Georgia County Map with Cities and Towns [GA, US]

Georgia, known as “The Peach State,” has 159 counties, the second-highest county count of any U.S. state after Texas. The county system extends from the Appalachian mountains in north Georgia to the Atlantic coast and the Coastal Plain in the south.

✅Georgia County Map

PDF: Georgia County Map PDF

Georgia Counties: County Seat, Creation Year, GEOID & Total Area

Data note: County names and five-digit GEOIDs match the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2025 Gazetteer. Total area is land area plus water area from the same Census dataset, rounded to the nearest square mile. The first two GEOID digits, 13, identify Georgia; the final three digits are the county FIPS code. County creation years were checked against Georgia Archives records and Georgia county histories; Carroll, Coweta, Lee, Muscogee, and Troup use 1825, the year the legislature established the five sections that were officially named as counties in 1826. County seats were cross-checked with Georgia state and county records. Columbia County’s official county seat is Appling, although many county offices operate in Evans. Crawford County’s county seat remains Knoxville even though Roberta is its main incorporated city. Telfair County’s seat is McRae-Helena, formed by the 2015 merger of McRae and Helena.

County Governance Structure

Georgia county governments do not all use the same administrative arrangement. Most are governed by a board of commissioners, while some use other forms permitted under state and local law. Consolidated city-county governments combine municipal and county functions in several parts of the state.

• A county governing authority, commonly a board of commissioners
• A county manager or administrator in counties that use that position
• Elected constitutional officers such as the sheriff, clerk of superior court, tax commissioner, and probate judge
• Planning, zoning, public works, public safety, and other local services where provided by the county
• County school districts that operate as separate local education agencies rather than departments of county government

Major Cities and Population Centers

Georgia’s largest concentration of population is in and around metropolitan Atlanta, while other urban centers serve central, western, southern, and coastal parts of the state.

Major Cities in Georgia

• Atlanta (Fulton and DeKalb counties) – State capital and the state’s largest city
• Columbus (Muscogee County) – Consolidated city-county on the Alabama border
• Augusta (Richmond County) – Consolidated city-county on the Savannah River
• Savannah (Chatham County) – Coastal city and major port
• Athens (Clarke County) – Center of the consolidated Athens-Clarke County government and home to the University of Georgia
• Sandy Springs (Fulton County) – Large suburban city north of Atlanta
• Macon (Bibb County) – Center of the consolidated Macon-Bibb County government
• Roswell (Fulton County) – Suburban city north of Atlanta
• Johns Creek (Fulton County) – Suburban city northeast of Atlanta
• Warner Robins (Houston and Peach counties) – Central Georgia city associated with Robins Air Force Base

Geographic Regions

Georgia’s 159 counties cross several physical and economic regions with different landscapes and settlement patterns.

Metro Atlanta

Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Clayton, and nearby counties form the state’s largest metropolitan area and its main concentration of employment and population.

North Georgia Mountains

Counties such as Union, Towns, Rabun, White, Fannin, and Gilmer include Appalachian terrain, mountain communities, forests, reservoirs, and tourism areas.

Central Georgia

Counties including Baldwin, Bibb, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach, and surrounding areas combine historic towns, agriculture, military activity, manufacturing, logistics, and growing urban centers.

South Georgia

Much of south Georgia lies in the Coastal Plain, where agriculture and forestry remain major land uses. Counties in this part of the state are associated with crops such as peanuts, cotton, pecans, and vegetables.

Coastal Georgia

Georgia’s six Atlantic coastal counties are Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty, and McIntosh. The region includes ports, barrier islands, tidal marshes, military installations, tourism centers, and protected natural areas.

Historical Development

Georgia’s county map developed through repeated creation, division, consolidation, and boundary changes.

• Original counties: Eight counties were created in 1777: Burke, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Richmond, and Wilkes.
• Expansion of the county map: New counties were formed as Georgia extended settlement and government into lands previously held by Native nations through cessions, treaties, state actions, and forced removal.
• County-seat access: The large number of relatively small counties partly reflects an era when travel to courthouses and county seats depended on horse, wagon, and early road networks.
• Peak county count: Georgia reached 161 counties before Campbell and Milton counties were merged into Fulton County. The state has had 159 counties since 1932.
• Consolidated governments: City-county consolidation has been adopted in places including Columbus-Muscogee, Athens-Clarke, Augusta-Richmond, and Macon-Bibb.

Economic Specializations

Economic activity differs across Georgia’s metropolitan, agricultural, mountain, and coastal counties.

Metro Atlanta Region

• Corporate and professional services
• Technology and media
• Transportation and logistics centered on major highway, rail, and air connections
• Film and television production

Agricultural Regions

• Poultry production in north and northeast Georgia
• Peanut and cotton production across much of south and central Georgia
• Pecan production in several central and southern counties
• Vidalia onion production within the state-defined production area in southeast Georgia

Coastal Region

• Port operations in Savannah and Brunswick
• Tourism and hospitality
• Manufacturing and forest-products industries
• Military installations

Notable Characteristics

• County identifiers: Federal geographic datasets identify each Georgia county with a five-digit GEOID beginning with the state code 13.
• Consolidated governments: Several counties share a unified government with their principal city.
• School governance: County and independent city school districts are separate local education agencies with their own boards and administration.
• Georgia Militia Districts: These historic subdivisions remain visible in some land records, legal descriptions, and local references.
• Geographic range: Georgia counties extend from Appalachian mountain terrain to Piedmont uplands, the Coastal Plain, tidal marshes, and Atlantic barrier islands.

Planning and Development

Regional planning allows counties and cities to coordinate on issues that cross local boundaries.

• Regional Commissions: Georgia has 12 regional commissions that assist local governments with planning and related programs.
• Metropolitan Planning Organizations: These organizations coordinate federally required transportation planning in urbanized areas.
• Department of Community Affairs: The state agency administers planning programs and works with local governments and regional commissions.
• City-county coordination: Consolidated governments and intergovernmental agreements can combine planning or service delivery across municipal and county functions.

Georgia’s 159 counties remain the primary county-level units used for local government, courts, property administration, elections, Census geography, and many state programs.