Thomaston, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Thomaston · Upson County, Georgia
Population 9,798 (est. 2026: ~9,900)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 0.34% annual growth projection

Thomaston, Georgia

Upson County, Georgia · Population 9,816

Thomaston sits in the Piedmont belt of west-central Georgia, about 60 miles southwest of Atlanta and 35 miles north of Columbus. It is the county seat of Upson County and, by a wide margin, its largest community. The town built its identity around textile and industrial manufacturing — most visibly through Thomaston Mills, which for generations was one of the largest cotton sheeting operations in the South. That era has wound down, leaving a compact downtown of brick storefronts, a working-class housing stock, and a population that has held steady while many similarly-sized Georgia manufacturing towns have shrunk. Thomaston is not a suburb and not a bedroom community — it is a self-contained small city that provides most of its own services, including its own hospital, school system, and library.

People & Demographics

Thomaston's population of 9,816 represents roughly 35 percent of Upson County's 27,700 residents. The city skews younger than many rural Georgia towns, with a median age of 36.7. The racial composition is roughly 54 percent white and 39 percent Black, with a Hispanic and Latino population of 304 and an Asian population of 55. Of 3,711 total households, 2,169 are family households. The average household size is 2.54, and 2,538 residents — more than a quarter of the population — are children under 18. That share of young residents puts real weight behind the school system and family services.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Thomaston is $30,298 — significantly below the Georgia state median, which sits in the mid-$60,000s. Per capita income is $24,063. Of the 3,569 residents in the labor force, 183 are unemployed. The poverty count stands at 3,343 people, meaning roughly a third of the population falls below the federal poverty line. That figure is stark even by the standards of rural Georgia. The local economy is anchored by healthcare (Upson Regional Medical Center is a major employer), education, and what remains of the manufacturing sector. Residents who need specialized work or higher wages often commute toward Griffin, LaGrange, or the Atlanta metro.

Housing

Thomaston has 4,494 total housing units, of which 3,711 are occupied and 783 sit vacant — a vacancy rate of about 17 percent. Among occupied units, renters outnumber owners: 2,326 renter-occupied against 1,385 owner-occupied. That split is unusual for a small Georgia city and reflects both the income picture and the legacy of mill-worker housing stock. The median home value is $133,400, and median rent is $773 per month. For buyers, the affordability is genuine — that home value is well below state and national medians. For renters, $773 represents a meaningful share of a $30,000 household income.

Schools

Thomaston and Upson County operate a unified district under the Upson-Lee name. The system runs four schools:

Total enrollment across all four campuses is approximately 4,060 students. The consolidated Upson-Lee structure means students from throughout the county attend the same buildings as Thomaston city students.

Getting Around

Thomaston is a car-dependent community. Of 3,354 workers, 2,870 drove alone to work. Another 262 carpooled. Zero workers reported using public transit — there is none. Ninety-four people walked to work, and 72 worked from home. Total aggregate commute time across all workers is 58,775 minutes, putting the average individual commute at roughly 17–18 minutes. For a town of this size that figure is reasonable, though workers commuting to Atlanta or Columbus face much longer drives.

Healthcare

Upson Regional Medical Center is the local hospital, located in Thomaston. It provides the county's primary inpatient and emergency services. Its presence as an independent community hospital is significant — many similarly-sized Georgia counties no longer have one. For local provider listings, the CMS NPI Registry can be searched directly: Search Thomaston, GA providers.

Library

Hightower Memorial Library serves Thomaston and Upson County residents. Phone: (706) 647-8649. It is a branch of the Flint River Regional Library System and the primary public library for the area.

Parks & Recreation

Two National Park Service sites sit within reasonable driving distance of Thomaston:

Natural Hazards

Upson County has a long FEMA disaster declaration record. Hurricanes and tropical systems have repeatedly reached this far inland: Irma (2017), Michael (2018), Helene (2024), Frances (2004), and Katrina evacuation support (2005). Severe winter storms triggered declarations in 2014 and again in January 2026. Tornado and straight-line wind events produced declarations in 2009, 2011, and 2017. Flooding has accompanied multiple storm events. The pattern is consistent: Thomaston is far enough from the coast to avoid direct hurricane landfall but close enough that weakened tropical systems still deliver destructive wind and rain. Ice storms remain a genuine winter hazard. COVID-19 produced both an emergency and a major disaster declaration in March 2020.

Government & Municipal Code

Thomaston's municipal code is published through Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/thomaston. The city does not have a locally-adopted building code on file in this dataset.

Weather

Current forecasts and conditions for Thomaston are available from the National Weather Service:

The nearest official weather observation station is Thomaston 4SE, located 3.1 miles from town.

References

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