City · Worth County, Georgia

Sylvester, Georgia

Sylvester is a city in Worth County, Georgia, part of the Albany, GA metro area. It has 5,489 residents. Sylvester, Georgia has a quality-of-life score of 2 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,279 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Georgia it ranks #333 of 386 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), home price to income ratio (low) and new homes permitted (high). It ranks worst on mental health providers (low), dentists (low) and average weekly wage (low).

2Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,279 of 15,651 cities and towns
Georgia: #333 of 386 in GA
Population: 5,489 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 835.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 1375188

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.

Safety10#14,140/15,637
Economy9#14,294/15,631
Housing60#5,965/14,977
Health12#13,780/15,609
Healthcare4#14,951/15,650
Environment15#13,146/15,453
Education32#10,700/15,649
Infrastructure2#15,262/15,650
Community9#14,207/15,651
Leisure & amenities6#14,730/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Sylvester, Georgia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Worth 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 · low104 min
95/100Georgia 168 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesWorth County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.0×
90/100Georgia 3.9×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
New homes permitted · high9.8 /1k
88/100Georgia 5.5 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Public transit commuters · high2.4%
86/100Georgia 1.1%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Georgia 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWorth County value
Child care cost burden · low22.9%
85/100Georgia 23.0%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWorth County value

Weaknesses

Mental health providers · low20 /100k
1/100Georgia 201 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWorth County value
Dentists · low10 /100k
1/100Georgia 54 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWorth County value
Average weekly wage · low$822
1/100Georgia $1,404United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWorth County value
Broadband subscriptions · low72.9%
2/100Georgia 91.0%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Restaurants and bars · low3.0 /10k
2/100Georgia 8.5 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWorth County value
Loneliness · high41.4%
2/100Georgia 37.9%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
5,865 (2015-2019) → 5,489 (2020-2024)
−6.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
0.9 /1k (2021) → 9.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+1,017%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$30,570 (2015-2019) → $58,417 (2020-2024)
+91%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
62.1% (2015-2019) → 45.2% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
51.8% (2015-2019) → 41.7% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioImproving
3.5× (2015-2019) → 2.0× (2020-2024)
−43%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, Sylvester, Georgia improved on 2 of 13 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.

Improved2

Household income+91%$30,570 → $58,417
Rent / income−6.4 points34.8% → 28.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Sylvester, Georgia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.0 min2015-2019	22.7 min2020-2024	+2.7 min	Within the margin of error	22%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.1%2015-2019	14.3%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Broadband subscriptions	74.0%2015-2019	72.9%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Child poverty rate	51.8%2015-2019	41.7%2020-2024	−10 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Effective property tax rate	1.13%2015-2019	1.05%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
High school diploma or higher	79.8%2015-2019	84.1%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Home price to income ratio	3.5×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	−1.5×	Within the margin of error	99%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4972015-2019	0.4702020-2024	−0.027	Within the margin of error	72%
Median household income	$30,5702015-2019	$58,4172020-2024	+91%	Improved	98%
Poverty rate	32.1%2015-2019	27.9%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Rent as share of income	34.8%2015-2019	28.4%2020-2024	−6.4 points	Improved	87%
Rent-burdened households	62.1%2015-2019	45.2%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	18.8%2015-2019	12.7%2020-2024	−6.1 points	Within the margin of error	90%

“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 Sylvester, Georgia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sylvester, 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, Sylvester, Georgia itself moved +14.2 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

5,489 residents (±32)

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

2,139 households (±195)

Sylvester, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $25k29%614
$25k–50k18%†380
$50k–75k24%†511

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,139 households (±195)

Sylvester, Georgia
Georgia share

Own57%1,219
Rent43%920

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,311 workers (±282)

Sylvester, Georgia
Georgia share

Drive alone80%1,842
Carpool5.8%†134
Public transit2.4%†56

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 Worth County, the county holding most of Sylvester's residents.

Worth County has 288 employer establishments, 143 for every 10,000 residents (0.57× the US rate of 248; 0.60× Georgia's), with 2,375 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,064. The Census Bureau also counts 1,700 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 288; 1,700 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 143; US 248 · Georgia 236
Paid employees: 2,375
Average annual pay: $40,064; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	23	11.4	2.05×More than typical	74	$15,595	—
Specialty trade contractors	21	10.4	0.67×Fewer than typical	147	$56,184	136
Restaurants and other eating places	16	7.9	0.43×Fewer than typical	217	$17,645	12
Gasoline stations	14	6.9	2.14×More than typical	39	$26,718	—
Ambulatory health care services	10	5	0.24×Fewer than typical	62	$62,935	50
Lessors of real estate	10	5	0.40×Fewer than typical	9	$31,444	78
Limited-service restaurants	10	5	0.62×Fewer than typical	187	$18,053	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	10	5	0.73×Fewer than typical	180	$16,239	238
Automotive repair and maintenance	9	4.5	0.88×Too few to compare	26	$29,269	65
Building equipment contractors	9	4.5	0.74×Too few to compare	33	$53,364	30
General merchandise stores	8	4	2.24×Too few to compare	206	$27,612	8
Landscaping services	7	3.5	0.99×Too few to compare	17	$20,588	106

Rank places for an industry Open Worth County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,201 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 $43.5K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Sylvester, Georgia: $7.93 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $43.5K
Per resident: $7.93; 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

Agricultural Marketing Service$43.5K100%

Top recipients

BIRDSONG CORPORATION$43.5K100%

Spending by fiscal year

1.2KFY2017
103.7FY2018
18.5FY2019
842.1FY2024
-78.6FY2025
43.5KFY2026

What was bought

Other equipment & supplies$43.5K100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Other food manufacturing · 3119$43.5K100%

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

Sylvester, Georgia's figures are part of those of Worth County, GA ($23.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Worth 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.

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

House

Austin ScottR-GA-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.3%

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.

Worth County2100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Albany, GA5

Other cities and towns in Worth 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/1375188

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends