Ben Hill County, Georgia

Ben Hill County
County
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°46′N 83°13′W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	1906
Seat	Fitzgerald
Largest city	Fitzgerald
Area
• Total	254 sq mi (658 km2)
• Land	252 sq mi (652 km2)
• Water	2 sq mi (6 km2)  0.88%
Population
• Estimate  (2006)	17,635
• Density	30/sq mi (12/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Website	www.benhillcounty.com

Ben Hill County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The constitutional amendment to create the county was proposed July 31, 1906 and ratified November 6, 1906. As of 2000, the population was 17,484. The 2007 Census Estimate placed the population at 17,650 [1]. The county seat is Fitzgerald, GeorgiaTemplate:GR.

Ben Hill County is part of the Fitzgerald Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The county is named after Benjamin Harvey Hill, a former Confederate and United States Senator.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 254 square miles (658 km²), of which, 252 square miles (652 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (6 km²) of it (0.88%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Wilcox County, Georgia - north
• Telfair County, Georgia - northeast
• Coffee County, Georgia - east
• Irwin County, Georgia - south
• Turner County, Georgia - west

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 17,484 people, 6,673 households, and 4,631 families residing in the county. The population density was 69 people per square mile (27/km²). There were 7,623 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 63.25% White, 32.64% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 2.85% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 4.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,673 households out of which 33.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.20% were married couples living together, 17.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.50% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 91.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,100, and the median income for a family was $33,023. Males had a median income of $26,750 versus $19,547 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,093. 22.30% of the population and 18.70% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 33.30% are under the age of 18 and 17.60% are 65 or older.

Cities and towns

• Fitzgerald
• Queensland
• Bowen's Mill