County Demographics
Geographic Location
Oconee
County spans 186 square miles in the Piedmont Plateau of Northeast
Georgia. Bordered by Clarke, Oglethorpe, Morgan, Greene and Walton counties,
Oconee County lies six miles south of Athens and 53 miles east of Atlanta
and enjoys a strategic location between the major markets of Atlanta,
Augusta, Macon, and Greenville, SC.
Best Rural Place to Live
Oconee County was named 2nd year in a row as one of the best places to live in rural America.
www.ProgressiveFarmer.com
Oconee County Wins!
Georgia of Excellence Award
Chairman Melvin Davis and Oconee County Board of Commissioners announced that Oconee County has been selectd by the Georgia Trend magazine and the ACCG as one of eight counties in Georgia to win the inaugural "Georgia County of Excellence Award".
Read more about it from the Oconee County Messenger Newsletter.
Climate
Rainfall: 48.9" average annual
Temperature: 61.7 F annual average
Summer average: 72.4 F
Winter average; 5~ F
Oconee
County Georgia Overview
| People |
|
| Population |
26,871
people |
| Average
Household Income |
$66,072 |
| Labor |
|
| Labor
Force |
13,412
people |
| Employment |
13,216
people |
| Unemployment
Rate |
1.5% |
| Draw
Area Manufacturing Employment |
25,682
people |
| Draw
Area Labor Availability |
5,182
people |
| Average
Manufacturing Weekly Wage |
$565 |
| Average
Non-manufacturing Weekly Wage |
$408 |
| Union
Workers |
15.6% |
| Union
Companies |
3.4% |
| Taxes |
|
| Effective
Property Tax |
$10.24
per $1000 of fair market value |
| Millage
Rate |
25.6 |
| Local
Sales Tax |
3% |
| State
Sales Tax |
4% |
| Freeport
Tax Exemption |
40% |
| Job
Tax Credit |
$1500 |
| Investment
Credit |
1% |
Other General Statistics
GOVERNMENT
%
govt. employees of total employment, 1999
Total
registered voters, 2000
% of registered voters who voted
%
of registered voters voting for President
% of
voting age population voting for President |
OCONEE
COUNTY 20.3
14,237
55.3
77.4
60.2
|
GEORGIA
AVERAGE 15.3
24,276
45.9
66.9
42.9
|
| %
of voting-age population who voted |
45.0 |
32.6 |
HEALTH
Licensed
day care facilities,2001 |
3 |
10 |
| Child
abuse cases investigated, 2000 |
158 |
341 |
%
of child abuse cases substaintiated
Substiantiated
incidents of abuse/neglect
Incident
rate per 1,000 children < 18 |
27.8
53
11.1 |
36.1
149
15.7 |
| Total
practicing physicians, 1998 |
16 |
93 |
Person per physicians ratio
%
age 16-64 with work disability, 1990 |
1,484
7.85 |
519
9.06 |
| %
age 65+ with mobility/self-care limitation, 1990 |
25.54 |
24.68 |
HOUSING/HOUSEHOLDS
Private
residental units authorized for construction, 2000 |
241 |
444 |
|
Value of construction |
$48,587,826 |
$54,880,892 |
Total
housing units, 2000
% mobile homes of total Occupied housing units, 2000
Total
families, 2000 |
9,528
16.2
9,051
7,326 |
20,640
11.6
18,908
13,281 |
% female householder w/ children < 18 of total families
Total
households, 2000 estimate |
6.3
9,051 |
10.7
18,908 |
LABOR
Civilian
labor force, 2000
Average
annual unemployment rate, 2000
Average
# of business establishments, 1999 |
13,503
1.4
570
|
26,247
3.7
1,406 |
| Average
monthly employment, 1999 |
5,947 |
24,022 |
Average
weekly wage, 1999
%
worked outside county of residence,1990 |
$455
74.5 |
$622
37.7 |
NATURAL
RESOURCES;
Total
are in square miles, 2000
Rank of size, 1=highest (1-159)
Acres
of forest land, 1997 |
186.1
146
62,000 |
374
-
153,538 |
% of all land in forests
Water
withdrawals (gallons per day), 1995
Public use in gallons per day |
52.1
3,060,000
96.43 |
65.9
36,592,767
195.47 |
| Hazardous
waste sites, 2001 |
1 |
2 |
| Toxic
chemical releases (pounds per year), 1999 |
250 |
798,236 |
POPULATION
Metropolitan
county? |
YES |
-- |
Total,
1010 projection
Total,
2000 estimate |
31,968
26,225 |
57,927
51,487 |
|
Rank of population size, 1=highets (1-159) |
56 |
-- |
Change
in number, 1999-2000
%
change, 1990-2000
Rank of % change,1=highest (1-159) |
8,607
48.9
17 |
10,744
26.4
-- |
%
change, 1930-2000
Rank of % change, 1=highest (1-159)
Persons
per square mile, 2000 estimate |
224.5
32
141.2 |
181.5
--
141.4 |
|
Rank of population density, 1=highest (1-159) |
39 |
-- |
%
growth by net migration, 1990-1999
%
Black, 2000 estimate
%
White, 2000 estimate |
81.3
6.4
89.6 |
59.7
28.7
65.1 |
%
other races, 2000 estimate
%
Hispanic, 2000 estimate
%
Age 65 and over, 2000 estimate |
3.13
3.2
8.5 |
4.83
5.3
9.6 |
| Total
veterans, 2000 |
2,309 |
4,839 |
|
Oconee
County |
Georgia
Average |
PUBLIC
ASSISTANCE
TANF
average # of recipients, FY2000
TANF recipients % of population |
94
0.4 |
837
1.6 |
Medicaid
average # of recipients, FY2000
Medicaid
recipients % of population
Food
stamp average # of participants, FY2000 |
2,271
8.7
666 |
8,227
16.0
3,249 |
| Food
stamp participants% of population |
2.5 |
6.3 |
OASDI
(Social Security) recipients % of population, 1999
SSI
( Supplemental Security Income) % of population, 2000 |
11.8
1.1 |
13.8
2.4 |
TRANSPORTATION
Total
traffic crashes, 1998
%
of crashes involving alcohol/drugs |
712
3.2 |
1,844
3.3 |
| Total
road mileage, 2000 |
432.12 |
711 |
%
unpaved
Total
motor vehicle registrations,1999
%
trucks |
14.4
27,423
22.5 |
27.3
45,040
23.8 |
VITAL
STATISTICS, 1999(-RATE not shown when number of events is >0
and < 5)
Marriages,
total
Marriage
rate (per 1,000 population) |
130
5.3 |
409
8.3 |
Divorces,
total
Divorce
rate (per 1,000 population)
Live
births, total |
117
4.8
283 |
206
4.2
796 |
| Live
birth rate (per 1000 population) |
11.5 |
16.2 |
Deaths,
total
Death
rate (per 1,000 population)
Infant
deaths (1 yr. & under), total |
156
6.4
4 |
388
7.9
7 |
Infant
death rate (per 1,000 live births)
Induced
terminations, total
Induced
termination rate
(per
1,000 females age 15-44) |
--
34
6.0 |
8.2
188
16.1 |
| Teen
pregnancies, total |
31 |
157 |
Teen
pregnancy rate
(
per 1,000 females age 10-19)
Low
weight births, total (< 2500 grams) |
18.3
17 |
45.1
70 |
| %
Low weight of total live births |
6.0 |
8.8 |
Births
to unwed mothers, total
%
Unwed births of total live births
%
White unwed of total White births |
41
14.5
11.8 |
291
36.6
21.9 |
%
Black unwed of total Black births
%
Unwed births to teen mothers of all births
Suicide
rate (per 100,000 population) |
62.5
4.9
-- |
66.6
11.3
10.8 |
| Homicide
rate (per 100,000 population) |
-- |
8.7 |
VITAL
STATISTICS, CUMULATIVE
Infant
death rate (per 1,000 lives births), 1985-1999 |
9.1 |
10.7 |
| %
Low birth weight (< 2500 grams), 1985-1999 |
6.3 |
8.5 |
Teen
suicide rate (per 100,000 age 13-19), 1990-98
Suicide
rate (per 100,000 population), 1990-98
Homicide
rate (per 100,000 population), 1990-98 |
3.7
9.7
4.9 |
6.0
12.1
11.0 |
Oconee
County, Georgia
Population
|
1990
Census |
2001
Estimate |
2006
Forecast |
Growth
Rate |
| Population
Trends |
| City |
|
Watkinsville |
1,600 |
2,291 |
2,764 |
3.71
% |
| County |
17,618 |
26,871 |
30,142 |
3.70
% |
| State |
6,478,216 |
7,592,020 |
8,242,431 |
1.62
% |
| Population
by Race |
| White |
90.90
% |
88.39
% |
87.81
% |
|
| Black |
7.43
% |
6.35
% |
6.10
% |
|
| Asian |
0.45
% |
1.51
% |
1.73
% |
|
|
Other |
0.20
% |
0.47
% |
0.56
% |
|
| Hispanic
(% of Above) |
1.01
% |
3.29
% |
3.81
% |
|
| Population
by Sex |
| Male |
48.75
% |
48.94
% |
48.95
% |
|
| Women |
51.25
% |
51.07
% |
51.05
% |
|
| Households |
6,156 |
8,698 |
10,511 |
|
| Average
Income |
$43,200 |
$66,072 |
$77,386 |
|
| Median
Income |
$34,655 |
$48,514 |
$53,637 |
|
Oconee
County, Georgia Labor
| County |
Labor
Force |
Employed |
Unemloyed |
Unemployment
Rate |
| Barrow |
22,103 |
21,268 |
835 |
3.80% |
| Clarke |
48,940 |
47,769 |
1,171 |
2.40% |
| Greene |
5,807 |
5,554 |
253 |
4.40% |
| Jackson |
22,957 |
22,341 |
616 |
2.70% |
| Morgan |
7,050 |
6,835 |
215 |
3.00% |
| Oconee |
13,856 |
13,676 |
180 |
1.30% |
| Oglethorpe |
6,120 |
5,977 |
143 |
2.30% |
| Walton |
29,716 |
28,855 |
861 |
2.90% |
| Total |
156,549 |
152,275 |
4,274 |
2.73% |
Active
Applicants
| Occupation |
County |
Surrounding
Draw Area |
Total |
| Professional,
Techinical, Managerial |
36 |
548 |
584 |
| Clerical
and Sales |
56 |
990 |
1,046 |
| Service |
22 |
718 |
740 |
| Agricultural,
Forestry, Fishing, etc |
2 |
68 |
70 |
| Processing |
4 |
197 |
201 |
| Machine
Trades |
11 |
357 |
368 |
| Bench
Work |
11 |
413 |
424 |
| Structural
Work |
11 |
483 |
494 |
| Miscellaneous
Occupations |
30 |
1,171 |
1,201 |
| Total |
183 |
4,945 |
5,128 |
Largest Employers in Oconee County
| Oconee
County School System |
770 |
| Kroger |
200 |
| Oconee
County Goverment |
160 |
| General
Cable |
145 |
| Benson's,
Inc. |
120 |
| Family
Life Enrichment Centers |
110 |
| LOWE'S |
95 |
| Oconee
State Bank |
90 |
| The
Home Depot. |
80 |
| Vend,
Inc. |
80 |
| Publix |
75 |
| Ameripride,
Inc. |
70 |
| Power
Products |
50 |
| Ikon |
45 |
| Setzer
& Sons of Georgia, Inc. |
40 |
| Engineere
Fabrication, Inc. |
26 |
| Indusrial
Mechanical, Inc. |
24 |
| Ru-Wood
Company |
20 |
Current Population
Watkinsville: 1,600
Bishop: 158
Bogart: 1,018
North High Shoals: 268
Oconee County: 26,871
Recreation
Facilities:
Six lighted tennis courts
Four golf courses
Two driving range
Nine baseball fields
Numerous softball fields
One soccer field
One beach volleyball court
Horseshoe Pits
Batting cages
Two football fields
One gymnasium with weight room
Nature and fitness trails
Oconee Civic Center
Attractions:
Apalachee and Oconee Rivers,Paradiso
Falls, North High Shoals, Oconee National Forest
Emergency Services
Police Protection:
Watkinsville Police Department
patrols within the city limits. Protection outside the city limits
is provided by the Oconee County Sheriff's Department. Oconee
County is also served by the Athens post of the Georgia State
Patrol.
Fire Protection:
Oconee County has volunteer
fire departments to provide fire safety scrvice to the community.
Emergency Medical Assistance:
Oconee First Responders, under
the license of The Emergency Management Service, can attend any
need. St. Mary's Hospital aIso provides ambulance service in the
county.
Fire Insurance Classification:
Watkinsville: Class six (6)
Oconee County: Class nine (9)
Education
Oconee
County Public Schools:
Seven schools enrolling over
5000 students. Staff of more than 250 professionals and more
than 200 support staff. Oconee County Schools "Expect Success" in
an environment attuned to the multiple needs of each individual.
Private Schools:
Athens
Academy, an independent, non-profit college prep school
enrolls 815 in pre-school through 12th grade. 105-acre wooded
campus.
Westminster
Christian Academy, an independent, non-profit, Christian
college-prep school enrolls 280 in pre-K3 through 12th. 30-acre
wooded campus.
Higher Education:
Gainesville College
Watkinsville Regional Campus: a two-year college headquartered
in Gainesville.
Nearby in Athens, GA
The
University of Georgia
Athens-Area
Technical College
Piedmont
College
Many other colleges and universities
are within commuting distance from Oconee County.
Utilities
Electricity:
Oconee County is served by
two providers, investor-owned Georgia Power Company and Oglethorpe
Power which supplies electricity to the local Electric Membership
Corporation, Walton EMC
Natural Gas:
Georgia Natural Gas supplies
Oconee County.
Water & Sewer:
The Oconee Utility Department
provides water and sewer to the incorporated areas of Oconee County.
Communications
Six local newspapers
Four local radio stations
Atlanta television coverage
CNN coverage
Daily delivery of Atlanta
Journal/Constitution
Accommodations
Oconee County Civic Center
- 500 seat auditorium, 500 seat banquet facility with kitchen
and atrium
Transportation
Surface Arteries:
Newly expanded four-lane Highway
316, known as University Parkway, is the major thoroughfare and
connects Oconee County with Interstate 85 and the commercial hub
of Atlanta, as well as other major Southeastem markets. Highway
44l connects Oconee County with Interstate 20, twenty-one miles
south.
Air:
Commercial and private air
services are provided by USAir at Ben Epps Airport in Athens.
The airport has 4,000 and 5,000 foot runways. Hartsfield Atlanta
International Airport, one of the busiest and best in the United
States, is located approximately 70 miles away in Atlanta and
offers daily non-stop domestic and international flights aboard
a number of carriers.
Rail:
The county is served by CSX
and Norfolk Southern Railway.
Health Care
Athens
Regional Medical Center, Athens, GA:
300 patient beds, staff of
1500 and 200 physicians; Serves 14 county region with
the latest in acute medical care procedures
St.
Mary's Hospital, Athens, GA:
196 patient beds; 24-hour emergency
room, neonatal intensive care, St Mary's Lifeline personal emergency
response system
St. Mary's Womens Resource Center Windridge Professional Park,
Watkinsville, Ga.
Mammography, bone density tests, cronic wound care and cleaning,
intravenous therapy, and community classes for men and women.
Regional FirstCare, Watkinsville,
GA:
Walk-in medical center specializing
in minor emergencies and occupational health
0conee County Health Department:
1620 Experiment Station Road,
Watkinsvllle, GA