Hall County, Georgia

Hall County is a county in Georgia, United States, about 54 miles northeast of Atlanta. It had a
population of 203,136 at the 2020 census, an estimated 226,568 by 2025, and covers 429 square
miles (1,110 km2) centred near 34°19′N 83°49′W.

Gainesville is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 30501. The
county holds 8 incorporated cities and towns and 11 unincorporated communities, and it runs on
Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 13139.

Towns & Villages in Hall County

Hall County has 19 named places on record: 8 incorporated cities and towns and 11
unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. Four of the incorporated
places straddle a county line, so their populations below are citywide totals, not Hall County
totals alone.

Buford’s 17,144 residents are overwhelmingly Gwinnett County people; only a narrow northern
sliver of the city reaches into Hall. Braselton spans four counties — Jackson, Barrow,
Gwinnett and Hall — and its Hall County share is the small stretch around Road Atlanta, well
short of a majority of its 13,403 citywide population. Gillsville splits the other way: of its
306 residents, 207 live in the Hall County portion and the rest in Banks County. Lula also leans
toward Hall, with roughly 2,000 of its 2,822 residents on the Hall side and the balance in Banks
County.

ZIP Codes

• 30501 — Gainesville (the county’s most populous ZIP)
• 30503, 30504, 30506, 30507 — additional Gainesville ZIPs, including PO box and rural
  zones
• 30542 — Flowery Branch (also serves part of Oakwood)
• 30566 — Oakwood
• 30518 — Buford (Hall County edge; the bulk of Buford’s ZIP territory is in
  Gwinnett)
• 30517 — Braselton (Hall County edge)
• 30554 — Lula
• 30543 — Gillsville
• 30527 — Clermont

Chicopee, New Holland, Murrayville, Chestnut Mountain, Rabbittown, Belmont, Candler, Brookton,
Blackshear Place, Klondike and White Sulphur Springs have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is
delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code, mostly one of Gainesville’s four.

Geography

Hall County sits in Georgia’s upper Piedmont, where the rolling terrain of central Georgia
begins climbing toward the Blue Ridge Mountains just to the north. Of the county’s 429 square
miles, 393 are land and 37 are water, about 8.5 percent — unusually high for a Piedmont
county, driven almost entirely by Lake Sidney Lanier, the reservoir formed by Buford Dam on the
Chattahoochee River. Lanier’s southeastern arm fills much of central and eastern Hall County
and supplies drinking water to metro Atlanta as well as recreation for the county itself. The
Chattahoochee River itself enters the county from the north and feeds the lake before continuing
south toward Atlanta.

White County lies to the north, Habersham County to the northeast, Banks County to the east,
Jackson County to the southeast, Barrow County to the south, Gwinnett County to the southwest,
Forsyth County to the west, and Dawson and Lumpkin counties to the northwest. White County, Habersham County, Banks County, Jackson County, Barrow County, Gwinnett County, Forsyth County, Dawson County and Lumpkin County all border Hall directly.

Demographics

Hall County had a population of 203,136 at the 2020 census, and a more recent estimate puts the
county near 226,568 residents. Gainesville and Flowery Branch are the two largest communities
inside the county, together holding roughly a quarter of its population. Median household income
in the county runs about $80,901, above Georgia’s statewide figure of $74,632 (2023 ACS).
Population density works out to roughly 517 people per square mile of land, reflecting the
county’s position inside the Gainesville metropolitan area and its growing southern edge
along the Gwinnett County line.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 16,719 people, followed by retail
trade at 11,411 and construction at 10,952. Poultry processing anchors much of that manufacturing
total — Gainesville has marketed itself as the “Poultry Capital of the World”
since the mid-20th century, and Wayne Farms runs a major processing plant in Oakwood. Flowery
Branch is home to the Atlanta Falcons’ training facility, along with a King’s Hawaiian
bakery and a Wrigley chewing-gum plant. Gainesville hosts Brenau University and the Northeast
Georgia Medical Center, the region’s largest hospital, while the University of North Georgia
runs a campus in Oakwood. Road Atlanta, the motorsports circuit just inside the county near
Braselton, holds the IMSA SportsCar Championship’s Petit Le Mans endurance race each
October, drawing crowds well beyond the county’s own population for the weekend.

History

Georgia’s legislature formed Hall County on 15 December 1818, naming it for Lyman Hall, a
signer of the Declaration of Independence and a former Georgia governor. The county seat began as
a trading post called Mule Camp Springs before being renamed Gainesville in 1821, honoring General
Edmund P. Gaines, a War of 1812 commander. On 6 April 1936, a tornado tore through downtown
Gainesville, killing 203 people — the fifth-deadliest tornado in United States history and
the deadliest ever to hit a Georgia city. In January 2021, a liquid-nitrogen leak at a Gainesville
poultry plant killed six workers, drawing national attention to safety conditions in the
county’s dominant industry.

Getting There

Interstate 985, a spur off Interstate 85, crosses the southern half of the county through
Buford and into Gainesville. US Route 23 and US Route 129 also run through the county, along with
several Georgia state routes.

• Atlanta — about 54 miles southwest
• Athens — about 36 miles southeast
• Dahlonega — about 19 miles northwest
• Cleveland — about 22 miles north

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, about 57 miles south, is the nearest major
commercial airport. Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport, a city-owned general-aviation field in
Gainesville, handles private and corporate flights. Amtrak’s Crescent train, running between
New York and New Orleans, stops at the Gainesville station.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Hall County located?
It sits in Georgia’s upper Piedmont, about 54 miles northeast of Atlanta, bordered by White,
Habersham, Banks, Jackson, Barrow, Gwinnett, Forsyth, Dawson and Lumpkin counties.

What is the population of Hall County?
203,136 at the 2020 census, with a more recent estimate near 226,568.

How big is Hall County?
429 square miles (1,110 km2), of which 393 square miles are land and 37 square miles are water.

What is the county seat of Hall County?
Gainesville, the county’s largest city, is the county seat.

How many towns and cities are in Hall County?
Eight incorporated places — Gainesville, Flowery Branch, Buford (partly), Braselton
(partly), Oakwood, Lula, Clermont and Gillsville (partly) — plus 11 unincorporated
communities including Chicopee, New Holland and Murrayville.

What ZIP codes does Hall County use?
30501, 30503, 30504, 30506 and 30507 for Gainesville; 30542 for Flowery Branch; 30566 for Oakwood;
30518 for the Hall County edge of Buford; 30517 for the Hall County edge of Braselton; 30554 for
Lula; 30543 for Gillsville; and 30527 for Clermont.

What is Hall County known for?
Poultry processing centered on Gainesville, Lake Sidney Lanier, and the 1936 tornado that killed
203 people in downtown Gainesville.

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