Towns County

Towns County, Georgia

Towns County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on March 6, 1856. As of the 2000 census, the population is 9,319. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 10,894 Its county seat is Hiawassee, Georgia.

History

The County is named for United States lawyer, legislator, and politician George W. Towns.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 172 square miles (446 km²), of which, 167 square miles (432 km²) of it is land and 5 square miles (14 km²) of it (3.11%) is water.

Geographic Features

Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia, is located in Union County(bisected with Towns county,leaving the summit in union county) as well as part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. State Route 515 from north of Atlanta ends here at the North Carolina state line near Young Harris.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Clay County, North Carolina (north)
Rabun County (east)
Habersham County (southeast)
White County (south)
Union County (west)

National protected area

Chattahoochee National Forest (part)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,319 people, 3,998 households, and 2,826 families residing in the county. The population density was 56 people per square mile (22/km²). There were 6,282 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.80% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,998 households out of which 20.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.90% were married couples living together, 6.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.61.

In the county the population was spread out with 16.30% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 20.50% from 25 to 44, 28.30% from 45 to 64, and 25.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females there were 89.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,950, and the median income for a family was $37,295. Males had a median income of $28,657 versus $21,813 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,221. About 8.80% of families and 11.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.60% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.