City · Putnam County, Georgia

Eatonton, Georgia

Eatonton is a city in Putnam County, Georgia. It has 6,515 residents. Eatonton, Georgia has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,968 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Georgia it ranks #231 of 386 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), drinking water violations (low) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on loneliness (high), mental health providers (low) and adult obesity (high).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,968 of 15,651 cities and towns
Georgia: #231 of 386 in GA
Population: 6,515 (2020-2024)
Land area: 21 mi²
Density: 317.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 1326084

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety34#10,366/15,637
Economy21#12,423/15,631
Housing22#11,650/14,977
Health16#13,085/15,609
Healthcare14#13,519/15,650
Environment18#12,641/15,453
Education45#8,668/15,649
Infrastructure4#15,088/15,650
Community21#12,308/15,651
Leisure & amenities68#5,034/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Eatonton, Georgia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Putnam 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

Time spent in the emergency room · low123 min
86/100Georgia 168 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesPutnam County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Georgia 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePutnam County value
Mammography screening · high53.0%
85/100Georgia 44.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePutnam County value
Depression · low20.0%
83/100Georgia 19.3%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
New business applications · high17.7 /1k
82/100Georgia 22.5 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauPutnam County value
Students per teacher · low12.1×
81/100Georgia 14.1×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsPutnam County value

Weaknesses

Loneliness · high40.9%
3/100Georgia 37.9%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Mental health providers · low43 /100k
4/100Georgia 201 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePutnam County value
Adult obesity · high45.1%
5/100Georgia 39.1%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Primary care shortage · high18.0
5/100Georgia 8.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPutnam County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high22.5%
6/100Georgia 14.0%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.559
6/100Georgia 0.477United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
38.9% (2015-2019) → 11.8% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.0% (2015-2019) → 83.4% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
44.8% (2015-2019) → 58.2% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.0% (2015-2019) → 36.4% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$37,398 (2015-2019) → $56,250 (2020-2024)
+50%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Eatonton, Georgia improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 8 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+20 points63.0% → 83.4%

Declined1

Inequality+0.1340.425 → 0.559

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Eatonton, Georgia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.2 min2015-2019	23.3 min2020-2024	+4.1 min	Within the margin of error	13%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.3%2015-2019	20.4%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Broadband subscriptions	63.0%2015-2019	83.4%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	91%
Effective property tax rate	0.89%2015-2019	0.98%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	7%
High school diploma or higher	86.1%2015-2019	83.4%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4252015-2019	0.5592020-2024	+0.134	Declined	2%
Median household income	$37,3982015-2019	$56,2502020-2024	+50%	Within the margin of error	85%
Poverty rate	22.1%2015-2019	16.6%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Rent-burdened households	44.8%2015-2019	58.2%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.0%2015-2019	22.5%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	39%

“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 Eatonton, Georgia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Eatonton, 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, Eatonton, Georgia itself moved −14.4 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

6,515 residents (±26)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

2,521 households (±221)

Eatonton, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $25k25%†633
$25k–50k19%†469
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,521 households (±221)

Eatonton, Georgia
Georgia share

Own76%1,925
Rent24%†596

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,579 workers (±440)

Eatonton, Georgia
Georgia share

Drive alone81%2,101
Carpool11%†273
Public transit0.5%†14

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 Putnam County, the county holding most of Eatonton's residents.

Putnam County has 546 employer establishments, 235 for every 10,000 residents (0.95× the US rate of 248; 1.00× Georgia's), with 5,509 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,089. The Census Bureau also counts 2,492 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 546; 2,492 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 235; US 248 · Georgia 236
Paid employees: 5,509
Average annual pay: $48,089; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	42	18.1	1.17×About typical	285	$44,811	233
Services to buildings and dwellings	37	16	2.37×More than typical	268	$44,384	301
Ambulatory health care services	31	13.4	0.64×Fewer than typical	229	$42,734	68
Lessors of real estate	29	12.5	1.02×About typical	34	$76,735	249
Restaurants and other eating places	28	12.1	0.66×Fewer than typical	557	$26,158	11
Construction of buildings	27	11.6	1.54×More than typical	139	$113,367	118
Landscaping services	18	7.8	2.22×More than typical	222	$46,252	105
Religious organizations	17	7.3	1.32×More than typical	94	$24,266	—
Gasoline stations	16	6.9	2.13×More than typical	87	$27,494	—
Real estate agents and brokers	16	6.9	1.42×More than typical	11	$166,000	70
Full-service restaurants	15	6.5	0.84×About typical	330	$33,648	4
Offices of physicians	15	6.5	1.00×About typical	131	$45,519	10

Rank places for an industry Open Putnam County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 23,193 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 $19.2K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Eatonton, Georgia: $2.95 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $19.2K; −60% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.95; US $1,994
Sole-source: 4.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 13%; 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

Forest Service$15.2K79%
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service$3,39118%
Department of the Army$6273.3%

Top recipients

NUTTER & ASSOCIATES INC$8,14442%
ENVIRONMENTAL TRADE, INC$3,39118%
FEDERAL CONTRACTS LLC$2,44913%
APC EQUIPMENT & MANUFACTURING INC$1,0925.7%
GERMRIP LLC$9585.0%

Spending by fiscal year

18.1KFY2017
17.4KFY2018
48.5KFY2019
37.3KFY2020
38.6KFY2021
27.3KFY2022
214KFY2023
56.2KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for forestry · 1153$8,14442%
Other support services · 5619$3,39118%
Motor vehicle manufacturing · 3361$2,44913%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$1,8199.5%
Other motor vehicle dealers · 4412$1,0925.7%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$923

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 Eatonton, Georgia, so they do not add up across cities.

Eatonton, Georgia's figures are part of those of Putnam County, GA ($296.8K in FY2026), never added to them: 6.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in Putnam 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.

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

House

Mike CollinsR-GA-10 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.1%

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.

Putnam County27100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Putnam County

Largest first.

Crooked Creek798

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/1326084

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends