Wheeler County, Georgia

Wheeler County
Wheeler County
County
	Wheeler County Courthouse (built 1917), Alamo
	Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
	Georgia's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 32°07′N 82°43′W / 32.12°N 82.72°W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	November 5, 1912; 112 years ago
Named for	Joseph Wheeler
Seat	Alamo
Largest city	Alamo
Area
• Total	300 sq mi (800 km2)
• Land	295 sq mi (760 km2)
• Water	4.8 sq mi (12 km2) 1.6%
Population (2020)
• Total	7,471
• Density	25/sq mi (10/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	12th
Website	wheelercounty.georgia.gov

Wheeler County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,471.^[1] The county seat is Alamo.^[2] The county is one of the most impoverished counties in the nation. The American Community Survey's 2009–2013 average reports that the county's per-capita income of $8,948 makes it the poorest county in the United States by this metric.^[3] The measurement however is misleading as Wheeler County is the site of Wheeler Correctional Facility, a large prison with a capacity of 2,874 prisoners,^[4] about 40 percent of the county's total population. Most prisoners have little income. The prison was opened in 1998 and the prison population may also account for the increased population of the county in the early 2000s.^[5]

History

Wheeler County is named after Confederate General Joseph Wheeler.^[6] The constitutional amendment to create the county was proposed August 14, 1912, and ratified November 5, 1912.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 300 square miles (780 km²), of which 295 square miles (760 km²) is land and 4.8 square miles (12 km²) (1.6%) is water.^[7]

The eastern portion of Wheeler County, defined by a line running from north of Alamo to the southern border of the county, due south of Mount Vernon, is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The bulk of the rest of the county is located in the Little Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin, except for a small southern portion of Wheeler County, east of Lumber City, which is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the larger Altamaha River basin.^[8]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Treutlen County (north)
Montgomery County (east)
Jeff Davis County (southeast)
Telfair County (southwest)
Dodge County (west)
Laurens County (northwest)

Communities

City

Glenwood

Town

Alamo (county seat)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1920	9,817		—
1930	9,149		−6.8%
1940	8,535		−6.7%
1950	6,712		−21.4%
1960	5,342		−20.4%
1970	4,596		−14.0%
1980	5,155		12.2%
1990	4,903		−4.9%
2000	6,179		26.0%
2010	7,421		20.1%
2020	7,471		0.7%
2023 (est.)	7,081	^[9]	−5.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[10] 1790-1880^[11] 1890-1910^[12] 1920-1930^[13] 1930-1940^[14] 1940-1950^[15] 1960-1980^[16] 1980-2000^[17] 2010^[18]

Wheeler County racial composition as of 2020^[19]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	4,157	55.64%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	2,875	38.48%
Native American	9	0.12%
Asian	17	0.23%
Other/Mixed	141	1.89%
Hispanic or Latino	272	3.64%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,471 people, 1,862 households, and 1,159 families residing in the county.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Wheeler County, Georgia^[20]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,583	69.28%	689	30.15%	13	0.57%
2016	1,421	67.60%	646	30.73%	35	1.67%
2012	1,366	63.09%	772	35.66%	27	1.25%
2008	1,408	63.60%	794	35.86%	12	0.54%
2004	1,192	58.03%	847	41.24%	15	0.73%
2000	813	51.62%	752	47.75%	10	0.63%
1996	460	33.90%	751	55.34%	146	10.76%
1992	601	35.37%	880	51.80%	218	12.83%
1988	709	51.64%	658	47.92%	6	0.44%
1984	833	51.84%	774	48.16%	0	0.00%
1980	550	25.16%	1,599	73.15%	37	1.69%
1976	344	19.98%	1,378	80.02%	0	0.00%
1972	1,093	78.80%	294	21.20%	0	0.00%
1968	251	15.00%	488	29.17%	934	55.83%
1964	849	46.42%	980	53.58%	0	0.00%
1960	226	18.90%	970	81.10%	0	0.00%
1956	149	13.06%	992	86.94%	0	0.00%
1952	261	16.94%	1,280	83.06%	0	0.00%
1948	39	4.41%	560	63.28%	286	32.32%
1944	151	22.60%	517	77.40%	0	0.00%
1940	117	19.02%	495	80.49%	3	0.49%
1936	94	13.64%	594	86.21%	1	0.15%
1932	29	2.51%	1,127	97.41%	1	0.09%
1928	101	24.46%	312	75.54%	0	0.00%
1924	0	0.00%	772	88.84%	97	11.16%
1920	101	22.39%	350	77.61%	0	0.00%
1916	40	9.03%	372	83.97%	31	7.00%