City · Screven County, Georgia

Sylvania, Georgia

Sylvania is a city in Screven County, Georgia. It has 2,618 residents. Sylvania, Georgia has a quality-of-life score of 3 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,254 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Georgia it ranks #331 of 386 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), pharmacies (high) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on dental care shortage (high), arts, entertainment and recreation (low) and primary care physicians (low).

3Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,254 of 15,651 cities and towns
Georgia: #331 of 386 in GA
Population: 2,618 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 518.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1375160

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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#15,299/15,637
Economy18#12,743/15,631
Housing58#6,245/14,977
Health16#13,148/15,609
Healthcare12#13,706/15,650
Environment10#13,904/15,453
Education18#12,813/15,649
Infrastructure0#15,593/15,650
Community12#13,778/15,651
Leisure & amenities15#13,272/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Sylvania, Georgia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Screven 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 · low93 min
98/100Georgia 168 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesScreven County value
Pharmacies · high2.8 /10k
94/100Georgia 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsScreven County value
Grocery stores · high2.8 /10k
93/100Georgia 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsScreven County value
Comfortable days · high32.8%
90/100Georgia 31.5%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationScreven County value
Unemployment rate · low1.8%
85/100Georgia 3.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Child care cost burden · low23.7%
81/100Georgia 23.0%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteScreven County value

Weaknesses

Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Georgia 5.9United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationScreven County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.7 /10k
2/100Georgia 4.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsScreven County value
Primary care physicians · low14 /100k
2/100Georgia 67 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteScreven County value
Average weekly wage · low$850
3/100Georgia $1,404United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsScreven County value
Loneliness · high40.4%
3/100Georgia 37.9%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Broadband subscriptions · low76.5%
3/100Georgia 91.0%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,949 (2015-2019) → 2,618 (2020-2024)
−11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
45.8% (2015-2019) → 28.5% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
50.3% (2015-2019) → 33.6% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
62.6% (2015-2019) → 76.5% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Unemployment rateImproving
11.0% (2015-2019) → 1.8% (2020-2024)
−9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$31,910 (2015-2019) → $46,033 (2020-2024)
+44%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Sylvania, Georgia improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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+14 points62.6% → 76.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Sylvania, Georgia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.2 min2015-2019	27.4 min2020-2024	−1.7 min	Within the margin of error	68%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.8%2015-2019	19.4%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Broadband subscriptions	62.6%2015-2019	76.5%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	76%
Child poverty rate	45.8%2015-2019	28.5%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Effective property tax rate	1.07%2015-2019	0.96%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	38%
High school diploma or higher	83.4%2015-2019	81.2%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.4×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	39%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4592015-2019	0.4392020-2024	−0.020	Within the margin of error	67%
Median household income	$31,9102015-2019	$46,0332020-2024	+44%	Within the margin of error	79%
Poverty rate	25.1%2015-2019	20.9%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	30.4%2015-2019	27.8%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Rent-burdened households	50.3%2015-2019	33.6%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.7%2015-2019	13.5%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%

“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 Sylvania, Georgia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sylvania, 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, Sylvania, Georgia itself moved +8.2 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

2,618 residents (±55)

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

955 households (±136)

Sylvania, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $25k32%†307
$25k–50k19%†184
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

955 households (±136)

Sylvania, Georgia
Georgia share

Own64%607
Rent36%†348

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

869 workers (±169)

Sylvania, Georgia
Georgia share

Drive alone91%793
Carpool4.4%†38
Public transit0.0%0

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 Screven County, the county holding most of Sylvania's residents.

Screven County has 245 employer establishments, 172 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.73× Georgia's), with 2,319 paid employees at an average annual pay of $39,240. The Census Bureau also counts 1,174 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 245; 1,174 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 172; US 248 · Georgia 236
Paid employees: 2,319
Average annual pay: $39,240; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	23	16.2	1.04×About typical	130	$44,038	106
Religious organizations	18	12.7	2.28×More than typical	78	$17,090	—
Gasoline stations	15	10.5	3.25×More than typical	54	$20,778	—
Truck transportation	12	8.4	1.67×More than typical	56	$39,036	101
Building equipment contractors	11	7.7	1.28×More than typical	85	$45,341	23
Restaurants and other eating places	11	7.7	0.42×Fewer than typical	131	$12,931	3
Services to buildings and dwellings	9	6.3	0.94×Too few to compare	78	$31,244	118
Automotive repair and maintenance	8	5.6	1.12×Too few to compare	42	$40,000	41
Child day care services	8	5.6	2.30×Too few to compare	62	$17,677	30
Banks and credit unions	7	4.9	1.52×Too few to compare	67	$46,075	—
General merchandise stores	7	4.9	2.78×Too few to compare	57	$19,772	10
Landscaping services	7	4.9	1.40×Too few to compare	40	$44,225	45

Rank places for an industry Open Screven County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 14,227 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Screven 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.

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

House

Rick W. AllenR-GA-12 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.6%

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.

Screven County5100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Screven 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/1375160

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends