Columbia County, Georgia

Columbia County is a county in Georgia, United States, about 10 miles northwest of downtown
Augusta. It had a population of 156,010 at the 2020 census, an estimated 169,189 by 2025, and
covers 308 square miles (800 km2) centred near 33°33′N 82°16′W.

Appling is the county seat, though nearly all county government offices actually operate
from Evans; its postal code is 30802. The county holds 2 incorporated cities, 3 unincorporated
census-designated places and several smaller communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS
code is 13073.

Towns & Villages in Columbia County

Columbia County has 8 named places with verified population or Census recognition: 2
incorporated cities, 3 census-designated places (including the legal seat), and 3 smaller
unincorporated communities. Most of the county is suburban and unincorporated, split among named
subdivisions that the Census Bureau does not track as separate places.

Evans and Martinez are the county’s two largest communities and sit next to each other along
Washington Road, effectively one built-up suburb split for census purposes; their populations are
nearly identical. The county’s previous online list of “towns and villages” mixed dozens of
private residential subdivision names — Camelot, Fairington Estates, Whispering Pine MH Park
and similar — in with genuine communities. Those are neighborhood or development names, not
Census-recognized places, and are left off this table.

ZIP Codes

• 30802 — Appling (the legal county seat)
• 30809 — Evans (the county’s most populous ZIP)
• 30907 — Martinez
• 30813 — Grovetown
• 30814 — Harlem

Berzelia, Sawdust and Snead have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the
nearest incorporated town or CDP’s code.

Geography

Columbia County sits in Georgia’s Piedmont region, just above the fall line that separates the
Piedmont from the Coastal Plain. Of its 308 square miles, 290 are land and 18 are water, about 5.7
percent, mostly from the Savannah River and the southern end of J. Strom Thurmond Lake (formerly
Clarks Hill Lake), which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built by damming the river in the 1950s.
The lake forms much of the county’s northern shoreline and is a major regional recreation draw.

Richmond County, home to Augusta, lies southeast; McDuffie County lies west; Lincoln County lies
northwest; and McCormick and Edgefield counties in South Carolina border the county to the north
and northeast across the Savannah River. Richmond County,
McDuffie County,
Lincoln County,
McCormick County and
Edgefield County all border Columbia
County directly.

Demographics

Columbia County had a population of 156,010 at the 2020 census, up sharply from earlier decades,
and the latest estimate puts the county near 169,189 residents. Evans and Martinez are the two
largest communities, together holding nearly half the county’s population. Median household
income runs $95,592 (2024, Data USA), well above Georgia’s statewide figure of $74,632 (2023
ACS). Population density works out to roughly 538 people per square mile of land, among the
highest in Georgia outside metro Atlanta, reflecting the county’s place inside the
Augusta-Richmond County metropolitan area.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 9,936 people,
followed by educational services at 7,642 and manufacturing at 6,654. A large share of county
residents commute into neighboring Richmond County to work at Fort Gordon (renamed Fort
Eisenhower in 2023 and reverted to Fort Gordon in 2025), headquarters of U.S. Army Cyber Command
and the Cyber Center of Excellence, which employs over 30,000 military and civilian personnel and
drives an estimated $1.1 billion in regional economic impact. Grovetown grew fastest of the
county’s cities on the strength of that base, its population rising from 3,596 in 1990 to 15,577
by 2020. Harlem, birthplace of comedian Oliver Hardy, hosts the annual Oliver Hardy Festival each
October, drawing 20,000 to 35,000 visitors to a town of under 4,000 residents.

History

The Georgia Legislature created Columbia County on 10 December 1790, the state’s 12th county,
carved out of Richmond County. The name honors “Columbia,” a poetic personification of the
United States common in county names from that era, not a person. Appling was named county seat
and has held that legal designation ever since, even as county government offices relocated to
Evans in the 20th century.

The county stayed mostly agricultural until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the J. Strom
Thurmond Dam on the Savannah River in the 1950s, creating the lake and drawing early recreational
development. Growth accelerated from the 1970s onward as Augusta’s suburbs, and Fort Gordon’s
workforce, pushed west across the county line, turning Evans and Martinez from crossroads
communities into the county’s two most populous places.

Getting There

Interstate 20 crosses the county’s southern half through Grovetown and Martinez. US 78/278,
US 221 and Georgia routes 10, 28, 47, 104, 150, 223, 232 and 383 also serve the county.

• Augusta — about 10 miles southeast
• Thomson — about 25 miles west
• Aiken, South Carolina — about 20 miles northeast
• Washington — about 35 miles northwest

Augusta Regional Airport, about 15 miles southeast in Richmond County, is the nearest
commercial airport. Amtrak does not serve Columbia County directly; the nearest station is the
Amtrak Crescent stop in Toccoa, well outside normal commuting range, so most residents fly or
drive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Columbia County located?
It sits in Georgia’s Piedmont region, about 10 miles northwest of Augusta, bordered by
Richmond, McDuffie and Lincoln counties in Georgia and McCormick and Edgefield counties in South
Carolina.

What is the population of Columbia County?
156,010 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 169,189.

How big is Columbia County?
308 square miles (800 km2), of which 290 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Columbia County?
Appling is the county seat, though county government offices actually operate from Evans.

How many towns and cities are in Columbia County?
Two incorporated cities, Grovetown and Harlem, plus three census-designated places — Evans,
Martinez and Appling — and smaller unincorporated communities including Berzelia, Sawdust and
Snead.

What ZIP codes does Columbia County use?
30802 for Appling, 30809 for Evans, 30907 for Martinez, 30813 for Grovetown and 30814 for
Harlem.

What is Columbia County known for?
Fort Gordon’s cyber warfare and Army Signal Corps mission just across the Richmond County
line, J. Strom Thurmond Lake, and Harlem’s annual Oliver Hardy Festival.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Georgia.