Census-designated place · Dougherty County, Georgia

Putney, Georgia

Putney is a census-designated place in Dougherty County, Georgia, part of the Albany, GA metro area. It has 3,150 residents. Putney, Georgia has a quality-of-life score of 6 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,674 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Georgia it ranks #281 of 386 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), new business applications (high) and drinking water violations (low). It ranks worst on primary care shortage (high), homicide rate (high) and food environment index (low).

6Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,674 of 15,651 cities and towns
Georgia: #281 of 386 in GA
Population: 3,150 (2020-2024)
Land area: 22 mi²
Density: 143.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 1363084

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety2#15,272/15,637
Economy26#11,507/15,631
Housing35#9,746/14,977
Health21#12,408/15,609
Healthcare18#12,848/15,650
Environment17#12,809/15,453
Education17#13,047/15,649
Infrastructure20#12,540/15,650
Community12#13,826/15,651
Leisure & amenities49#7,998/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Home price to income ratio · low2.0×
92/100Georgia 3.9×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
New business applications · high20.1 /1k
91/100Georgia 22.5 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauDougherty County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Georgia 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDougherty County value
Comfortable days · high31.2%
84/100Georgia 31.5%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDougherty County value
Depression · low20.2%
82/100Georgia 19.3%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Primary care physicians · high95 /100k
80/100Georgia 67 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDougherty County value

Weaknesses

Primary care shortage · high22.0
0/100Georgia 8.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDougherty County value
Homicide rate · high25.4 /100k
1/100Georgia 7.4 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDougherty County value
Food environment index · low4.9
1/100Georgia 6.2United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDougherty County value
Reading scores · low2.46
1/100Georgia 2.97United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDougherty County value
Premature death · high15,738 /100k
3/100Georgia 9,221 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDougherty County value
Firearm deaths · high29.0 /100k
3/100Georgia 16.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDougherty County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,549 (2015-2019) → 3,150 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.1% (2015-2019) → 92.8% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
29.8% (2015-2019) → 47.1% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
49.1% (2015-2019) → 58.6% (2020-2024)
+9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
11.4% (2015-2019) → 18.3% (2020-2024)
+6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.1% (2015-2019) → 90.9% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Putney, 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+20 points73.1% → 92.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Putney, Georgia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.1 min2015-2019	23.4 min2020-2024	−0.7 min	Within the margin of error	56%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.0%2015-2019	24.6%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Broadband subscriptions	73.1%2015-2019	92.8%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Effective property tax rate	0.80%2015-2019	1.13%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	1%
High school diploma or higher	84.1%2015-2019	90.9%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Home price to income ratio	1.6×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	54%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4672015-2019	0.3922020-2024	−0.075	Within the margin of error	91%
Median household income	$57,9952015-2019	$68,6272020-2024	+18%	Within the margin of error	30%
Poverty rate	12.5%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	49.1%2015-2019	58.6%2020-2024	+9.5 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	24.8%2015-2019	20.8%2020-2024	−4 points	Within the margin of error	82%

“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 Putney, Georgia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Putney, 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, Putney, Georgia itself moved +5.9 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

3,150 residents (±424)

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

1,330 households (±169)

Putney, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $25k25%†337
$25k–50k13%†178
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,330 households (±169)

Putney, Georgia
Georgia share

Own72%952
Rent28%†378

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

1,386 workers (±286)

Putney, Georgia
Georgia share

Drive alone80%1,113
Carpool17%†232
Public transit0.0%0

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 Albany, 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 Dougherty County, the county holding most of Putney's residents.

Dougherty County has 2,220 employer establishments, 268 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 1.14× Georgia's), with 36,524 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,836. The Census Bureau also counts 8,272 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,220; 8,272 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 268; US 248 · Georgia 236
Paid employees: 36,524
Average annual pay: $48,836; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	197	23.8	1.14×About typical	3,277	$83,750	413
Restaurants and other eating places	176	21.3	1.16×About typical	3,716	$17,659	59
Limited-service restaurants	98	11.8	1.48×More than typical	1,908	$15,918	19
Lessors of real estate	88	10.6	0.86×About typical	247	$39,802	491
Legal services	77	9.3	1.73×More than typical	256	$70,742	46
Gasoline stations	69	8.3	2.57×More than typical	516	$22,812	10
Full-service restaurants	67	8.1	1.05×About typical	1,690	$19,840	21
Religious organizations	65	7.9	1.42×More than typical	529	$24,805	—
Offices of physicians	62	7.5	1.16×About typical	1,424	$134,311	54
Specialty trade contractors	61	7.4	0.48×Fewer than typical	963	$54,077	331
Clothing and accessories stores	57	6.9	1.90×More than typical	620	$15,881	159
Grocery and convenience stores	51	6.2	2.08×More than typical	931	$21,594	23

Rank places for an industry Open Dougherty County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 82,757 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 $134.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Putney, Georgia: $42.65 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $134.3K; +257% vs FY2025
Per resident: $42.65; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management$136.1K100%

Top recipients

MANAGEMENT & TRAINING CORPORATION$136.1K100%
NEW TECH SOLUTIONS, INC.$00.0%
BATES GAS COMPANY, INC.-$1,7970.0%

Spending by fiscal year

5.4MFY2017
2.2MFY2018
5.7MFY2019
4.7MFY2020
5.4MFY2021
5.9MFY2022
2.3MFY2023
-1.2MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Technical and trade schools · 6115$136.1K100%

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

Putney, Georgia's figures are part of those of Dougherty County, GA ($97.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Dougherty 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.

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

House

Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.D-GA-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 93%Missed 1.9%

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.

Dougherty County8100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Albany, GA5

Other cities and towns in Dougherty County

Largest first.

Albany367,224

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/1363084

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends