Murray County is a county in Georgia, United States, in the northwest part of the state near the Tennessee line. It had a population of 39,973 at the 2020 census and covers 344 square miles (890 km2) of land, centred near 34°47′N 84°45′W.
Chatsworth is the county seat, and its postal code is 30705. The county has two incorporated municipalities (Chatsworth and Eton) and a scatter of unincorporated communities. Murray County sits in the Eastern time zone and forms part of the Dalton, Georgia metropolitan statistical area.
Towns & Villages in Murray County
Murray County has just two incorporated places — Chatsworth and Eton — plus roughly a dozen named unincorporated communities scattered across the county’s ridges and valleys. Georgia has no civil townships, so places below are grouped only by incorporation status; CDP = census-designated place, Unincorp. = unincorporated community with no separate municipal government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatsworth | City · seat | 4,874 | 30705 |
| Eton | Town | 824 | 30724 |
| Crandall | Unincorp. | — | 30711 |
| Cisco | Unincorp. | — | 30708 |
| Tennga | Unincorp. | — | 30751 |
| Carters | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ramhurst | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Spring Place | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sumac | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hasslers Mill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Holley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Treadwell | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dennis | Unincorp. | — | — |
Sumac, in the county’s north, made state headlines in April 2020 when an EF2 tornado tore through the community during a wider Easter Sunday outbreak, killing eight people locally. A few names from older place lists — Alaculsy, Ball Ground, Bloodtown, Coniston, Doogan, Gregory, Oran and Temple Grove — could not be corroborated against current Census or postal records and are omitted here rather than published unverified.
ZIP Codes
- 30705 — Chatsworth (also serves the county’s southern half)
- 30711 — Crandall
- 30708 — Cisco
- 30751 — Tennga (post office box service)
- 30724 — Eton (post office box service)
Smaller communities such as Carters, Ramhurst and Spring Place are served by the nearest post office town rather than a dedicated ZIP code of their own.
Geography
Murray County lies in the Appalachian ridge-and-valley country of northwest Georgia, with the Cohutta Mountains and the Cohutta Wilderness rising along its eastern edge inside the Chattahoochee National Forest. The Conasauga and Coahulla Creek drainages cross the county, and the Carters Lake reservoir on the Coosawattee River touches its southern corner. Of the county’s 347 square miles, 2.2 square miles are water.
Murray County borders Bradley County and Polk County in Tennessee to the north, Fannin County to the east, Gilmer County to the southeast, Gordon County to the south, and Whitfield County to the west.
Demographics
The 2020 census counted 39,973 residents, up from prior decades, with Chatsworth (4,874) and Eton (824) the county’s two largest incorporated communities. Median household income runs well below the Georgia median of $74,632 — carpet-industry manufacturing wages have historically kept county-level income below the state figure, though a current verified county estimate is not available here. Population density works out to roughly 116 people per square mile of land.
Economy & Local Life
Murray County sits at the edge of the Dalton, Georgia carpet and flooring manufacturing belt — the same industry that dominates neighboring Whitfield County — alongside poultry processing and agriculture in the county’s flatter western section. The Cohutta Wilderness and Carters Lake draw hikers, anglers and hunters from the wider Chattanooga–Atlanta corridor, and outdoor recreation is a growing part of the local economy.
History
Murray County was created by the Georgia legislature in 1832 from Cherokee County, one of the original counties carved from Cherokee land in northwest Georgia, and is named for Thomas W. Murray, a Georgia statesman and former speaker of the state House of Representatives from Lincoln County. Chatsworth was founded in 1905 as a depot on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad; local legend holds the town took its name from a railroad sign that fell off a passing freight car. The county also holds a state weather record: a temperature of −17°F was recorded in Chatsworth on January 27, 1940, the coldest ever measured in Georgia.
Getting There
US Route 76 and US Route 411 cross the county through Chatsworth, with Georgia state routes 2, 52, 61, 136, 225, 282 and 286 linking the smaller communities.
- Dalton, Georgia — 15 miles west
- Chattanooga, Tennessee — 40 miles north
- Ellijay, Georgia — 25 miles southeast
- Calhoun, Georgia — 30 miles south
The nearest commercial airport is Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, roughly 45 miles to the north.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Murray County, Georgia?
It sits in the northwest corner of the state, on the Tennessee line, in the Cohutta Mountains foothills roughly 15 miles east of Dalton.
What is the population of Murray County?
39,973 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Murray County?
344 square miles of land (890 km2), plus 2.2 square miles of water.
What is the county seat of Murray County?
Chatsworth is the county seat.
How many towns are in Murray County?
Two incorporated municipalities — Chatsworth and Eton — plus about a dozen unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Murray County?
30705 (Chatsworth), 30711 (Crandall), 30708 (Cisco), 30751 (Tennga) and 30724 (Eton).
What industry drives Murray County’s economy?
Carpet and flooring manufacturing, tied to the Dalton carpet belt, alongside poultry processing and outdoor recreation around Carters Lake and the Cohutta Wilderness.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Georgia.