Orchard Hill, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Orchard Hill · Spalding County, Georgia
Population 150 (est. 2026: ~200)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 1.33% annual growth projection

Orchard Hill, Georgia

Spalding County, Georgia · Population 219

Orchard Hill sits in the rural flatlands of Spalding County, about 40 miles south of Atlanta along the US-19 corridor. With fewer than 220 residents, it is one of the smallest incorporated towns in Georgia — a tight cluster of households surrounded by farmland, where the nearest real commercial center is Griffin, the county seat, just a few miles up the road. This is not a suburb and not a bedroom community in any modern sense. It is a quiet, working-class small town where most people drive somewhere else to work, the housing stock is affordable by any measure, and the community has stayed small for a long time.

People & Demographics

Orchard Hill's ACS 2022 count puts the population at 192, with a median age of 36.8. The town is predominantly white (175 residents), with 10 Black residents and 1 Hispanic or Latino resident. There are 84 occupied households across 90 total housing units, and the average household size of 2.29 is below the county average. Thirty-eight children under 18 live in town — a meaningful share of the population in a place this small.

Spalding County as a whole holds 67,306 people, making Orchard Hill home to roughly 0.3% of the county's population.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Orchard Hill is $32,679 — well below Georgia's statewide median and a clear indicator of the economic pressures facing this community. Per capita income sits at $17,416. Of the 192 residents counted, 27 fall below the federal poverty line.

The labor force numbers 86 people, with 5 unemployed at the time of the survey. Most residents work outside town — Griffin is the primary employment hub, with healthcare (WellStar Spalding Medical Center), light manufacturing, and retail accounting for much of the county's job base. Southern Crescent Technical College, reachable from Orchard Hill, provides workforce training and credential programs for residents pursuing trades and technical careers; the college can be reached at (770) 229-3327.

Housing

Orchard Hill's 90 housing units are nearly all occupied — just 6 sit vacant. Of the 84 occupied units, 52 are owner-occupied and 32 are renter-occupied. The median home value is $100,000, which is strikingly low even by rural Georgia standards and represents genuine affordability for buyers. Median rent runs $913 per month, which is moderate but notable given the income levels in town — renters here are spending a substantial share of household income on housing.

The ownership rate of roughly 62% reflects the stable, rooted character of the community.

Schools

Orchard Hill falls within the Spalding County School District. Students attend schools shared with the broader county system. The district operates a full ladder of campuses:

Elementary (PreK–5): Futral Road Elementary (590 students), Cowan Road Elementary (566), Orrs Elementary (534), Moreland Road Elementary (433), Atkinson Elementary (431), Crescent Road Elementary (418), Moore Elementary (386), Jackson Road Elementary (363), Jordan Hill Road Elementary (356)

Middle (6–8): Rehoboth Road Middle (615 students), Cowan Road Middle (543), Kennedy Road Middle (477), Carver Road Middle (471)

High School (9–12): Griffin High School (1,498 students), Spalding High School (1,252 students)

Of the 121 Orchard Hill residents aged 25 and older, 27 hold a high school diploma as their highest credential. Ten hold a bachelor's degree and 2 hold a master's degree.

Getting Around

Orchard Hill is car-dependent, full stop. Of 70 workers counted, 64 drove alone to work. Two carpooled, four walked, and zero used public transit or worked from home. Aggregate travel time for all workers totals 1,345 minutes, working out to roughly 19 minutes per worker one way — consistent with a short drive to Griffin or a longer haul toward the Atlanta metro.

There is no local transit service. A personal vehicle is essential for daily life here.

Healthcare

The primary hospital serving Orchard Hill and Spalding County is WellStar Spalding Medical Center in Griffin. For a searchable list of individual healthcare providers registered in Orchard Hill, the CMS NPI Registry can be queried directly: NPI Registry – Orchard Hill, GA.

Library

The Griffin-Spalding County Library serves Orchard Hill residents and sits 3.6 miles away. It is the nearest branch of the public library system for the county. Phone: (770) 412-4770.

Parks & Recreation

Several National Park Service sites are within reasonable reach of Orchard Hill:

Natural Hazards

Spalding County has accumulated 15 federal disaster declarations since 1995, a record that reflects genuine and repeated vulnerability:

The pattern is clear: this part of Georgia is exposed to winter ice events, tornado outbreaks, and the trailing effects of Gulf and Atlantic storms. Hurricane Helene's 2024 declaration is a reminder that named storms can reach this far inland with enough force to trigger federal emergency response.

Current weather forecasts and active alerts are available through the National Weather Service. The nearest official weather station is at Experiment, 2.6 miles away.

Government & Municipal Code

Orchard Hill is an incorporated town with its municipal code published through Municode: library.municode.com/ga/orchard-hill-town-georgia

No local building code is on file for the town. Construction and development questions would default to state and county standards.

References

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