Coastal Georgia

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Coastal Georgia
Region
Savannah.tif
Downtown Savannah
Regions of Georgia (US state).png
Coastal Georgia highlighted in light blue
Map of USA GA.svg
Location of Georgia in the United States
CountryUnited States
State Georgia
Largest city Savannah
Population
 (2020)
  Total731,630
Demonym Coastal Georgian
Website georgia.org/regions/coastal-georgia

Coastal Georgia is a ten-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, bordering South Carolina and Florida. [1] It comprises a substantial portion of the state's Lower Coastal Plain. The region's largest city and metropolitan area is Savannah. Coastal Georgia's total population was 731,630 according to the 2020 United States census.

Contents

Geography

Castal Georgia forms part of the Lower Coastal Plain, alongside Southeast Georgia. It consists of ten counties, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development: Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, and Screven. [1] Coastal Georgia also includes the Golden Isles.

The region counts three metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs): the Savannah metropolitan area, the Hinesville metropolitan area, and the Brunswick metropolitan area. Both the Savannah and Hinesville MSAs form the Savannah–Hinesville–Statesboro-Jesup combined statistical area. With Camden County, the Jacksonville–St. Marys–Palatka, FL–GA CSA is included.

Demographics

According to the 2020 United States census, the counties forming Coastal Georgia's population numbered 731,630 residents.

Racially and ethnically, Coastal Georgia has been inhabited by European American and African American settlers since colonization, in common with most of the present-day state. Among its racial and ethnic makeup, the Gullah-Geechee people have maintained a historic presence along the coastal plains of the region. [2] [3]

Since the migration of settlers from other states beginning in the 21st century, the Gullah-Geechee community and culture have been declining in the region due to development by private companies and state officials throughout the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. [4] [5] [6]

In terms of religious beliefs and observance, Coastal Georgia is a part of the Bible Belt. In 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives determined Baptists, non-denominational Protestants, Methodists, Catholics, Holiness, and Pentecostals were the largest Christian groups operating in the region. [7]

The single largest Christian denominations were the Southern Baptist Convention, United Methodist Church, Catholic Church, National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), National Baptist Convention (USA), and African Methodist Episcopal Church. Other notable dominations with a presence have included the Episcopal Church and nontrinitarian Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Non-Christian religions accounted for a minority of the region's religious landscape. The largest non-Christian religion was Judaism. Following, Hinduism and Islam were the other prominent non-Christian religious groups in Coastal Georgia. Buddhism and the Baha'i Faith also had small communities in the area. [7] Among the Gullah-Geechee community, Lowcounty Voodoo or Hoodoo has been traditionally practiced among the population.

Economy

Coastal Georgia's economy, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, is stimulated by manufacturing, agriculture, ports, the government and military, tourism, and film. The Port of Savannah and Port of Brunswick are Georgia's two seaports. [1] As of 2007, the Port of Brunswick was the sixth-busiest automobile port in the United States. [8] [9] [10]

Education has also remained a dominant part of the regional economy, and Georgia Southern University's flagship campus in Statesboro is by far the largest institution in terms of campus enrollment. Along with its Armstrong and Hinesville campuses, Georgia Southern's combined economic impact surpasses $1.1 billion annually. [11] Other leading institutions in the region are Savannah State University, [12] South University, Georgia Tech Savannah, Savannah Technical College, [13] Ralston College, and Savannah College of Art and Design, all contributing to Coastal Georgia's development. [14] In the southern part of the region, the College of Coastal Georgia serves Brunswick and its metropolitan economy. [15]

Transportation

Coastal Georgia is mainly served by two airports: Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and Brunswick Golden Isles Airport. Brunswick's airport provides flights to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, served by Delta Air.

In the southern part of the region, three federal highways pass through metropolitan Brunswick: U.S. Route 17, U.S. Route 341, and U.S. Route 25. In the Savannah area of Coastal Georgia, interstates 16, 95, and 516 run through the city; U.S. Route 80 and U.S. Route 17 also both run through Savannah. Additionally, Amtrak provides rail services throughout the region.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia (U.S. state)</span> U.S. state

Georgia, officially the State of Georgia, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the northwest, North Carolina to the north, South Carolina to the northeast, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. Of the 50 United States, Georgia is the 24th-largest by area and 8th most populous. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, its 2023 estimated population was 11,029,227. Atlanta, a global city, is both the state's capital and its largest city. The Atlanta metropolitan area, with a population of more than 6 million people in 2021, is the 8th most populous metropolitan area in the United States and contains about 57% of Georgia's entire population. Other major metropolitan areas in the state include Augusta, Savannah, Columbus, and Macon. Georgia has 100 miles (160 km) of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savannah, Georgia</span> Oldest city in Georgia, United States

Savannah is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. A strategic port city in the American Revolution and during the American Civil War, Savannah is today an industrial center and an important Atlantic seaport. It is Georgia's fifth most populous city, with a 2020 U.S. census population of 147,780. The Savannah metropolitan area, Georgia's third-largest, had a 2020 population of 404,798.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunswick, Georgia</span> City in Georgia, United States

Brunswick is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Savannah and contains the Brunswick Old Town Historic District. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the city proper was 15,210; the Brunswick metropolitan area's population as of 2020 was 113,495.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinesville, Georgia</span> City in Georgia, United States

Hinesville is a city and county seat of Liberty County, Georgia, United States, located on the Atlantic coastal plain. The population was 33,437 at the 2010 census and an estimated 33,273 in 2019. By 2020, its population was 34,891. It is the principal city of the Hinesville metropolitan area, which comprises all of Liberty County, including the Fort Stewart army installation, plus neighboring Long County.

Pin Point is an unincorporated community in Chatham County, Georgia, United States; it is located 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Savannah and is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area. Pin Point is 1 mi (1.6 km) wide and 1.6 mi (2.6 km) long, and lies 13 feet above sea level. The town is best known for its longstanding Gullah-speaking community, and being the birth place of U.S. Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gullah</span> African American ethnic group in south United States

The Gullah are an African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida within the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. Their language and culture have preserved a significant influence of Africanisms as a result of their historical geographic isolation and the community's relation to their shared history and identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Carolina Lowcountry</span> Geographic and cultural region located along South Carolinas coast

The Lowcountry is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an important source of biodiversity in South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Coastal Plain (Georgia)</span> Subregion

Southeast Georgia's Lower Coastal Plain is a subregion that encompasses the lowest-lying areas of the Atlantic coastal plain in the state, containing barrier islands, marshes, and swampy lowlands, as well as flat plains and low terraces. It differs from Georgia's Upper Coastal Plain in that it is lower in elevation with less relief and wetter soils. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines the Lower Coastal Plain as an ecoregion, part of the larger, interstate Southern Coastal Plain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Isles of Georgia</span> Place in Georgia, United States

The Golden Isles of Georgia consist of barrier islands, and the mainland port cities of Brunswick and Darien, on the 100-mile-long coast of the U.S. state of Georgia on the Atlantic Ocean. They include St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Jekyll Island, Little St. Simons Island, Sapelo Island, Blackbeard Island, Historic Darien and Historic Brunswick. The islands are part of a long chain of barrier islands known as the "Sea Islands", located along the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Georgia</span> Region in Georgia, United States

Southwest Georgia is a fourteen-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, bordering Alabama and Florida. Colloquially referred to as SOWEGA, the region is anchored by Albany—its most populous city and the region's sole metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, Southwest Georgia's population was 352,426.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Georgia</span> Area containing the metropolitan region surrounding the city of Macon

Central Georgia, or Middle Georgia and the Heart of Georgia, is an eleven-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia. It abuts the Atlanta metropolitan area, just to the north, and is anchored by both the Macon and Warner Robins metropolitan areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinesville metropolitan area</span> Metropolitan statistical area in Georgia, United States

The Hinesville metropolitan area, officially the Hinesville metropolitan statistical area and previously the Hinesville–Ft. Stewart metropolitan statistical area, is defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget as a metropolitan statistical area consisting of two counties, Liberty and Long, in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is anchored by the city of Hinesville and encompasses all of Fort Stewart, one of the largest U.S. Army installations in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augusta metropolitan area</span> Metropolitan statistical area in Georgia South Carolina, United States

The Augusta metropolitan area, officially the Augusta-Richmond County metropolitan statistical area according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Census Bureau and other agencies, is a metropolitan statistical area centered on the city of Augusta, Georgia. It straddles two U.S. states, Georgia and South Carolina, and includes the Georgia counties of Richmond, Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, and McDuffie as well as the South Carolina counties of Aiken and Edgefield. The official 2022 U.S. census estimate for the area was 624,083 residents, up from 611,000 at the 2020 U.S. census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savannah metropolitan area</span> Metropolitan statistical area in Georgia, United States

The Savannah metropolitan area, officially named the Savannah metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is centered on the city of Savannah and encompasses three counties: Bryan, Chatham, and Effingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Georgia (U.S. state)</span>

Georgia is a South Atlantic U.S. state with a population of 10,711,908 according to the 2020 United States census, or just over 3% of the U.S. population. The majority of the state's population is concentrated within Metro Atlanta, although other highly populated regions include: West Central and East Central Georgia; West, Central, and East Georgia; and Coastal Georgia; and their Athens, Columbus, Macon and Warner Robins, Augusta, Savannah, Hinesville, and Brunswick metropolitan statistical areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southeast Georgia</span> 18-county region in Georgia, US

Southeast Georgia is an eighteen-county region within the U.S. state of Georgia, bordering Florida. The region includes a portion of Georgia's Lower Coastal Plain. Southeast Georgia's largest city is Valdosta, which forms the core of the Valdosta metropolitan area. The region's largest county by population is Lowndes, of which Valdosta is the county seat. The region had a total resident population of 416,498 in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hog Hammock, Georgia</span> United States historic place

Hog Hammock is an African-American community on Sapelo Island, a barrier island of the U.S. state of Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Georgia (region)</span> Region in Georgia, United States

West Georgia is a sixteen-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, bordering Alabama. Encompassing a portion of the Southern Rivers, West Georgia is anchored by Columbus, the state's second-largest city by population; its metropolitan statistical area, as of 2020, was Georgia's fourth-most populous metropolitan area. Tabulating the region's counties, West Georgia had a 2020 U.S. census population of 368,953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Georgia (region)</span> Region in Georgia, United States

East Georgia is a thirteen-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, bordering South Carolina. North of Coastal Georgia and the Lower Coastal Plain, part of the region lies in the Fall Line section of the state. The largest county by population in East Georgia is Richmond County, and its most populous city is Augusta, anchoring the Augusta metropolitan statistical area. Tabulating the region's counties, its population as of the 2020 U.S. census was 479,864.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Central Georgia</span> Region in Georgia, United States

East Central Georgia is a twelve-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, with a 2020 census-tabulated population of 643,390. The region's largest city by population is Athens, forming the core of the Athens metropolitan area.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Coastal - Region 12". Georgia Department of Economic Development. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  2. "Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  3. Johnson, Ahmed. "Research Guides: Gullah/Geechee History and Culture: Introduction". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  4. Milner, Iman (2023-09-12). "Georgia Gullah-Geechee Community Fighting To Preserve Land Under Attack By State Officials". Black Enterprise. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  5. Walljasper, Matt (2023-09-05). "The staying power of the Gullah Geechee community". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  6. Glawe, Justin (2023-09-16). "'Nothing changed, just the players': anger after vote threatens Gullah Geechee community". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  7. 1 2 "Congregational Membership Reports | US Religion". Association of Religion Data Archives. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  8. "Ports and Locations". Nature's Passage. Archived from the original on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  9. Sloan, Steven (2004-01-16). "GLOVIS America moving auto processing to Brunswick". Atlanta Business Chronicle.
  10. "Georgia Ports Authority: AnchorAge" (PDF). Georgia Ports Authority. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-29.
  11. "USG: Georgia Southern University's annual economic impact soars to record of more than $1.1 billion". Connect Savannah. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  12. "Savannah State University". University System of Georgia. Retrieved 2024-01-03. Savannah State had a regional economic impact of $184 million in FY 2018.
  13. "Spending associated with Savannah Tech has a nearly $57 million impact in its region". Savannah Technical College. 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  14. Nussbaum, Katie. "Study: SCAD contributes $577M to local economy in FY19". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  15. "Coastal Georgia Has Massive Impact on Local Economy". College of Coastal Georgia. Retrieved 2024-01-03.