Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety26#11,593/15,637
Economy11#13,835/15,631
Housing20#11,999/14,977
Health18#12,873/15,609
Healthcare1#15,511/15,650
Environment12#13,590/15,453
Education52#7,435/15,649
Infrastructure32#10,653/15,650
Community23#12,008/15,651
Leisure & amenities28#11,319/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Blackshear, Georgia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Pierce County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Math scores · high3.47
95/100Georgia 2.92United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value
Child care cost burden · low20.6%
93/100Georgia 23.0%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value
Comfortable days · high32.5%
88/100Georgia 31.5%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPierce County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high1.9 /10k
88/100Georgia 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPierce County value
Pharmacies · high2.4 /10k
87/100Georgia 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPierce County value
Reading scores · high3.22
80/100Georgia 2.97United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high100%
1/100Georgia 73%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAPierce County value
Mental health care shortage · high20.0
1/100Georgia 9.6United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPierce County value
Dentists · low10 /100k
1/100Georgia 54 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Georgia 5.9United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPierce County value
Homicide rate · high12.7 /100k
4/100Georgia 7.4 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataPierce County value
Mental health providers · low44 /100k
5/100Georgia 201 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateImproving
55.4% (2015-2019) → 23.4% (2020-2024)
−32 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
66.3% (2015-2019) → 91.0% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
62.1% (2015-2019) → 71.1% (2020-2024)
+9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$29,052 (2015-2019) → $40,670 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherWorsening
87.1% (2015-2019) → 80.6% (2020-2024)
−6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Poverty rateImproving
29.5% (2015-2019) → 23.3% (2020-2024)
−6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Blackshear, Georgia improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+25 points66.3% → 91.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Blackshear, Georgia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.4 min2015-2019	20.2 min2020-2024	−0.2 min	Within the margin of error	49%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.6%2015-2019	15.5%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Broadband subscriptions	66.3%2015-2019	91.0%2020-2024	+25 points	Improved	95%
Effective property tax rate	1.06%2015-2019	1.09%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	11%
High school diploma or higher	87.1%2015-2019	80.6%2020-2024	−6.5 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	3.4×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	86%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5522015-2019	0.4422020-2024	−0.110	Within the margin of error	97%
Median household income	$29,0522015-2019	$40,6702020-2024	+40%	Within the margin of error	74%
Poverty rate	29.5%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	−6.2 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Rent as share of income	36.0%2015-2019	32.2%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Rent-burdened households	62.1%2015-2019	71.1%2020-2024	+9 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.1%2015-2019	17.0%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	11%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Blackshear, Georgia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Blackshear, Georgia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Blackshear, Georgia itself moved +8.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

3,578 residents (±17)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,578 residents (±17)

Blackshear, Georgia
Georgia share

White67%2,406
Black27%†953
Hispanic or Latino4.2%†149

Education

2,577 residents (±315)

Blackshear, Georgia
Georgia share

No high school diploma19%†499
High school or GED42%1,076
Some college14%†371

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,580 households (±259)

Blackshear, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $25k30%†474
$25k–50k30%†472
$50k–75k13%†207
$75k–100k6.7%†106
$100k–150k13%†212
$150k–200k3.0%†48
$200k or more3.9%†61

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,580 households (±259)

Blackshear, Georgia
Georgia share

Own61%966
Rent39%614

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

522 households (±154)

Blackshear, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $75029%†151
$750–1,00063%†329
$1,000–1,5008.0%†42

Home values

966 homes (±224)

Blackshear, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $150k54%†517
$150k–250k31%†296
$250k–400k16%†153

Age of homes

1,664 homes (±260)

Blackshear, Georgia
Georgia share

2010 or later3.6%†60
2000–200919%†319
1980–199931%†509

Size of homes

1,664 homes (±260)

Blackshear, Georgia
Georgia share

Studio2.1%†35
1 bedroom4.7%†78
2 bedrooms17%†287

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,380 workers (±258)

Blackshear, Georgia
Georgia share

Drive alone85%1,173
Carpool11%†146
Public transit0.2%†3
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home4.2%†58
Other0.0%0

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,322 workers (±253)

Blackshear, Georgia
Georgia share

Under 15 min32%†426
15–29 min53%†703
30–44 min9.4%†124

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Waycross, GA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Pierce County, the county holding most of Blackshear's residents.

Pierce County has 371 employer establishments, 182 for every 10,000 residents (0.73× the US rate of 248; 0.77× Georgia's), with 3,712 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,801. The Census Bureau also counts 1,491 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 371; 1,491 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 182; US 248 · Georgia 236
Paid employees: 3,712
Average annual pay: $46,801; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Pierce County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	28	13.7	0.89×About typical	239	$35,741	135
Restaurants and other eating places	25	12.2	0.67×Fewer than typical	397	$14,458	7
Religious organizations	21	10.3	1.85×More than typical	92	$25,380	—
Construction of buildings	19	9.3	1.23×About typical	55	$40,109	69
Ambulatory health care services	18	8.8	0.42×Fewer than typical	116	$51,767	52
Lessors of real estate	17	8.3	0.68×Fewer than typical	41	$36,951	103
Building equipment contractors	15	7.3	1.22×About typical	155	$35,981	24
Truck transportation	15	7.3	1.45×More than typical	168	$59,887	70
Gasoline stations	13	6.4	1.96×More than typical	82	$21,963	—
Limited-service restaurants	13	6.4	0.79×Fewer than typical	305	$13,289	4
Services to buildings and dwellings	12	5.9	0.87×About typical	54	$35,796	158
General merchandise stores	11	5.4	3.05×More than typical	76	$19,158	12

Rank places for an industry Open Pierce County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,426 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Blackshear, Georgia: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

BUILDERS SUPPLY INC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

8.9KFY2017
14.3KFY2018
8.7KFY2019
6.7KFY2020
733.2FY2024
9.1KFY2025
0FY2026

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Blackshear, Georgia, so they do not add up across cities.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Blackshear is mostly in Pierce County.

See federal money in Pierce County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Blackshear, Georgia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Earl L. "Buddy" CarterR-GA-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 5.5%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Pierce County19100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Waycross, GA3

Other cities and towns in Pierce County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1308284