Camilla has been named the poorest town in Georgia in a recent 24/7 Wall St. analysis, based on poverty rate, income, unemployment, education, and population data. The town’s poverty rate was 46.7%, the highest in the state in that ranking, and its median household income was $27,306.
Why Camilla ranks last
The ranking looked at more than just income. It also weighed unemployment and educational attainment, and Camilla scored poorly across those measures as well, with an 11.3% unemployment rate and only 8.1% of adults holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. That combination helped push Camilla to the top of the poverty list.
What the numbers show
Camilla is a small city in Mitchell County with a population of 5,163. The gap between local earnings and the state average is part of what makes the town stand out economically. In similar Georgia poverty rankings, other towns such as McRae-Helena, Monroe, Thomaston, and Dublin also appear near the top.
A broader pattern in Georgia
Georgia’s poorest-town lists often change depending on the year and the data set, but they consistently show that several small and mid-sized towns face deep economic hardship.
Older reporting also identified Cordele as Georgia’s poorest town in an earlier analysis, showing how rankings can shift over time as economic conditions and methodology change. That means “poorest town” is a snapshot, not a permanent label.
Why this matters
These rankings are useful because they highlight where job access, wages, and educational opportunities may be lagging. They also remind readers that poverty is measured in more than one way, so a town can be struggling even if it is not the very lowest on every single metric. For communities like Camilla, the issue is not one statistic but a cluster of challenges that affect daily life.
SOURCES:
- https://247wallst.com/income/2024/05/06/towns-in-georgia-with-the-worst-poverty/
- https://www.ajc.com/news/local/this-the-poorest-town-georgia-income-inequality-analysis-finds/jiz1qOgss9nMWF7E9TSjmK/
