Lowndes County, Georgia

Lowndes County (pronounced Lounds) is a located in the  of. It was created December 23, 1825. As of 2000, the population was 92,115; the 2005 Census estimates show a population of 96,705. The county seat is. It is the largest county in the.

The county is a major commercial, educational, and manufacturing center of south Georgia with considerable including pulpwood and, such as  and. Part of, a 13000 acre swamp is located in Lowndes County.

The county was named for William Jones Lowndes, whose father,, had been a  leader from South Carolina.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,323 (511 ). 1,306 km² (504 sq mi) of it is land and 17 km² (6 sq mi) of it (1.26%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-75.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 41.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 84.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 221.svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 7.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 31.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 125.svg|20px]]

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 92,115 people, 32,654 households, and 22,237 families residing in the county. The was 71/km² (183/sq mi). There were 36,551 housing units at an average density of 28/km² (72/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 62.00%, 33.99% or , 0.37% , 1.20% , 0.05% , 1.08% from , and 1.32% from two or more races. 2.66% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 32,654 households out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.50% were living together, 15.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.90% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 15.10% from 18 to 24, 31.30% from 25 to 44, 18.50% from 45 to 64, and 9.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,132, and the median income for a family was $41,580. Males had a median income of $28,411 versus $20,755 for females. The for the county was $16,683. About 13.90% of families and 18.30% of the population were below the, including 22.80% of those under age 18 and 17.30% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
The top ten employers in Lowndes County are:


 * Lowndes County School System
 * Valdosta City School System
 * City of Valdosta
 * Lowndes County
 * Valdosta City School System
 * City of Valdosta
 * Lowndes County
 * Lowndes County

Unincorporated cities and towns

 * Minneola
 * Minneola

Education
Within Lowndes County is the Lowndes County School System and the Valdosta School System which serves the City of Valdosta.

Also within the county is , Valdosta Technical College and an extension campus of the  (of ).

Lowndes County has four high schools, two public, and two private. Lowndes High School recently won the Georgia AAAAA football championship in 2004 and 2005. The Valdosta Wildcats of are the winningest high school football program in America. The two private high schools,  and Georgia Christian, are two smaller schools in Lowndes and Valdosta.