The area of Georgia was part of the original territory of the United States. It was chartered as a colony in 1732. Georgia ratified the U.S. Constitution on January 2, 1788; it was the fourth of the original 13 states to join the Union. At that time, Georgia included territory that extended westward to the Mississippi River and now makes up most of Alabama and Mississippi. The territory west of the present state boundary was added to Mississippi Territory when Georgia ceded to the United States its claims to the territory in 1802. As part of this cession, Georgia obtained part of the South Carolina cession of 1787 from the federal government along its northern boundary. These changes left Georgia with generally the same boundary as the present state.

Census data for Georgia are available beginning with the 1790 census. No population was reported in 1790 for the portion of Georgia now within Alabama and Mississippi. The 1800 population shown for Georgia includes population in the territory that is now part of Alabama and Mississippi. For an explanation of the revision to the 1810 population of Georgia, see Richard L. Forstall, Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996, page 40.

AMERICAN INDIAN AREAS

Georgia has one state recognized American Indian reservation.

METROPOLITAN AND MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND RELATED STATISTICAL AREAS

Georgia has 15 metropolitan statistical areas, 24 micropolitan statistical areas, and 5 combined statistical areas.

COUNTIES

There are 159 counties in Georgia.  Six counties are not considered to be functioning because each has consolidated its services with an incorporated place.  Clarke County is served by the unified government of Athens-Clarke County.  Richmond County is served by the consolidated government of Augusta-Richmond County.  Chattahoochee county and the former Cusseta city consolidated to form the consolidated government of Cusseta-Chattahoochee County and is classified as a municipal government.  Columbus city and Muscogee County consolidated to form the consolidated government of Columbus and is classified as a municipal government.  Quitman county and the former Georgetown city consolidated and renamed to form the “unified government” of Georgetown-Quitman County (place).  Webster County Unified Government consolidated with Webster County and renamed to form the “unified government” of Webster County (place). Each county has a county government except for Chattahoochee, Clarke, Muscogee, Quitman, and Richmond counties.

COUNTY SUBDIVISIONS

There are 586 county subdivisions in Georgia. They are all census county divisions (CCDs), which are delineated for statistical purposes, have no legal function, and are not governmental units.  CCDs in Georgia were first established for the 1960 census.  Prior to the 1960 census, militia districts were used as county subdivisions.

PLACES

Georgia has 624 places; 535 incorporated places and 89 census designated places (CDPs).  The incorporated places consist of 425 cities, 105 towns, 2 balances of county representing the portion of the consolidated cities that are outside of other incorporated places (Athens-Clarke County unified government and the Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government), and 3 city-county unified governments (Georgetown-Quitman County, Cusseta-Chattahoochee County, and Webster County). 

CENSUS TRACTS/BLOCK GROUPS/BLOCKS

Georgia has 1,969 census tracts, 5,533 block groups, and 291,086 census blocks.

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

For the 111^th Congress (January 2009-January 2011), Georgia had 13 congressional districts.  For the 113^th Congress (January 2013-January 2015), Georgia has 14 congressional districts as a result of reapportionment based on the 2010 Census.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Georgia has 1 elementary school district, 2 secondary school districts, and 182 unified school districts.  The Department of Defense runs one elementary school district and two unified school districts in Georgia. 

STATE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS

There are 56 state senate districts and 180 state house districts in Georgia.

URBAN AREAS

Georgia has 123 urban areas; 16 urbanized areas and 107 urban clusters.

ZIP CODE TABULATION AREAS

There are 735 ZIP Code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) in Georgia. 

¹  Source:  U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1923
²  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, recomputation for historical county level data which relied upon aggregate county level population data with an estimated county centroid resulting in a possible error of up to one mile.
³  Source:  U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Centers of Population for States and Counties, 1974
⁴  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division, recomputation from archived national block group/enumeration area data resulting in a possible error of up to 1,000 feet.
⁵  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division, recomputation from archived national block group data resulting in a possible error of up to 1,000 feet.
⁶  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, computation from national block-level data