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USDA eligibility map: Georgia

About 89.6% of Georgia's area is in USDA-eligible rural areas, by HeritageDeed's estimate from USDA Rural Development's published eligibility map, the 44th highest share among the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico. 113 of 159 counties have no ineligible area at all, and Bibb County, Clayton County, Cobb County and DeKalb County and 3 more are entirely ineligible. 152 Census places in Georgia lie mostly inside ineligible areas, including Macon-Bibb County, Forest Park city, Mableton city, Stonecrest city and Buford city.

89.6%
of the area is USDA eligible (estimate)
6,134
square miles mapped ineligible
113 of 159
counties with no ineligible area
152
Census places mostly ineligible

Check a Georgia address

USDA eligible area by county

The share of each county's area that is USDA eligible, and the places (cities, towns and census-designated places) at least half inside ineligible areas. These are estimates; check any single property with the lookup.

USDA eligible share of area and mostly ineligible places by county in Georgia
countyArea eligibleMostly ineligible places
Appling County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Atkinson County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Bacon County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Baker County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Baldwin County81.8%Milledgeville city, Hardwick CDP
Banks County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Barrow County97.9%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Bartow County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Ben Hill County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Berrien County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Bibb County0%Macon-Bibb County
Bleckley County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Brantley County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Brooks County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Bryan County99.9%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Bulloch County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Burke County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Butts County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Calhoun County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Camden County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Candler County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Carroll County87.6%Carrollton city
Catoosa County85.8%Fort Oglethorpe city, Lakeview CDP
Charlton County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Chatham County13.1%Savannah city, Skidaway Island CDP, Garden City city, Wilmington Island CDP, Georgetown CDP, Whitemarsh Island CDP, Montgomery CDP, Dutch Island CDP, and 6 more
Chattahoochee County25.4%Cusseta-Chattahoochee County unified government
Chattooga County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Cherokee County35.6%Canton city, Woodstock city, Holly Springs city
Clarke County0.2%Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance), Winterville city
Clay County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Clayton County0%Forest Park city, Riverdale city, Morrow city, Irondale CDP, Jonesboro city, Lovejoy city, Conley CDP, Lake City city, and 1 more
Clinch County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Cobb County0%Mableton city, Marietta city, Smyrna city, Acworth city, Kennesaw city, Powder Springs city, Austell city, Vinings CDP, and 2 more
Coffee County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Colquitt County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Columbia County62.2%Evans CDP, Martinez CDP, Grovetown city
Cook County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Coweta County79.4%Newnan city, East Newnan CDP
Crawford County99.9%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Crisp County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Dade County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Dawson County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Decatur County100%None: the whole county is eligible
DeKalb County0%Stonecrest city, Tucker city, Dunwoody city, Brookhaven city, Redan CDP, Chamblee city, Candler-McAfee CDP, Doraville city, and 13 more
Dodge County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Dooly County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Dougherty County67.9%Albany city
Douglas County33.6%Douglasville city, Lithia Springs CDP
Early County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Echols County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Effingham County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Elbert County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Emanuel County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Evans County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Fannin County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Fayette County0.1%Peachtree City city, Fayetteville city, Tyrone town, Brooks town, Woolsey town
Floyd County80.0%Rome city, Lindale CDP, Berry College CDP
Forsyth County43.4%Cumming city
Franklin County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Fulton County13.0%Atlanta city, South Fulton city, Roswell city, Milton city, Sandy Springs city, Johns Creek city, Alpharetta city, Union City city, and 5 more
Gilmer County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Glascock County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Glynn County58.4%Brunswick city, St. Simons CDP, Jekyll Island CDP, Dock Junction CDP, Country Club Estates CDP, Sterling CDP
Gordon County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Grady County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Greene County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Gwinnett County0%Buford city, Peachtree Corners city, Lawrenceville city, Sugar Hill city, Suwanee city, Snellville city, Duluth city, Lilburn city, and 5 more
Habersham County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Hall County48.9%Gainesville city, Flowery Branch city, Oakwood city, Rest Haven town
Hancock County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Haralson County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Harris County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Hart County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Heard County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Henry County47.3%Stockbridge city, McDonough city
Houston County73.3%Warner Robins city, Centerville city, Robins AFB CDP
Irwin County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Jackson County100%Braselton town
Jasper County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Jeff Davis County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Jefferson County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Jenkins County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Johnson County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Jones County89.1%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Lamar County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Lanier County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Laurens County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Lee County92.9%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Liberty County91.6%Hinesville city, Flemington city, Walthourville city, Allenhurst city
Lincoln County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Long County96.4%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Lowndes County75.8%Valdosta city, Bemiss CDP, Moody AFB CDP, Remerton city
Lumpkin County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Macon County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Madison County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Marion County100%None: the whole county is eligible
McDuffie County100%None: the whole county is eligible
McIntosh County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Meriwether County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Miller County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Mitchell County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Monroe County99.8%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Montgomery County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Morgan County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Murray County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Muscogee County0%Columbus city
Newton County84.7%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Oconee County99.9%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Oglethorpe County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Paulding County51.3%Dallas city, Hiram city
Peach County98.0%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Pickens County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Pierce County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Pike County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Polk County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Pulaski County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Putnam County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Quitman County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Rabun County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Randolph County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Richmond County0.1%Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance), Hephzibah city, Blythe city
Rockdale County0%Conyers city, Lakeview Estates CDP, Milstead CDP
Schley County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Screven County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Seminole County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Spalding County56.4%Griffin city, Experiment CDP, East Griffin CDP
Stephens County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Stewart County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Sumter County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Talbot County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Taliaferro County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Tattnall County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Taylor County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Telfair County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Terrell County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Thomas County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Tift County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Toombs County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Towns County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Treutlen County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Troup County73.9%LaGrange city
Turner County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Twiggs County99.9%None mostly inside; part of the area is ineligible
Union County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Upson County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Walker County91.9%Fairview CDP, Chattanooga Valley CDP, Lookout Mountain city, Rossville city
Walton County84.9%Loganville city
Ware County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Warren County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Washington County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Wayne County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Webster County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Wheeler County100%None: the whole county is eligible
White County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Whitfield County80.3%Dalton city
Wilcox County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Wilkes County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Wilkinson County100%None: the whole county is eligible
Worth County100%None: the whole county is eligible

How USDA decides what is rural

The rural-area definition is section 520 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490): open country and places not part of or associated with an urban area with up to 2,500 people, up to 10,000 if rural in character, or up to 20,000 outside a metropolitan statistical area with a serious lack of mortgage credit for lower and moderate-income families. Areas that lost rural status in the 1990 to 2020 censuses stay rural until 2030 census data arrive if they have 10,000 to 35,000 people and meet the same conditions. Income is a separate test, applied to the household by the lender and USDA.

For other address-level designations in Georgia, the free census tract lookup shows the income level and QCT and DDA status, and Georgia has 260 designated Opportunity Zone tracts (Opportunity Zone lookup).

Questions

Is Georgia eligible for USDA loans?

Much of it is. About 89.6% of the state's area is outside USDA's ineligible areas (6,134 of about 58,942 square miles are ineligible). 113 counties are entirely eligible. Most people live in the larger towns, which are often ineligible, so check the specific address.

Which Georgia counties have the least USDA eligible area?

Bibb County (0% eligible), Clayton County (0% eligible), Cobb County (0% eligible), DeKalb County (0% eligible), Gwinnett County (0% eligible). The share is of land area, by HeritageDeed's estimate from USDA's map; eligibility is decided for each property.

Which Georgia towns are not eligible for USDA loans?

Places USDA's map shows as mostly inside an ineligible area include Macon-Bibb County, Forest Park city, Mableton city, Stonecrest city, Buford city, Columbus city, Conyers city and Peachtree City city. The county table on this page lists every place that is mostly ineligible. Edges matter: part of a town, or land just outside it, can be on the other side of the line, so check the address.

How do I check a Georgia address for USDA eligibility?

Enter the street address in the lookup on this page. It locates the address and checks it against USDA's published rural eligibility map. It is a screening: Rural Development makes the final determination on a complete application, and household income is a separate test (USDA's income eligibility tool).

When was the USDA eligibility map for Georgia last updated?

The ineligible areas on USDA's map for Georgia carry an effective date of July 25, 2023. USDA updates the map from ineligible-area changes sent in by its state offices. The statute keeps formerly rural areas of 10,000 to 35,000 people rural until data from the 2030 census arrive, if they still meet its conditions.

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Legal references

Areas are computed by HeritageDeed: estimates, not USDA figures. USDA's map is not a final determination; Rural Development decides on a complete application. HeritageDeed is not affiliated with USDA.

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