Peach County, Georgia

Peach County is a county in Georgia, United States, about 30 miles south of Macon. It had a
population of 27,981 at the 2020 census, an estimated 29,877 by 2025, and covers 151 square miles
(390 km2) centred near 32°34′N 83°50′W.

Fort Valley is the county seat and largest city; its postal code is 31030. The county holds 2
cities in full, plus small unincorporated edges of 2 more, and 3 unincorporated communities. It
runs on Eastern Time and was carved from Houston and Macon counties in 1924, making it Georgia’s
newest county.

Towns & Villages in Peach County

Peach County has 7 named places on record: 2 incorporated cities entirely within its borders,
2 larger cities that are based mostly in a neighboring county but reach into Peach along their
edges, and 3 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. Unincorp. covers
crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.

Warner Robins and Perry are both based mainly in neighboring Houston County; only narrow
unincorporated slivers of each city cross into Peach County, so no Peach-specific population or
ZIP figure exists for either — their full citywide totals (80,308 and 20,624 at the 2020
census) belong overwhelmingly to Houston County, not Peach. Byron itself is mostly in Peach
County but also extends into Houston and Crawford counties along its edges.

ZIP Codes

• 31030 — Fort Valley (the county’s most populous ZIP)
• 31008 — Byron

Echeconnee, Miami Valley and Powersville have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is
delivered under Fort Valley’s code. The Peach County slivers of Warner Robins and Perry use ZIP
codes administered from Houston County, not counted among Peach County’s own codes.

Geography

Peach County sits in central Georgia’s Fall Line Hills, a transitional belt between the
Piedmont and the coastal plain. Of its 151 square miles, 150 are land and 1.0 is water, about 0.7
percent — the county has no large natural lake, and Echeconnee Creek, which gives the
unincorporated community its name, is the main watercourse crossing the county on its way toward
the Ocmulgee River.

Bibb County lies to the north, Houston County to the east, Crawford County to the northwest,
Taylor County to the west, and Macon County to the southwest. Bibb County, Houston County, Crawford County, Taylor County and Macon County all border Peach directly.

Demographics

Peach County had a population of 27,981 at the 2020 census, up from 27,695 in 2010, and the
latest estimate puts the county near 29,877 residents by 2025. Fort Valley and Byron are the two
largest fully-contained communities, together holding roughly half the county’s population.
Median household income runs $71,293 (2024, Data USA), below Georgia’s statewide figure of
$74,632 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 187 people per square mile of land,
moderate for a county this close to the Warner Robins and Macon metro areas.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 1,833 people,
followed by retail trade at 1,453 and public administration at 1,260 (Data USA, 2024). Blue Bird
Corporation, headquartered in Fort Valley since 1935, runs Georgia’s only school bus
manufacturing plant and is the county’s largest private employer. Fort Valley State University, a
historically Black land-grant university founded in 1895, anchors the city’s east side and
employs faculty and staff across the county. The Medical Center of Peach County, also in Fort
Valley, is the county’s main hospital. Byron hosts the Georgia Peach Festival each June, the
county’s biggest annual event, celebrating the region’s peach orchards with a parade and cook-off.

History

Georgia’s General Assembly created Peach County on 18 July 1924, carving it out of Houston and
Macon counties — making it, even a century later, Georgia’s newest county. Lawmakers named
it for the peach, reflecting the orchards that already dominated the local economy. Fort Valley,
founded in 1836 and incorporated as a town in 1854 and a city in 1907, became the county seat.

Byron was incorporated in 1874 under the name Byron, chosen to honor the poet Lord Byron after
an earlier name, Jackson, was dropped to avoid confusion with another Georgia town. In July 1970
Byron hosted the Atlanta International Pop Festival, a three-day rock concert that drew crowds
larger than any other Georgia gathering until the 1996 Olympics; a historical marker installed in
2012 commemorates the event.

Getting There

Interstate 75 crosses the county’s eastern side through Byron. US Route 41 and US Route 341 run
through the county, along with Georgia Routes 7, 11, 42, 49, 96 and 127, and the Fall Line
Freeway (State Route 540).

• Macon — about 16 miles north
• Warner Robins — about 10 miles east
• Perry — about 15 miles southeast
• Columbus — about 60 miles west

Middle Georgia Regional Airport, in Bibb County about 15 miles north of Fort Valley, is the
nearest commercial airport. No Amtrak line runs through Peach County; the nearest passenger rail
service is in Atlanta.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Peach County located?
It sits in central Georgia’s Fall Line Hills, about 30 miles south of Macon, bordered by Bibb,
Houston, Crawford, Taylor and Macon counties.

What is the population of Peach County?
27,981 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 29,877.

How big is Peach County?
151 square miles (390 km2), of which 150 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Peach County?
Fort Valley, founded in 1836 and incorporated as a city in 1907, is the county seat and largest
city.

How many towns and cities are in Peach County?
Two cities lie fully within the county, Fort Valley and Byron, plus narrow unincorporated edges
of Warner Robins and Perry, and three unincorporated communities: Echeconnee, Miami Valley and
Powersville.

What ZIP codes does Peach County use?
31030 for Fort Valley and 31008 for Byron.

What is Peach County known for?
Blue Bird Corporation’s school bus factory in Fort Valley, Fort Valley State University, the
Georgia Peach Festival in Byron each June, and being Georgia’s newest and smallest-in-population
county at its 1924 creation.

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