Lyons, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Lyons · Toombs County, Georgia
Population 4,217 (est. 2026: ~4,200)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 0.05% annual growth projection

Lyons, Georgia

Toombs County, Georgia · Population 4,239

Lyons sits at the heart of Toombs County in southeast Georgia's coastal plain, about 75 miles west of Savannah and 65 miles southwest of Augusta. It serves as one of two county seats alongside Vidalia — yes, that Vidalia, home of the famous sweet onion — which sits roughly five miles to the northwest. The two towns share county services, schools, and much of their economic identity. Lyons is the smaller of the pair, a working-class agricultural and light-industrial community where the median household income sits well below state averages and housing costs remain among the lowest in Georgia. That combination defines daily life here: modest, practical, and rooted in the rhythms of rural southeast Georgia.

People & Demographics

Lyons holds 4,219 residents across 1,737 households, averaging 2.39 people per household. The median age is 39.7. The racial composition breaks down to 2,311 white residents, 1,282 Black residents, and 412 Hispanic or Latino residents. Asian residents number 13. Children under 18 account for 951 of the total population.

Toombs County as a whole counts 27,030 residents, which means Lyons holds roughly 15% of the county's population — a minority share for a county seat, reflecting how much of the county's population lives in and around Vidalia.

Economy & Employment

The labor force in Lyons stands at 1,528, with 75 residents counted as unemployed. The median household income of $29,037 is sharply below Georgia's statewide median, which sits above $61,000. Per capita income reaches $20,685. Poverty is widespread: 1,287 residents fall below the federal poverty line, representing roughly 30% of the population.

The local economy leans on agriculture — Vidalia onion country begins here — along with food processing, light manufacturing, and the service sector. County-wide employers in healthcare, retail, and government anchor many of the stable jobs. The economic picture is not unique to Lyons; rural southeast Georgia broadly faces persistent low-wage employment and limited professional job growth.

Housing

Lyons has 2,339 total housing units, of which 1,737 are occupied and 602 sit vacant — a vacancy rate of roughly 26%, which is high by any measure and reflects population loss and older housing stock. Of occupied units, 1,007 are owner-occupied and 730 are renter-occupied.

The median home value is $123,000. Median gross rent is $485 per month. Both figures are strikingly low compared to state and national averages, making Lyons genuinely affordable by cost-of-living standards — though that affordability exists in a context of limited income and constrained economic opportunity.

Schools

Lyons and Toombs County operate a unified public school system serving students from pre-K through 12th grade. The schools serving Lyons residents include:

The high school and middle school draw from across the county, meaning students from both Lyons and Vidalia attend together.

Getting Around

Of 1,453 total workers, 1,242 drive alone to work and 118 carpool. Forty-four residents walk to work. Forty-nine work from home. Zero use public transit — there is no bus service or transit system serving Lyons. A car is not optional here; it is essential for employment, shopping, and medical care.

Aggregate commute time for all workers totals 24,945 minutes, which works out to an average one-way commute of roughly 17 minutes — consistent with short drives to Vidalia or to county workplaces.

Healthcare

Memorial Health Meadows Hospital serves the Lyons–Vidalia area. For a searchable directory of individual healthcare providers licensed in Lyons, the NPI Registry lists active providers by name and specialty. For more complex care, residents typically travel to Savannah or Macon.

Library

The Nelle Brown Memorial Library serves Lyons residents and can be reached at (912) 526-6511. It is part of the regional public library network serving Toombs County.

Natural Hazards

Toombs County is disaster-prone, sitting squarely in the path of Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms that track across southeast Georgia. FEMA has issued 15 declarations for the county going back to 2009:

The pattern is clear: this county faces a named storm threat nearly every year. Residents without flood insurance or storm preparations carry real financial risk.

Government & Municipal Code

Lyons publishes its municipal code through Municode. The full code is available at library.municode.com/ga/lyons. The city does not have a locally adopted building code on file with the publisher.

Weather

Current forecasts for Lyons are available from the National Weather Service at forecast.weather.gov. Active weather alerts for the area appear at alerts.weather.gov. The nearest official weather observation station is Piney Bluff, located 8.1 miles away.

References

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