Lumpkin, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Lumpkin · Stewart County, Georgia
Population 815 (est. 2026: ~1,600)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 22.7% annual growth projection

Lumpkin, Georgia

Stewart County, Georgia · Population 891

Lumpkin sits in the heart of southwest Georgia's Black Belt, the county seat of Stewart County — one of the poorest and most rural counties in the state. It lies roughly 30 miles south of Columbus and about 140 miles south of Atlanta. The town is small by any measure, but it anchors a county of 5,314 people spread across a landscape of pine forests, red clay fields, and bottomland that the Chattahoochee River drainage has shaped for centuries. Providence Canyon State Park is just down the road, earning it the nickname "Georgia's Little Grand Canyon," and the town sits within easy driving distance of two nationally significant history sites. Lumpkin is not a bedroom community for anywhere — it is its own place, with its own economy and its own challenges.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 estimates put Lumpkin's population at 776 within the city limits, with a median age of 34.5. The town is predominantly Black — 577 residents, or roughly 74% of the population — with 195 white residents and 26 Hispanic or Latino residents. Asian population is reported at zero.

There are 420 households in town, with an average household size of 1.85 — notably smaller than typical American households, reflecting a high share of single-person and small adult households. Family households number only 154 of those 420, and 119 residents are children under 18.

Economy & Employment

Lumpkin's economy is modest and strained. The median household income sits at $31,250, well below Georgia's statewide median. Per capita income is $23,710. Of the 776 counted residents, 194 — roughly 25% — live below the poverty line, a share that tracks with Stewart County's broader pattern of deep rural poverty.

The labor force counts 360 people, with zero recorded unemployed in the ACS estimates — a figure that likely reflects the difficulty of measuring informal and discouraged workers in small rural populations rather than full employment. Total workers reported for commuting purposes is 350.

There is no dominant private employer visible in this data. Government employment — county services, schools, law enforcement — likely accounts for a significant share of jobs, as is common in rural Georgia county seats.

Housing

Lumpkin has 515 total housing units. Of those, 420 are occupied and 95 are vacant — an 18.4% vacancy rate that points to long-term population loss and economic stagnation. Owner-occupied units number 241; renters occupy 179 units, making the split roughly 57% owners and 43% renters.

The median home value is $45,300. That is an exceptionally low figure even by rural Georgia standards, reflecting both the income constraints of the local market and the age and condition of much of the housing stock. Median rent data is not available from this dataset.

Schools

All public school students in Lumpkin attend Stewart County schools, which serve the entire county rather than a separate city district.

Total K–12 enrollment across all three schools is 407 students. The high school's enrollment of 119 is characteristic of a small rural district where graduating classes may number 25–35 students. For higher education, the nearest college data was not available in this dataset, but Columbus State University in Columbus (~30 miles north) serves as the practical nearest option for many residents.

Getting Around

Lumpkin is car-dependent. Of 350 workers, 325 drive alone and 25 carpool. Zero workers use public transit, walk, or work from home. Aggregate commute time across all workers is 13,680 minutes, putting average one-way travel time at approximately 39 minutes — long by any standard, reflecting how far workers must travel to reach employment centers in Columbus or other surrounding towns.

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

Healthcare

No hospital operates within Lumpkin. The nearest hospital access for Stewart County residents is in Columbus, roughly 30 miles north, where Piedmont Columbus Regional and St. Francis-Emory Healthcare serve the broader Chattahoochee Valley region. For local provider listings, the CMS NPI Registry can be searched for Lumpkin, GA providers at the NPI Registry.

Library

Parks Memorial Library serves Lumpkin and Stewart County, located approximately 5.4 miles from the town center. Phone: (229) 887-2103. It is part of the Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Library System.

Parks & Recreation

Two significant National Park Service sites are accessible from Lumpkin:

Bluff Creek campground is also in the area for those seeking outdoor recreation closer to town.

Providence Canyon State Park, immediately southwest of Lumpkin, is one of Georgia's Seven Natural Wonders and offers hiking, backpacking, and remarkable geology carved by 19th-century erosion — though it is managed by Georgia DNR rather than NPS.

Natural Hazards

Stewart County has a long and serious record of federally declared disasters. The FEMA history going back to 1990 includes:

Fifteen separate federal disaster declarations over 36 years puts Stewart County among the more frequently impacted rural counties in Georgia.

Government & Municipal Code

Lumpkin's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/lumpkin_county. The city does not have a locally adopted building code on file.

Weather

Current forecasts for Lumpkin are available through the National Weather Service. Active weather alerts can be checked at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest official weather observation station is Lumpkin 2 SE, located approximately 2.0 miles from the town center.

References

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