Bainbridge, Georgia

Area Profile

14,404 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Bainbridge, in Decatur County.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 41% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 28% of 4,199 cities measured68
Schools2,424th of 4,162 cities measured43
GrowthTop 20% of 4,224 cities measured66
Housing affordabilityTop 14% of 4,218 cities measured80
ClimateTop 21% of 4,225 cities measured78
Physical resilience3,851st of 4,226 cities measured13
Access3,301st of 4,226 cities measured81
Economic stability4,182nd of 4,226 cities measured14
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.4% and median household income $45,422, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Decatur County, GA, which contains Bainbridge, rather than for Bainbridge alone.

In the public schools here, 37% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.7 students for every teacher.

119 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
14,404
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$45,422
Bottom 16% nationally
Density
703/sq mi
20.5 sq mi of land
Median age
38.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Georgia
Micro area
Nearest major airport
TLH
38 mi · Tallahassee Intl
Median home value
$174,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Decatur County, GA, which contains Bainbridge, is 3.4%, lower than in 84% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Decatur County, GA, which contains Bainbridge, grew 6.0% over the past year, to 11,821 employed residents.

Median household income of $45,422 is lower than in 84% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsDecatur County, GA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$41,2131st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftDecatur County, GA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$45,9313rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$8,9672024 ACS 5-Year$45,422Bottom 16%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,3322024 ACS 5-Year$29,085Bottom 34%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year24.3%Bottom 16%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.0 minTop 21%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year18.7%Bottom 45%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year83.0%69th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentDecatur County, GA’s figureJuly 202611,821Bottom 5%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Decatur County, GA’s figureJuly 2026+2.4%Top 17%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Decatur County, GA’s figureJuly 2026+6.0%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceDecatur County, GA’s figureJuly 202612,2355th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year59.4%Bottom 11%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Decatur County, GA’s figureJuly 2026−0.4%Top 32%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateDecatur County, GA’s figureJuly 20263.4%Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year5.4%39th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202445k41k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $45,422 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Decatur County, GA, which contains this city.

37% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 36% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.7 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
37.5%
Bottom 40% in Georgia
Reading proficiency
36.1%
Bottom 30% in Georgia
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Bainbridge High SchoolDecatur County1,19213.236%35%
Bainbridge Middle SchoolDecatur County79312.425%32%
Hutto Elementary SchoolDecatur County79013.926%34%
Jones-Wheat Primary SchoolDecatur County66413.863%48%
West Bainbridge Primary SchoolDecatur County55615.055%43%
Spring Creek Charter Academy · charterState Specialty Schools II- Spring Creek Charter Academy47413.2——
New Beginning Learning CenterDecatur County18326.15%5%

99.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Georgia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Georgia is up 57% over five years, and up 3.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,829 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.05% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $973, some 23% above the $791 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $973 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,900 a year, about 86% of the median household income here of $45,422.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $791 a month.

A median home at $174,700 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $67,079, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$973
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$791
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$174,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Bainbridge’s median household income of $45,422, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Georgia’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%54th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Georgia’s figure2026 Q2+56.5%91st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Georgia’s figure2026 Q2+115.5%82nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 46%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year55.7%15th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3302024 ACS 5-Year6,83291st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$850Top 11%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,287Top 7%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$973Top 5%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$542024 ACS 5-Year$791Top 27%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$26,8642024 ACS 5-Year$174,70047th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3592024 ACS 5-Year$1,82952nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$12,8842024 ACS 5-Year$67,079Bottom 33%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.26%2024 ACS 5-Year1.05%55th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year26.9%Top 42%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±892024 ACS 5-Year5984th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%61st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year17.4%84th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3562024 ACS 5-Year1,25096th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

66/ 100
Top 20% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 14,586 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Decatur County, which contains Bainbridge, lost about 0.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $41,213, below the $45,931 of households that moved out.

At 8.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
119
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.3
Top 16% nationally
Year over year
+3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
58.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202415k14k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
53%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$41,213
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$45,931
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Leon County, FL 99 people · 9.4% of arrivals
  2. Seminole County, GA 78 people · 7.4% of arrivals
  3. Grady County, GA 54 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  4. Miller County, GA 52 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  5. Gadsden County, FL 44 people · 4.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Seminole County, GA 124 people · 11% of departures
  2. Leon County, FL 121 people · 11% of departures
  3. Grady County, GA 62 people · 5.6% of departures
  4. Thomas County, GA 62 people · 5.6% of departures
  5. Gadsden County, FL 54 people · 4.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Decatur County, GA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202511186
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+28%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 39°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 49.5 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station NEWTON 11 SW, 21.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals49.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

13 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 49% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneElevated
Inland floodingHigh
Cold waveElevated
DroughtModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, tornado, wildfire, hail, earthquake, strong wind, winter weather, landslide, ice storm, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
541
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,710
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Bainbridge's police department reported 541 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,710.

Decatur County has a modeled homicide rate of about 8.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 20.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 18.3 per 100,000 residents in Decatur County.

Homicide
8.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
20.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
18.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
18.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Bainbridge’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Bainbridge (Decatur County) rather than Bainbridge itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Tallahassee Intl at 38 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year78.0%Bottom 16%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle38 miBottom 21%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year16.8%Bottom 18%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Tallahassee IntlTLH38 mi8,000 ft
Dothan RgnlDHN59 mi8,500 ft
Valdosta RgnlVLD77 mi8,003 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
56
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Bainbridge

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Bainbridge with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3981912,140$55,426$181,60056
3981711,158$53,065$159,80055