Thomas County, GA

County Profile

45,777 residents. Jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Thomas County, GA.

54out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 30% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity959th of 1,463 counties measured47
Schools836th of 1,377 counties measured42
Growth1,301st of 1,453 counties measured26
Housing affordability799th of 1,462 counties measured72
ClimateTop 8% of 1,463 counties measured79
Physical resilience828th of 1,463 counties measured54
Access765th of 1,463 counties measured80
Economic stability1,016th of 1,463 counties measured44
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.2% and median household income $60,736, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 36% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.6 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 123 units authorized over the past twelve months, 43% below the prior year.

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
45,777
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,736
Bottom 37% nationally
Density
84/sq mi
544.6 sq mi of land
Median age
39.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Thomas County
Georgia
Micro area
Nearest major airport
VLD
39 mi · Valdosta Rgnl
Median home value
$196,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2%, lower than in 84% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 1.9% over the past year, to 20,020 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$53,15833rd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$67,55172nd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,4912024 ACS 5-Year$60,736Bottom 37%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,0172024 ACS 5-Year$33,700Bottom 44%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$57,033Top 47%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year17.7%Bottom 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.7 minTop 23%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.7%Top 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.7%44th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202620,020Bottom 31%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.9%Bottom 12%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.9%Bottom 24%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202620,67331st percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.3%Top 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%57th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Bottom 49%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.2%Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.8%43rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.72.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202461k52k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $60,736 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.

36% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 40% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.6 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.6
across 12 of them
Math proficiency
35.9%
Bottom 31% in Georgia
Reading proficiency
39.6%
Bottom 41% in Georgia
The 12 largest of 13 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Thomas County Middle SchoolThomas County1,66513.230%34%
Thomas County Central High SchoolThomas County1,63314.640%41%
Garrison-Pilcher Elementary SchoolThomas County81112.9——
Cross Creek Elementary SchoolThomas County80913.544%38%
Thomasville High SchoolThomasville City74215.132%37%
Hand In Hand PrimaryThomas County71214.2——
Jerger Elementary SchoolThomasville City70814.859%66%
MacIntyre Park Middle SchoolThomasville City53011.331%45%
Scott Elementary SchoolThomasville City37913.522%37%
Harper Elementary SchoolThomasville City26312.017%12%
Bishop HallThomas County14311.98%17%
The Renaissance Center for Academic and Career DevelopmentThomas County459.0——

92.0% 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 $1,539 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.78% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,149, some 13% above the $1,018 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,149 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $46,000 a year, about 76% of the median household income here of $60,736.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,018 a month.

A median home at $196,700 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $80,863, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
30.1%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,149
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,018
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$196,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Thomas County’s median household income of $60,736, 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%43rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Georgia’s figure2026 Q2+56.5%88th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Georgia’s figure2026 Q2+115.5%84th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 46%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year63.8%13th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±332024 ACS 5-Year21,13066th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,048Bottom 40%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,456Top 43%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,149Top 47%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$532024 ACS 5-Year$1,018Bottom 29%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,6212024 ACS 5-Year$196,70055th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1182024 ACS 5-Year$1,53948th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,7312024 ACS 5-Year$80,863Top 40%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.78%49th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.1%Bottom 27%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1792024 ACS 5-Year56862nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%50th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.9%49th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3832024 ACS 5-Year2,44661st percentileof 3,2222024 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

26/ 100
Ranks 1,301 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 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 46,054 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 203 units authorized in 2025, 5% below the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 123 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Thomas County gained about 0.7% 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 $53,158, below the $67,551 of households that moved out.

At 2.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
123
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.7
Bottom 48% nationally
Year over year
−43%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202446k46k
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 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
45%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$53,158
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$67,551
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Grady County, GA 290 people · 14% of arrivals
  2. Leon County, FL 191 people · 9.0% of arrivals
  3. Colquitt County, GA 109 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  4. Mitchell County, GA 105 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  5. Lowndes County, GA 100 people · 4.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Grady County, GA 278 people · 15% of departures
  2. Leon County, FL 153 people · 8.1% of departures
  3. Mitchell County, GA 106 people · 5.6% of departures
  4. Colquitt County, GA 90 people · 4.8% of departures
  5. Brooks County, GA 83 people · 4.4% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025346175
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+16%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 38°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 50.9 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CAIRO 1SW, 17.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals50.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°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

54 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and cold wave, with hurricane alone responsible for 43% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneElevated
LightningModerate
Cold waveElevated
TornadoModerate

Low or minimal exposure: wildfire, heat wave, inland flooding, drought, earthquake, strong wind, hail, 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). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, and no county figure could be attached to this page.
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 Valdosta Rgnl at 39 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year87.4%Top 46%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle39 miBottom 45%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.4%Bottom 48%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Valdosta RgnlVLD39 mi8,003 ft
Tallahassee IntlTLH41 mi8,000 ft
Lake City GatewayLCQ93 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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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
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.

Cities in Thomas County, GA

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.