What are the top 5 most depressed small towns (less than 30,000) in South Georgia?

[GRS86]

Originally Posted by Mad_Jasper

We were making routine trips to Thomasville before moving to Florida. I think Thomasville has more going for it than many other cities in South Georgia, but I would not necessarily call it a thriving city.

I think that you are spot on in the assessment of both Albany and Thomasville!!!

[HurrMark]

What about Dawson? I read that in the 70s it was arguably the most racist town in America where it was like the Civil Rights Movement never happened...how is it today?

[FeRail]

I was just viewing the U.S. Census data for South Georgia, and I was surprised by how much the region has shrunk in population. It looks like the counties next to Florida only experienced a small amount of growth (Thomasville and Bainbridge). I would think that Albany would experience some growth due to the proximity to Columbus, GA and Tallahassee, FL. However, Lee County experienced a high amount of growth, which is directly north of Dougherty County where Albany is located.

[beach43ofus]

Monroe always looked very depressed to me. They lost their major employer, and it went straight downhill.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

Monroe always looked very depressed to me. They lost their major employer, and it went straight downhill.

Are you talking about the city of Monroe, Georgia?

Monroe is not located in South Georgia.

Monroe is located in North Georgia about 45 miles east of Downtown Atlanta and about 25 miles southwest of the University of Georgia flagship campus and Downtown Athens in fast-growing exurban Walton County.

Not unlike many rural areas, Monroe may have experienced some economic challenges in the past but does not seem to be experiencing too many economic challenges right now as the city is about to be the site of a new Publix-anchored shopping center which is slated to open in early 2022.

Publix retail development on track for January 2022 opening, officials say

Publix does not open new grocery stores in depressed and/or declining areas as the city of Monroe proper grew by more than 11 percent between 2010 and 2020 while Walton County as a whole grew by more than 13 percent between 2010 and 2020.

So by virtue of Monroe and Walton County’s fairly robust recent growth rates and the area’s fairly favorable North Georgia geographical location between Atlanta and Athens, Monroe and Walton County do not at all appear to belong in the category of ‘depressed small towns in South Georgia.’

As for South Georgia, many (if not most) areas in that part of the state seem to be experiencing deepening challenges with economic and population decline, particularly areas that are located inland from the Atlantic Coast and are located a significant distance away from Interstate superhighways.

Ufortunately that’s just simply because major businesses and corporations most often will not be attracted to sparsely populated areas away from major highways.

The deepening economic decline of geographically and socially isolated areas is not just a problem in South Georgia but is a problem all over the country and in many parts of the world, so South Georgia definitely is not alone in this aspect.

[Southern Soul Bro]

Originally Posted by HurrMark

What about Dawson? I read that in the 70s it was arguably the most racist town in America where it was like the Civil Rights Movement never happened...how is it today?

Dawson, GA is nearly 80% African American. There's a guy on YouTube who drives around the entire country, documenting impoverished areas. He just posted a video driving through Dawson a couple weeks ago.

https://youtu.be/-fu5EIfhogo