The Rock, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
The Rock · Upson County, Georgia
Population 30 (est. 2026: ~2,200)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 263.33% annual growth projection

The Rock, Georgia

Upson County, Georgia · Population 179

The Rock sits in the rolling Piedmont of west-central Georgia, roughly midway between Thomaston — the Upson County seat about four miles to the southeast — and Barnesville to the north. It is a census-designated place in the truest sense: a handful of addresses sharing a name, not a town with a downtown. The nearest commercial center of any size is Thomaston, which handles most of the county's retail, medical, and civic life. Atlanta lies about 60 miles to the northeast. For anyone passing through on Georgia Highway 36, The Rock reads as quiet rural Georgia — wide lots, modest homes, long sight lines across fields and timber. That impression is accurate.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 sample captured 33 residents in The Rock CDP. The broader CDP-tagged population figure is 179, reflecting geographic variation in how the boundary is counted across survey periods. Either way, this is among the smallest CDPs in the state. The median age is 58.7 years — well above Georgia's statewide median of roughly 37 — which is consistent with a rural residential pocket where younger households have left and retirees or long-term residents remain. All 33 surveyed residents identified as White. The ACS recorded zero children under 18 and zero family households among the 18 occupied units captured in that sample period.

Upson County as a whole holds about 27,700 people, making it a small but self-contained county with its own hospital, school district, and county government. The Rock draws on all of those county-level resources despite having almost none of its own.

Economy & Employment

Nine residents were counted in the labor force, with zero recorded as unemployed — a figure that reflects the tiny sample more than any particular economic strength. Per capita income came in at $21,424, which trails Georgia's statewide per capita figure significantly. Fifteen of the 33 surveyed residents fell below the federal poverty line, a poverty rate of roughly 45% within the ACS sample — though with a population this small, individual circumstances drive that number more than any structural pattern.

The Rock has no commercial district of its own. Employment for residents means commuting to Thomaston, which has light manufacturing, healthcare, and service-sector jobs anchored partly by Upson Regional Medical Center and county government.

Housing

The CDP has 68 total housing units, of which only 18 are occupied. That leaves 50 vacant units — a vacancy rate of about 74%. All 18 occupied units are owner-occupied; zero are renter-occupied. This pattern suggests a community where properties are held long-term but not actively traded or rented, and where a substantial portion of structures may be seasonal, inherited, or simply unused. Average household size is 1.83 persons. The ACS sample did not produce statistically reliable estimates for median home value or median rent, so those figures are not available.

Schools

Students in The Rock attend Upson-Lee schools, a consolidated district serving all of Upson County.

All four schools are located in or near Thomaston. The district is a single-high-school county system, meaning Upson-Lee High is the only secondary school serving the entire county.

Getting Around

All 9 workers in the ACS sample drove alone to work. No carpooling, no public transit, no walking, and no remote work was recorded. There is no public transportation serving The Rock. A personal vehicle is not optional here — it is the only practical connection to groceries, employment, medical care, or anything else. Thomaston is the nearest hub for all of those things.

Healthcare

Upson Regional Medical Center in Thomaston is the county's primary hospital. It serves the entire county including The Rock. For a searchable directory of individual providers licensed in The Rock area, the CMS NPI Registry lists credentialed healthcare professionals by city and state.

Library

Hightower Memorial Library is the nearest public library, located 1.3 miles from The Rock CDP. Phone: (706) 647-8649. It is part of the Flint River Regional Library System and serves as the county's main public library branch in Thomaston.

Parks & Recreation

Two significant National Park Service sites sit within day-trip range:

Neither requires significant travel by Georgia standards and both offer meaningful historical context for the region.

Natural Hazards

Upson County carries a long FEMA disaster declaration record. The county has been included in 15 federal emergency or major disaster declarations going back to 2004:

This is piedmont Georgia — not a coastal zone — but the county sits squarely in the path of storm systems that track inland from the Gulf and Atlantic. Tornadoes, flooding from remnant tropical moisture, and occasional ice storms are all documented hazards, not theoretical ones.

Government & Municipal Code

The Rock CDP publishes its municipal code through Municode: https://library.municode.com/ga/the-rock-cdp-georgia

No local building code is on file for The Rock. Construction and land use matters likely default to Upson County regulations.

Weather

Current forecasts for The Rock are available through the National Weather Service. Active weather alerts for the area can be checked at weather.gov alerts. The nearest weather observation station is Thomaston 4SE, approximately 3.1 miles away.

References

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