Macon-Bibb County, GA

Metro Area Profile

234,943 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Macon-Bibb County, GA metropolitan area.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 43% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity194th of 379 metros measured55
Growth439th of 821 metros measured48
Housing affordability493rd of 822 metros measured91
ClimateTop 21% of 822 metros measured75
Physical resilienceTop 15% of 822 metros measured80
Access694th of 822 metros measured54
Economic stability727th of 822 metros measured22
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.2% and median household income $59,526, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published metro profiles.

484 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 11% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Macon-Bibb County in the top 15% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
234,943
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,526
Bottom 25% nationally
Density
136/sq mi
1723.6 sq mi of land
Median age
38.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Macon-Bibb County, GA
Nearest major airport
ATL
68 mi · Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta Intl
Median home value
$188,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.2% is lower than 49% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment grew 1.2% over the past year, to 95,695 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,096$59,526Bottom 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,008$33,652Bottom 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate20.7%Top 11%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute26.2 minTop 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher24.3%Bottom 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment95,695Bottom 42%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.6%Top 31%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)1.2%Top 11%of 379June 2026
Labor force99,872Bottom 43%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation57.1%Bottom 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$56,400Bottom 24%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$45,160Bottom 22%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment95,030Bottom 46%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Bottom 46%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate4.2%Top 49%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.33.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.2% in June 2026. 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.
Largest occupations — Macon-Bibb County, GA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses3,100$85,070
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand3,070$37,140
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,920$25,000
Retail Salespersons2,800$28,820
Cashiers2,300$27,820
General and Operations Managers1,910$90,500

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,044 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.2 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
21.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,044
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$188,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.16Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate61.9%Bottom 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±96104,712Top 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$23$1,044Top 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,122$188,300Bottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.0%Top 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate15.4%Top 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
48/ 100
Ranks 439 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

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 2% since 2020, reaching 237,617 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
484
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.1
Bottom 40% nationally
Year over year
−11%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024238k233k
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.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 94°F and January a low of 36°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 46.9 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MACON MIDDLE GA RGNL AP, 12.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation46.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low36°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing35°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

80 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, hurricane and earthquake.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 75% of measured US metros.

HurricaneModerate
TornadoModerate
LightningModerate
EarthquakeModerate
LandslideModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, hail, wildfire, strong wind, inland flooding, ice storm, cold wave, winter weather.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 68 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta IntlATL68 mi12,390 ft
Augusta Rgnl At Bush FldAGS107 mi8,001 ft
Valdosta RgnlVLD146 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
65
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.