Central Georgia is the area containing the metropolitan region surrounding the city of Macon, in Bibb County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It abuts the Atlanta metropolitan area, just to the north. Similar and coextensive names for this region include Middle Georgia and the Heart of Georgia. While no precise definition exists there are several ways to group places as part of the area. A partial list:
Some of the most prominent cities in middle Georgia, each with their own unique history and character, include:
Places with more than 100,000 inhabitants
Macon Pop: 155,369, the area's anchor city, largest city and the center of the area. Contains museums, institutions of higher education, and historical buildings. In Bibb County.
Dublin, a city among the farthest away from Macon that is still considered Middle Georgia. In Laurens County.
Fort Valley, the location of Fort Valley State University and the Lane Peach Packing Factory and Store. One of the 8 Blue Bird Bus factories in the U.S and Canada is located in the city. In Peach County.
The economy in Central Georgia tends to cluster around five areas: aerospace, healthcare and hospitals, kaolin, warehousing and distribution, and heritage and ecotourism. Macon is the region's retail and trade center and the Macon-Bibb county serves as the region's center of employment. The Central Georgia region has been competitive in the United States in terms of economic growth and stability, but within the state of Georgia, the region has not experienced much growth. The region lags behind most other regions in the state in terms of well-being of its residents and overall economic growth. As of 2017, over 46,000 workers from nearby counties commute to the Macon-Bibb county for work. To assist in business growth and development, the Macon Economic Development Commission recruits new businesses and industries to the region. In August 2017 the Canadian based Irving Consumer Products announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in Macon that would create additional jobs. The Central Georgia Business and Technology Park in Thomaston is a 240-acre facility that houses tenants such as Southern Company, Solutions Pest & Lawn, Criterion Technologies, and Chief Manufacturing. Houston County is located 75 miles south of the Atlanta International Airport, and home to Georgia's largest industrial complex at the Warner Robins Air Force Base. Houston county has more than 3,000 acres of land for industrial development and one of the lowest property tax rates in middle Georgia. The county is designated one of Georgia’s Entrepreneur Friendly Communities. Houston County has experienced a population growth, from 89,208 in 1990 to a population of 160,000 in 2015.
As of 2010, the estimated total population of central Georgia, including the counties of Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach, and Twiggs counties, was 445,608 people. The population has grown by 11% over the last 10 years. The fastest growth was reported in Houston County, which saw a population growth of 26.3% followed by Monroe and Jones Counties. The racial make-up of the region is 55.9% white, 38.7% Black and 1.6% asian, with about 1.8% identified as mixed or two more races. Houston county has the highest educational attainment for Bachelor's Degrees and Graduate or Professional Degrees for the population over 25 years old in the Central Georgia region in 2011.
The region hosts several events each year, with Macon, the population center hosting over 20 annual events and has been nicknamed the festival capital of Georgia. Macon's popular events include the International Cherry Blossom Festival, the Bragg Jam, the Ocmulgee Indian Celebration. Other popular events include the Georgia Peach Festival which is hosted in Byron and Fort Valley, and the annual miss Georgia Peach pageant hosted in Fort Valley.
