Newton County, Georgia

Not to be confused with Newton, Georgia.

Newton County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 112,483.^[1] The county seat is Covington.^[2] Newton County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell MSA.

Newton County
County
Newton County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°35′57″N 83°51′31″W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	December 24, 1821; 204 years ago (1821)
Named after	John Newton
Seat	Covington
Largest city	Covington
Area
• Total	279 sq mi (720 km2)
• Land	272 sq mi (700 km2)
• Water	7.0 sq mi (18 km2)  2.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	112,483
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	4th, 10th
Website	co.newton.ga.us

History

Newton county is named after Sgt. John Newton, who served under Gen. Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox", in the American Revolutionary War. It was created on December 24, 1821.^[3]

During the American Civil War, the county provided the Lamar Infantry, which was a part of Cobb's Legion. The 1860 census shows the enslaved population was nearly half, 45.2 percent.^[4] Newton County adjoins Jasper County: Georgia is one of many states that have a Newton County and a Jasper County that border each other.

In late 1978, the first five episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard were filmed in and around Covington, Georgia. The TV series In The Heat of the Night was filmed in Covington from 1988 to 1995. Also, in Remember the Titans, there were many scenes shot on "The Square" and the final football scene was shot at Homer Sharp Stadium, which is located near downtown Covington. Currently part of the new series The Vampire Diaries is being filmed on "The Square". Additionally, major films including My Cousin Vinny, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and Halloween II, Rob Zombie's sequel to his 2007 film Halloween, were also filmed near and around "The Square" in downtown Covington.

Newton County claims to be the birthplace of Georgia 4-H. Actually, the Girls Canning and Boys Corn Clubs in 1904 by G.C. Adams was renamed the 4-H Club in 1906, after the original 4-H Club that opened in Iowa in 1905.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 279 square miles (720 km²), of which 272 square miles (700 km²) is land and 7.0 square miles (18 km²) (2.5%) is water.^[5] The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state.

The majority of Newton County is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. A small eastern portion of the county, from southwest of Social Circle to southwest of Newborn, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin.^[6]

Major highways

• I-20 (Interstate 20)
• US 278
• SR 11
• SR 12
• SR 20
• SR 36
• SR 81
• SR 138
• SR 142
• SR 162
• SR 162 Conn. (Porterdale)
• SR 212
• SR 402 (unsigned designation for I-20)

Adjacent counties

• Walton County (north)
• Morgan County (east)
• Jasper County (southeast)
• Butts County (south)
• Henry County (West southwest)
• Rockdale County (northwest)

Communities

Cities

• Covington (county seat)
• Mansfield
• Oxford
• Social Circle

Towns

• Newborn
• Porterdale

Unincorporated community

• Starrsville

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	11,155		—
1840	11,628		4.2%
1850	13,296		14.3%
1860	14,320		7.7%
1870	14,615		2.1%
1880	13,623		−6.8%
1890	14,310		5.0%
1900	16,734		16.9%
1910	18,449		10.2%
1920	21,680		17.5%
1930	17,290		−20.2%
1940	18,576		7.4%
1950	20,185		8.7%
1960	20,999		4.0%
1970	26,282		25.2%
1980	34,489		31.2%
1990	41,808		21.2%
2000	62,001		48.3%
2010	99,958		61.2%
2020	112,483		12.5%
2023 (est.)	120,135	[7]	6.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790–1880[9] 1890–1910[10] 1920–1930[11] 1930–1940[12] 1940–1950[13] 1960–1980[14] 1980–2000[15] 2010[16] 2020[17]

Newton County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000[18]	Pop 2010[16]	Pop 2020[17]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	46,007	51,995	46,746	74.20%	52.02%	41.56%
Black or African American alone (NH)	13,690	40,371	52,246	22.08%	40.39%	46.45%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	131	199	175	0.21%	0.20%	0.16%
Asian alone (NH)	444	881	1,044	0.72%	0.88%	0.93%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	9	34	114	0.01%	0.03%	0.10%
Other race alone (NH)	70	169	734	0.11%	0.17%	0.65%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	493	1,674	4,260	0.80%	1.67%	3.79%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	1,157	4,635	7,164	1.87%	4.64%	6.37%
Total	62,001	99,958	112,483	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 112,483 people, 37,867 households, and 28,095 families residing in the county.

Education

Most of Newton County is in the Newton County School System. Portions in Social Circle are in the Social Circle City School District.^[19]

Politics

For the first half of the 20th century, Newton County followed the regular Solid South pattern of voting Democratic. It would later become a state bellwether from 1968 to 2004—meaning that the county's voting intention was an accurate predictor of the overall statewide winner. From 2008 to 2016, Newton County had been narrowly won by Democrats thanks to its location within the Atlanta metro as well as the influx of progressive voters both the region and Newton proper have experienced in recent years. This margin ballooned to a double-digit percentage in 2020 when Joe Biden flipped the state back into the Democratic column; Kamala Harris built upon this margin four years later, winning Newton by just over 15% even as she narrowly lost Georgia and the election.

United States presidential election results for Newton County, Georgia^[20]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	24,893	41.85%	33,839	56.89%	745	1.25%
2020	23,869	43.99%	29,789	54.90%	605	1.11%
2016	20,913	47.27%	21,943	49.60%	1,382	3.12%
2012	20,982	48.45%	21,851	50.45%	476	1.10%
2008	20,337	49.03%	20,827	50.21%	318	0.77%
2004	18,095	61.99%	10,939	37.47%	157	0.54%
2000	11,127	60.56%	6,703	36.48%	545	2.97%
1996	7,274	47.10%	6,759	43.77%	1,410	9.13%
1992	5,804	42.49%	5,811	42.54%	2,044	14.96%
1988	5,809	64.77%	3,111	34.69%	49	0.55%
1984	5,810	63.16%	3,389	36.84%	0	0.00%
1980	3,206	35.40%	5,611	61.96%	239	2.64%
1976	2,137	25.35%	6,294	74.65%	0	0.00%
1972	4,647	77.10%	1,380	22.90%	0	0.00%
1968	1,660	24.87%	1,998	29.93%	3,017	45.20%
1964	2,678	42.52%	3,620	57.48%	0	0.00%
1960	708	18.19%	3,185	81.81%	0	0.00%
1956	532	14.13%	3,232	85.87%	0	0.00%
1952	431	10.88%	3,529	89.12%	0	0.00%
1948	243	9.72%	2,113	84.52%	144	5.76%
1944	123	5.73%	2,022	94.27%	0	0.00%
1940	95	5.90%	1,512	93.85%	4	0.25%
1936	123	5.79%	1,994	93.79%	9	0.42%
1932	45	2.61%	1,672	96.82%	10	0.58%
1928	698	44.43%	873	55.57%	0	0.00%
1924	139	14.63%	716	75.37%	95	10.00%
1920	349	31.67%	753	68.33%	0	0.00%
1916	39	3.60%	943	86.99%	102	9.41%
1912	43	4.57%	840	89.36%	57	6.06%
1908	303	30.15%	643	63.98%	59	5.87%
1904	354	25.99%	928	68.14%	80	5.87%
1900	294	26.56%	790	71.36%	23	2.08%
1896	580	36.05%	973	60.47%	56	3.48%
1892	611	36.41%	1,005	59.89%	62	3.69%
1888	398	32.65%	788	64.64%	33	2.71%
1884	792	49.69%	802	50.31%	0	0.00%
1880	581	43.88%	743	56.12%	0	0.00%

Board of Commissioners
District	Commissioner	Party
CHAIR (at-large)	Marcello Banes (chairman)	Democratic
District 1	Stan Edwards	Republican
District 2	T. Demond Mason	Democratic
District 3	Stephanie Lindsey	Democratic
District 4	J.C. Henderson	Democratic
District 5	LeAnne Long	Republican

See also

• State of Georgia portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Newton County, Georgia
• List of counties in Georgia