Poulan, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Poulan · Worth County, Georgia
Population 707 (est. 2026: ~600)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -3.68% annual growth projection

Poulan, Georgia

Worth County, Georgia · Population 760

Poulan sits in the flat, agricultural heart of southwest Georgia, about 12 miles north of Sylvester, the Worth County seat. It is a small farming community — fewer than 800 people — surrounded by peanut and cotton fields that define the region's economy and identity. The town is close enough to Tifton (roughly 30 miles northeast) and Albany (roughly 40 miles northwest) that residents can access larger-city services without leaving the region, but Poulan itself is quiet, self-contained, and distinctly rural. Worth County as a whole has just over 20,000 residents, so Poulan accounts for less than 4% of that population.

People & Demographics

The 2022 ACS puts Poulan's population at 768, with a median age of 38.1. The town has 294 households, 222 of which are family households, and an average household size of 2.61 people. There are 141 children under 18 in the community.

Racially, 669 residents identify as white and 83 as Black, with 2 Asian residents. No Hispanic or Latino population is recorded in the ACS data.

Economy & Employment

Median household income in Poulan is $63,182 — a number that compares favorably against many rural southwest Georgia communities, though per capita income sits at $25,186, reflecting the modest individual earnings common to small agricultural towns in the region. Of the 762 residents tracked in labor force data, 372 are in the labor force, and just 10 are recorded as unemployed.

135 residents fall below the federal poverty line. Agriculture, timber, and related industries anchor the local economy, consistent with Worth County's broader profile as one of Georgia's top peanut-producing counties.

Housing

Poulan has 357 total housing units, of which 294 are occupied and 63 are vacant — a vacancy rate of about 17.6%, which is high by national standards but not unusual for rural Georgia towns experiencing slow population change.

Of occupied units, 221 are owner-occupied and 73 are renter-occupied, putting the homeownership rate at roughly 75%. The median home value of $69,800 makes Poulan one of the more affordable places in the state. Median gross rent, however, is $943 per month — a figure that, relative to per capita income, represents a meaningful cost burden for lower-earning renters.

Schools

Poulan children attend Worth County Schools, a county-wide district with no separate municipal system. The school pipeline runs through four main campuses:

All campuses serve the county broadly, not Poulan exclusively. High school students travel to Sylvester for grades 9–12.

Getting Around

Of 362 workers, 252 drive alone to work and 75 carpool — meaning carpooling accounts for about 21% of commuters, which is notably high and consistent with the economics of rural Georgia. No residents are recorded as using public transit or walking to work. 17 residents work from home.

Aggregate commute travel time across all workers is 8,600 minutes, yielding an average one-way commute of roughly 24 minutes. A personal vehicle is not optional here — it is the only practical way to move through the region.

Healthcare

Phoebe Worth Medical Center in Sylvester is the county's hospital, approximately 12 miles south. For serious trauma or specialty care, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany and Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton are the nearest major facilities.

Local and regional healthcare providers serving the Poulan area can be searched through the CMS NPI Registry.

Library

The Margaret Jones Public Library, located 1.4 miles from town, serves Poulan residents. Phone: (229) 776-2096. It is part of the Chattahoochee Valley Libraries system serving Worth County.

Parks & Recreation

Two significant National Park Service sites are within reasonable driving distance:

The Plains High School Visitor Center and Museum is approximately 46.9 miles away, and the National Prisoner of War Museum at Andersonville is approximately 47.9 miles away.

Natural Hazards

Worth County has a documented history of major weather events, and the federal disaster record reflects it. FEMA declarations affecting the county since 2004:

This is an area that gets hit. Hurricanes tracking inland through the Florida panhandle and up through south Georgia — Michael and Irma being the clearest recent examples — bring damaging winds and flooding even to inland towns like Poulan. Tornado risk is real year-round.

Government & Municipal Code

Poulan operates under a city municipal code published through Municode: library.municode.com/ga/poulan-city-georgia

No local building code is on file with Municode for Poulan. State and county standards apply.

Weather

Current forecasts for the Poulan area are available through the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast — Poulan, GA

Active weather alerts for this location

The nearest weather observation station is Sylvester 1.5 NW, approximately 0.9 miles from town.

References

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