Georgia covers 57,906 square miles, with a 2019 estimated population of 10,617,423 people – with 1,804,346 people living in rural Georgia (USDA-ERS). Atlanta is the state capital, and the state's largest cities are Atlanta, Augusta, and Columbus. According to 2019 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 60.2% of the state's population is white, 32.6% is African-American, 4.4% is Asian, 0.5% is American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1% is Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 9.9% is of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Georgia Rural Healthcare Facilities

According to data.HRSA.gov, as of April 2021 Georgia had:

• 30 Critical Access Hospitals
• 101 Rural Health Clinics
• 156 Federally Qualified Health Center sites located outside of Urbanized Areas
• 45 short term hospitals located outside of Urbanized Areas

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural Georgia

13.4% of Georgia residents lack health insurance (Kaiser, 2019). According to the Economic Research Service, the average per capita income for Georgia residents in 2019 was $48,236, with the rural per capita income at $36,168. The ERS reports, based on 2019 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural Georgia is 19.4%, compared with 12.4% in urban areas of the state. 18.6% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 11.6% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma according to 2015-2019 ACS data reported by ERS. The unemployment rate in rural Georgia is 3.8%, while in urban Georgia it is 3.4% (USDA-ERS, 2019).

Georgia State Office of Rural Health
Phone: 299.401.3090
Works to improve access to health care in rural areas and reduce health status disparities. A division of the Georgia Department of Community Health.
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