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Towns / Georgia

Tifton, Georgia

Tifton is a small town of about 17,600 people in Tift County, Georgia. It's the county seat. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.3 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 135 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
17,595
up 3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$196,200
Tift County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$45,298
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Georgia
87
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
19 miles
Ocilla, GA
To Jacksonville
135 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 4.3 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 Tifton 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 town10 public schools: 7 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byIrwin County Hospital in Ocilla, about 19 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityJacksonville is about 135 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 Tifton 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$196,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Tift County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$798 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$45,298U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
41%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,680 a yearGeorgia: $2,341
Homes built before 1940
5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Georgia outside metro areas, not Tifton 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
17,5952020: 17,079
Median age
34.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
10%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 (26%); retail (14%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (10%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
23%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Irwin County Hospital, Ocilla, GA, about 19 miles away. It's a rural emergency hospital (24-hour emergency care and outpatient services, no overnight stays). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Dorminy Medical Center, Fitzgerald, GA, about 24 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

10 public schools in Tifton, run by Tift County.

Colleges in or next to town: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural 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
53%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
77%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
37°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
74 a year
Nights at or below freezing
30 a year
Rain and melted snow
48.2 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
363 feet

Weather station: Tifton (3 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: Irwin County Hospital, Albany, Jacksonville.

Tift County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Tifton Commercial Historic District, Tifton Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase) and the Tifton Residential Historic District.

Campus life. Check Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Tifton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Tifton?

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

  • Phillipsburg, GA (unincorporated)193 people, 2 miles
  • Unionville, GA (unincorporated)2,000 people, 2 miles
  • Ty Ty, GA652 people, 8 miles
  • Sumner, GA430 people, 13 miles
  • Lenox, GA752 people, 14 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.