Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
32% of residents live below the poverty line in Fort Gaines, above both Georgia’s towns (15%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 2 of the 260 Georgia towns we compare have a lower midpoint rent than Fort Gaines. 44% of the land in Fort Gaines is conserved, above both Georgia’s towns (2.3%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Its National Register listings include Fort Gaines Cemetery Site and Clay County Courthouse. Fort Gaines has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Fort Gaines beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 758 in 1870, a peak of 1,357 in 1940, 995 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1818 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Gaines, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Fort Gaines.
Nearly half of Fort Gaines households live in a home they own. Home values are up 4.8% over the year to September 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Public schools: the Clay County school district. Also worth knowing: 2 public schools serve Fort Gaines, with 191 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 143 | D |
NCES · EDFacts
Trails total 2.9 miles in 1 park or preserve. Fort Gaines has one park or preserve, 3 acres in all. In Fort Gaines, the concentration of trails is 0.4 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Frontier Village | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 38° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Since 2013, Fort Gaines has lost 167 jobs, to 286 in 2023. Only a tenth of working residents stay in Fort Gaines for work; the rest commute out. The mean commuting time in the town is 21 minutes. The top destinations are Bakerhill (9%), Dothan (7%) and Albany (6%).
| Fort Gaines | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $38,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among adults in Fort Gaines, 37% get no exercise outside work. Only 10 of the 262 Georgia towns we compare have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Fort Gaines. The town beats the Georgia average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18.
| Fort Gaines | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 50% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 40% | 36% |
| What stands out | Fort Gaines | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 10.6% | 14.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.7% | 77.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 17.3% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Of the losses FEMA expects in Fort Gaines, 29% come from inland flooding and 17% from cold waves. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 57% of U.S. communities. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2018.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Fort Gaines; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Fort Gaines residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Georgia.
1,107 counted in 2010 and 995 in 2020; an estimated 970 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
4 places in Fort Gaines on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Fort Gaines.
City in Georgia, United States
Fort Gaines is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Georgia, United States. It has a population of 995 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Gaines has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
5 notable people were born here, including Carrie Smith and Bubba McDowell.
