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Towns / Georgia

Mount Vernon, Georgia

Mount Vernon is a college town of about 1,900 people in Montgomery County, Georgia. It's the county seat. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Jacksonville, is about 139 miles away as the crow flies.

College townCounty seat

Population
1,925
down 2.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$69,800
Montgomery County prices up 45% since 2022
Household income
$32,933
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Georgia
87
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
Vidalia, GA
To Jacksonville
139 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13% below the U.S. average in the parts of Georgia outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Mount Vernon itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMemorial Health Meadows Hospital in Vidalia, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityJacksonville is about 139 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Mount Vernon meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

College town. About 1 in 6 residents is a college student, with Brewton-Parker College in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$69,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 45%Montgomery County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$614 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$32,933U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
66%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
7%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
87U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Georgia outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 45% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Georgia outside metro areas, not Mount Vernon alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,9252020: 1,971
Median age
29.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
14%U.S.: 6%
College students
17%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (38%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (17%); manufacturing (10%)
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
39%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Memorial Health Meadows Hospital, Vidalia, GA, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Mount Vernon, run by Montgomery County.

Colleges in or next to town: Brewton-Parker College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Georgia's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
50%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
84%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
38°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
82 a year
Nights at or below freezing
33 a year
Rain and melted snow
50.9 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
173 feet

Weather station: Hazlehurst (21 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Memorial Health Meadows Hospital, Warner Robins, Jacksonville.

Montgomery County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Campus life. Check Brewton-Parker College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Mount Vernon's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mount Vernon?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Ailey, GA517 people, 1 mile
  • Glenwood, GA806 people, 4 miles
  • Higgston, GA305 people, 8 miles
  • Alston, GA175 people, 10 miles
  • Uvalda, GA438 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.