricultural corridors of southeast Georgia. It is a small, tight-knit community — 210 people by current count — surrounded by timber land and row-crop farms. Sylvania, the Screven County seat about ten miles to the northeast, is where residents go for most services. This is rural Georgia in the clearest sense: car-dependent, family-oriented, and shaped more by weather events and agricultural cycles than by any economic boom.

People & Demographics

The Census ACS 2022 estimates put Oliver's total population at 286, with a median age of 44.2 — notably older than the broader Screven County population of 14,067. The town is roughly split along racial lines, with 154 Black residents and 132 white residents. No Asian or Hispanic/Latino population is recorded in the data.

Oliver's 71 occupied households average 4.03 people each — a large household size that reflects multi-generational living arrangements more common in rural communities. Of those 71 households, 56 are family households. There are 79 children under 18 in town, a meaningful share of the total population.

Economy & Employment

Median household income in Oliver is $56,563 — a figure that sits in reasonable range for rural Screven County, though per capita income at $19,172 reflects how many people share those household resources. With 80 residents below the poverty line out of a total population of 286, poverty touches a significant portion of the community.

Of 120 residents in the labor force, 6 are unemployed. The 114 workers who are employed commute primarily by car — there is no meaningful transit infrastructure and no reported remote work. Most employment is outside Oliver itself, likely in Sylvania or along the Highway 301 corridor.

Housing

Oliver has 99 total housing units, of which 71 are occupied. The 28 vacant units represent a vacancy rate of about 28% — high by any measure and typical of small rural towns experiencing slow population contraction.

Of occupied units, 49 are owner-occupied and 22 are renter-occupied. Median home value sits at $89,300, making Oliver one of the more affordable places in an already affordable region. Median rent is $867 per month. For buyers, these prices are attainable relative to Georgia's statewide medians, though access to financing and home condition in older rural stock can complicate the picture.

Schools

Oliver students attend Screven County's consolidated school system. There is no separate city school district.

All three schools are county-level institutions, meaning Oliver students share classrooms with students from across Screven County, including Sylvania.

Getting Around

Oliver is car country. Of 114 workers, 107 drive alone to work. Six carpool. No one commutes by public transit, on foot, or from home. The aggregate travel time for all workers combined is 4,345 minutes, putting the average one-way commute at roughly 38 minutes — consistent with workers heading to Sylvania, Statesboro, or other nearby employment centers.

Anyone without a vehicle faces real barriers to work, healthcare, and services. There is no local transit infrastructure.

Healthcare

Screven County is served by Optim Medical Center – Screven, a small regional hospital in Sylvania. For specialty care and trauma services, residents typically travel to Savannah, about 60 miles southeast, where Memorial Health University Medical Center operates the regional trauma center.

Local provider listings can be searched through the CMS NPI Registry for Oliver, GA.

Library

The Screven County Library is located approximately 1.0 mile from Oliver and can be reached at (912) 564-7526. It is part of the Screven County public library system and serves as the primary public library resource for Oliver residents.

Natural Hazards

Screven County's FEMA disaster declaration history is extensive and skews heavily toward Atlantic storm systems. The county has been federally declared a disaster area or emergency zone 15 times since 2014:

The pattern is clear: Screven County sits in a zone that takes repeated hits from Gulf and Atlantic tropical systems as they track inland. Flooding, wind damage, and extended power outages are recurring realities. Preparedness is not optional here — it is a practical necessity.

Government & Municipal Code

Oliver operates as an incorporated city under Georgia law. The municipal code is published through Municode and is publicly available at:

https://library.municode.com/ga/oliver-city-georgia

Note: Oliver does not have a locally adopted building code on record. Residents and contractors working in the city should verify applicable state minimum standards and county requirements before beginning construction or renovation projects.

Weather

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

The nearest official weather observation station is Sylvania 2 SSE, approximately 1.0 mile from Oliver. Southeast Georgia summers are long and humid, and the FEMA record makes clear that tropical weather is a seasonal concern from June through November.

References

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