Tignall, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Tignall · Wilkes County, Georgia
Population 981 (est. 2026: ~400)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -22.22% annual growth projection

Tignall, Georgia

Wilkes County, Georgia · Population 485

Tignall sits in the rural piedmont of northeast Georgia, tucked into Wilkes County about 35 miles east of Athens and roughly 100 miles east of Atlanta. The county seat, Washington, Georgia, is the practical hub for most residents — it holds the courthouse, the hospital, and the county school district offices. Tignall itself is a small incorporated town of 485 people, surrounded by farmland and timber tracts, with a main street character that reflects decades of slow and steady rural life. It is not a suburb. It is not a bedroom community. It is a standalone small town where people have deep roots, property is inexpensive, and the pace is deliberate.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 figures place Tignall's total population at 1,163 within the survey area, with 440 households and an average household size of 2.64. The median age is 40.4. The racial composition is majority Black — 806 residents — with 306 white residents and 12 Hispanic or Latino residents. Children under 18 number 359, a meaningful share of the population that underscores the importance of the county school system to daily life here.

Wilkes County overall counts 9,565 residents, making Tignall home to roughly 5% of the county's population. That proportion gives Tignall a small but present voice in county-level decisions.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Tignall's survey area is $80,122 — a figure that sits surprisingly well relative to rural Georgia norms, though the per capita income of $21,757 tells a more complicated story: income is concentrated in some households while 204 residents fall below the poverty line. That tension between median household income and per capita income is common in communities with mixed household sizes and varied employment situations.

Of 343 residents in the labor force, 32 are unemployed. The employment base is typical of rural Wilkes County — agriculture, light industry, public sector work, and service jobs, with Washington serving as the commercial center for most workers.

Housing

Tignall offers some of the most affordable housing in Georgia. The median home value is $85,600, and median rent runs $830 per month. Of 496 total housing units, 440 are occupied and 56 are vacant — an 11.3% vacancy rate that reflects some softness in the market but also opportunity for buyers. Renters slightly outnumber owners: 245 renter-occupied units versus 195 owner-occupied. For anyone priced out of Athens or Augusta, Tignall and Wilkes County represent a genuine alternative, especially for remote workers willing to trade proximity for affordability.

Schools

All public schools serving Tignall students operate under the Wilkes County school district, with Washington as the district center. The county runs four main schools:

Students travel to Washington for all grade levels. The district is consolidated by necessity — the county's population base cannot support multiple campus locations.

Getting Around

Tignall is car-dependent. Of 311 total workers, 282 drive alone and 29 carpool. Public transit use and walking-to-work figures are both zero. No remote work was recorded in the survey data. The aggregate commute time for all workers is 12,265 minutes, working out to roughly 39 minutes per worker — consistent with the reality that most jobs are in Washington, Augusta, or Athens, each requiring a meaningful highway drive. Anyone relocating to Tignall should plan on owning a reliable vehicle; there is no transit infrastructure.

Healthcare

The primary hospital serving Wilkes County is Wills Memorial Hospital in Washington. For specialized care or emergency services beyond what a rural critical-access hospital provides, residents typically travel to Augusta — roughly 55 miles to the southeast — or to Athens Regional Medical Center to the west.

Local providers can be searched through the CMS NPI Registry: Search Tignall, GA providers

Library

The Mary Willis Library in Washington serves as the public library for Tignall and surrounding Wilkes County, located approximately 3.0 miles from town. Contact: (706) 678-7736. The Mary Willis Library is one of the oldest public libraries in Georgia, a fact locals take quiet pride in.

Parks & Recreation

The nearest major National Park Service site is Ninety Six National Historic Site in South Carolina, approximately 49.6 miles away — a Revolutionary War site worth the drive for history-minded visitors. Closer to home, the Piedmont landscape around Tignall offers hunting land, fishing ponds, and rural road cycling. Clark Hill Lake (now Strom Thurmond Lake) on the Savannah River is within reasonable driving distance and provides boating, fishing, and Corps of Engineers campgrounds.

Natural Hazards

Wilkes County has a long and active FEMA disaster declaration record. The county has been touched by hurricane remnants repeatedly — Hurricane Helene triggered two separate declarations in September 2024, Hurricane Irma hit in 2017 with two declarations, Hurricane Michael reached the area in 2018, and Tropical Storm Frances and Hurricane Ivan both struck in 2004. Severe winter storms have hit in 2000, 2014 (two declarations), and again in January 2026. The county was also part of the statewide COVID-19 declarations in March 2020 and served as a Hurricane Katrina evacuation support area in 2005.

The practical takeaway: inland Georgia is not hurricane-immune. Wilkes County residents should maintain storm preparedness for both tropical remnants and winter ice events.

Government & Municipal Code

Tignall operates as an incorporated town under Georgia law. The municipal code is published through Municode: Tignall Town Municipal Code

Note: Tignall does not have a local building code on file. Construction and permitting questions should be directed to county-level offices or state building standards.

Weather

Current forecasts for Tignall are available through the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast for Tignall, GA

Active weather alerts: NWS Alerts

The nearest official weather observation station is Washington 2 ESE, approximately 3.4 miles from town.

References

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