Gordon, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Gordon · Wilkinson County, Georgia
Population 2,186 (est. 2026: ~3,400)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 13.68% annual growth projection

Gordon, Georgia

Wilkinson County, Georgia · Population 1,783

Gordon sits in the geographic heart of Georgia, roughly 30 miles east of Macon along US-129 in Wilkinson County. It is a small kaolin-country town — Wilkinson County sits atop one of the richest kaolin deposits in the world — and that industrial heritage shapes both the landscape and the local economy. With fewer than 2,000 residents, Gordon functions as the commercial and civic center of a rural county where the next significant city is Macon to the west and Milledgeville about 20 miles to the north. The Ocmulgee River corridor and pine flatwoods define the natural setting.

People & Demographics

The ACS 2022 estimate places Gordon's population at 2,107. The town is roughly evenly divided by race: 1,038 residents identify as white and 989 as Black, making Gordon one of the more balanced small towns in Middle Georgia by that measure. The Hispanic and Latino population stands at 141. Median age is 36.8 years — slightly younger than the Georgia statewide median, which reflects a meaningful share of children: 647 residents are under 18, representing about 30 percent of the population. The 774 occupied households average 2.72 people each, and 466 of those households are family households.

Economy & Employment

The median household income in Gordon is $32,083 — well below Georgia's statewide median, which hovers near $65,000. Per capita income is $22,641. Of the 2,107 residents counted, 646 fall below the federal poverty line, roughly 30 percent of the population. That poverty rate is substantially higher than Georgia as a whole and reflects the broader economic challenge facing rural Wilkinson County, whose total population of 8,877 has few large employers outside the kaolin and mining-related industries.

The labor force counts 690 residents, with 61 unemployed — an unemployment rate of about 8.8 percent among those actively participating in the labor market.

Housing

Gordon is one of the most affordable housing markets in Georgia by raw numbers. The median home value is $86,700 and the median gross rent is $548 per month. Both figures sit far below state averages, which makes homeownership attainable: 508 of the 774 occupied units are owner-occupied, a 65.6 percent ownership rate that exceeds the state average. Renters occupy 266 units.

Of the 934 total housing units, 160 are vacant — a vacancy rate of 17.1 percent. That level of vacancy is common in rural Georgia towns experiencing slow population decline, and it signals opportunity for affordable acquisition alongside the challenges of property maintenance and neighborhood stability.

Schools

Students in Gordon attend Wilkinson County schools located in or near town. Two schools serve the early grades:

Upper-grade students feed into the county middle and high school system. Wilkinson County operates as a unified school district serving the entire county population, so Gordon students share facilities and programs with peers from Irwinton (the county seat) and other communities throughout the county.

Getting Around

Gordon is car-dependent. Of 629 workers counted, 596 drive alone to work. Another 31 carpool. Public transit accounts for just 2 workers, and the data records zero workers who walk or work from home. The aggregate commute time across all workers is 14,615 minutes, which works out to a mean one-way commute of roughly 23 minutes — consistent with workers traveling to Macon, Milledgeville, or industrial sites in the county. There is no meaningful transit infrastructure serving Gordon.

Healthcare

Gordon has no hospital within the town itself. Wilkinson County's nearest inpatient facility is typically accessed via Macon, where Atrium Health Navicent and other regional medical systems operate. For local provider lookup, the CMS NPI Registry lists practitioners registered in Gordon: Search NPI Registry for Gordon, GA.

Library

The Gordon Public Library serves residents in town and can be reached at (478) 628-5352. It is part of the public library network serving Wilkinson County and provides the primary point of public access to internet, reference materials, and community programming in Gordon.

Parks & Recreation

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park is the dominant natural and cultural attraction in the region, located approximately 23.5 miles from Gordon near Macon. The park preserves one of the most significant archaeological sites in the eastern United States, with platform mounds built by Mississippian-era peoples more than a thousand years ago. The Ocmulgee Mounds Visitor Center anchors the site. For residents of Gordon, this NPS unit is the nearest federally managed public land of significance and a practical destination for outdoor and educational visits.

Natural Hazards

Wilkinson County has accumulated a substantial FEMA disaster declaration record. The county has been included in 15 federal declarations since 1998:

The pattern is clear: this part of Middle Georgia sits in the path of Gulf Coast hurricanes tracking northeast, is vulnerable to severe winter weather, and experiences periodic tornado activity. Hurricane Helene in 2024 was significant enough to generate both an emergency management declaration and a major disaster declaration within days of each other.

Government & Municipal Code

Gordon's municipal code is published through Municode and accessible at library.municode.com/ga/gordon_county. The city does not have a locally adopted building code on file in the available records, which can affect permitting and construction standards — prospective builders and contractors should confirm current requirements directly with the city.

Weather

Current forecasts for Gordon are available through the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast for Gordon, GA. Active weather alerts can be checked at NWS Alerts. The nearest official observing station is Irwinton 4 WNW, located approximately 2.5 miles from Gordon.

References

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