Central Georgia

Central Georgia is the area containing the metropolitan region surrounding the city of Macon, in Bibb County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It abuts the Atlanta metropolitan area, just to the north.

Similar and coextensive names for this region include Middle Georgia and the Heart of Georgia. While no precise definition exists there are several ways to group places as part of the area. A partial list:

• The Macon-Warner Robins-Fort Valley, GA Combined Statistical Area (population 417,473). The two components of the CSA are:
  • Macon Metropolitan Statistical Area (Bibb, Crawford, Jones, Monroe, and Twiggs counties)
  • Warner Robins Metropolitan Statistical Area (Houston, Peach, and Pulaski counties)
• Counties bordering Bibb are Crawford, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach, and Twiggs.
• Counties belonging to the Middle Georgia Regional Library System are Bibb, Crawford, Jones, Macon, Twiggs, and Wilkinson.
• Counties within the service areas of Central Georgia Technical College and Middle Georgia State University: Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Dodge, Dooly, Houston, Johnson, Jones, Laurens, Macon, Monroe, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Taylor, Twiggs, Upson, and Wilkinson.
• The Macon media market for TV ratings includes Bibb County and all of its neighboring counties, in addition to Baldwin, Bleckley, Dodge, Dooly, Hancock, Johnson, Laurens, Macon, Montgomery, Pulaski, Taylor, Telfair, Treutlen, Washington, Wheeler, Wilkinson, and Wilcox counties.[1]
• Counties belonging to the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition: Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach, and Twiggs.
• Other surrounding counties, such as Butts, Crisp, Jasper, Lamar, Montgomery, Pike, Putnam, Schley, Spalding, Sumter, Taylor, and Upson, are also included in the area at times.

Cities in Central Georgia

Some of the most prominent cities in middle Georgia, each with their own unique history and character, include:

Places with more than 100,000 inhabitants

• Macon Pop: 155,369, the area's anchor city, largest city and the center of the area. Contains museums, institutions of higher education, and historical buildings. In Bibb County. (Consolidated City-County Government)

Places with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants

• Warner Robins Pop: 72,531, grew up around Robins Air Force Base.

Other Suburbs, Cities and Counties

• Centerville, Rapidly growing suburban city just south of Macon and west of Warner Robins. The Galleria Mall there is the second largest mall in the Macon metropolitan area after the Macon Mall.
• Milledgeville, former state capital. The location of Georgia College and State University. In Baldwin County.
• Dublin, a city among the farthest away from Macon that is still considered Middle Georgia. In Laurens County.
• Fort Valley, the location of Fort Valley State University and the Lane Peach Packing Factory and Store. One of the 8 Blue Bird Bus factories in the U.S and Canada is located in the city. In Peach County.
• Cochran, the location of the former Middle Georgia College. In Bleckley County.
• Forsyth. Tift College was once located here. Sited on I-75 just north of Macon, in Monroe County.
• Perry, just south of Warner Robins and the location of the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter, Perdue and Frito Lay. In Houston County.
• Byron, about halfway between Macon and Warner Robins on I-75. The Peach Factory Outlets are located there, In Peach County.
• Eatonton, birthplace of authors Joel Chandler Harris (the "Uncle Remus" stories) and Alice Walker (The Color Purple). In Putnam County.

City	Population	County
Macon	153,925	Bibb
Warner Robins	73,265	Houston
Milledgeville	19,146	Baldwin
Perry	15,293	Houston
Fort Valley	8,975	Peach
Centerville	7,576	Houston
Byron	4,956	Peach
Forsyth	4,059	Monroe
Gray	3,281	Jones
Roberta	876	Crawford

Center

Twiggs County contains the actual geographic center of the state.

Universities and colleges in Central Georgia

• Middle Georgia State University
• Mercer University
• Central Georgia Technical College
• Georgia State College and University
• Wesleyan College [2]
• Georgia Military College
• Georgia College

Economy

The economy in Central Georgia tends to cluster around five areas: aerospace, healthcare and hospitals, kaolin, warehousing and distribution, and heritage and ecotourism. Macon is the region's retail and trade center and the Macon-Bibb county serves as the region's center of employment. The Central Georgia region has been competitive in the United States in terms of economic growth and stability, but within the state of Georgia, the region has not experienced much growth. The region lags behind most other regions in the state in terms of well-being of its residents and overall economic growth. As of 2017, over 46,000 workers from nearby counties commute to the Macon-Bibb county for work. To assist in business growth and development, the Macon Economic Development Commission recruits new businesses and industries to the region. In August 2017 the Canadian based Irving Consumer Products announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in Macon that would create additional jobs.

The Central Georgia Business and Technology Park in Thomaston is a 240-acre facility that houses tenants such as Southern Company, Solutions Pest & Lawn, Criterion Technologies, and Chief Manufacturing.

Houston County is located 75 miles south of the Atlanta International Airport, and home to Georgia's largest industrial complex at the Warner Robins Air Force Base. Houston county has more than 3,000 acres of land for industrial development and one of the lowest property tax rates in middle Georgia. The county is designated one of Georgia’s Entrepreneur Friendly Communities. Houston County has experienced a population growth, from 89,208 in 1990 to a population of 160,000 in 2015.

Major Employers

Central Georgia's largest employer is the Warner Robins Air Force Base, with more than 22,300 employees as of 2015, followed by Geico with over 5,690 employees and the Medical Center of Central Georgia, with over 4,600 employees. Other employers in the region include the Houston County Board of Education, Bibb County Board of Education, Houston Healthcare, Perdue Farms, the Macon-Bibb County Government, the Blue Bird Corp, Coliseum Health System, and Frito lay

Notable people

• Fish Scales — Alternative Southern Rap Artist
• Betty Cantrell — Miss America 2016
• Robert Waymouth — Chemistry professor at Stanford University
• Melvyn Douglas — Actor
• Carrie Preston — Actress
• Jack McBrayer — Actor
• Jason Aldean — Country Singer
• Sonny Perdue — Former Governor of Georgia
• Deborah Roberts — ABC News Correspondent
• Joel Godard — Late night show tv announcer
• Richard "Little Richard" Pennimon - Singer

Demographics

As of 2010, the estimated total population of central Georgia, including the counties of Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach, and Twiggs counties, was 445,608 people. The population has grown by 11% over the last 10 years. The fastest growth was reported in Houston County, which saw a population growth of 26.3% followed by Monroe (21.5%) and Jones (21.3%) Counties. The racial make-up of the region is 55.9% white, 38.7% Black and 1.6% asian, with about 1.8% identified as mixed or two more races. Houston county has the highest educational attainment for Bachelor's Degrees (14.5%) and Graduate or Professional Degrees (11.2%) for the population over 25 years old in the Central Georgia region in 2011.

Culture and attractions

Central Georgia has several cultural attractions that include the Ocmulgee National Monument, Georgia National Fairground, and the Museum of Aviation at the Robins Air Force Base. Macon is home to over 10 museums, 5 tours and 7 annual festivals. Some of the museums include the Tubman African American Museum, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, and the Museum of Arts & Sciences.

The region has an abundance of nature and wildlife; the High Falls state park is located just north west of Macon. High Falls was a prosperous Industrial town with several stores, including a mill, a cotton gin and a shoe factory until it fell from prosperity.

Popular Events

The region hosts several events each year, with Macon, the population center hosting over 20 annual events and has been nicknamed the festival capital of Georgia. Macon's popular events include the International Cherry Blossom Festival, the Bragg Jam, the Ocmulgee Indian Celebration. Other popular events include the Georgia Peach Festival which is hosted in Byron and Fort Valley, and the annual miss Georgia Peach pageant hosted in Fort Valley.

Transportation

The region features a regional airport, the Middle Georgia Regional Airport. The region is only hours away from the port of Savannah, a major U.S. seaport. Major freeways and highways in the region include, Interstate-75, Interstate-475, Interstate-16, Georgia State Route-80, Georgia State route-23, and Georgia State route-19.