Sparks Police Car, 2012
Sparks’s story
138 years in pictures
Census counts: 307 in 1890, 2,043 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and a map from 1973 on.
- 1888Sparks is settled
SparksGA
A town of 2,098, settled in 1888.
1 bordering townMap →
Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
2,098
2025 Census estimate · +1.6% since 2020
Typical home
$131K
+4.7% in a year
Household income
$39K
median
Median age
36.2
years
Jobs based here
75
A commuter town
Is Sparks a good place to live?
Sparks’ best subject grade is a B for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for health. 28% of residents live below the poverty line in Sparks, against 15% in Georgia’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On health, just 29 of Georgia’s 371 towns do worse. The median household income is $39K, and 28% of residents live below the poverty line. On the outdoors, just 13 of Georgia’s 374 towns do worse. Sparks's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 90% of U.S. towns. Sparks has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
A commuter town
100% of working residents leave Sparks for work
Where Sparks’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
75jobs based in Sparks
0%of working residents work in town
21 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Sparks grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Sparks is from typical.
HealthLess healthy than 98% of U.S. towns; SGMC Berrien Campus 12.2 miles awayD−Open →Jobs & income75 jobs based hereD−Open →Hazard riskhurricanes tops the listC+Open →Cost of livingBOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 4.4 of 20; 10.3% of households have no car; 4.8% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC+Open →SchoolsBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsConserved land, trails and parksDOpen →History1 notable person born hereC−Open →Civic life2.4 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsDOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 36.2; 8% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Sparks: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sparks, and how to reach them.
PowerGeorgia Power16.3¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterSparksNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Sparks’ trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Georgia you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereCook County Board of Elections and RegistrationCook County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP code3164731647 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Sparks.
HealthD−
Compared with most of Georgia and the rest of the country, more of Sparks’ adults report frequent mental distress
21% of adults report frequent mental distress in Sparks, above both the Georgia town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (17%). 32% of Sparks adults say their health is fair or poor. Sparks beats the Georgia average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 22.
2%healthier than U.S. townsD−Health Grade
| Sparks | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 12% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 22% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 23% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Georgia
1 better9 too close to call22 worse
| What stands out | Sparks | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.1% | 7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 19.4% | 9.6% |
SGMC Berrien Campus
12.2 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
SchoolsB
Sparks’ schools rank ahead of 55% of Georgia districts
Its public schools are run by the Cook County school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
55%of GA districts it outscoresBSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 666 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
HousingCost of living grade B
A typical Sparks home is worth about $131K
The typical Sparks home is worth about $131,000, up 4.7% in a year, 60% below the Georgia typical home. 44% of households own their home in Sparks.
$131KZillow home value
| Sparks | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 44% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $929 a month | $1,154 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Sparks$131K
Georgia$329K
+4.7%
value change, 1 year
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D−
Fewer of Sparks’ working residents work locally than in the typical Georgia or U.S. town
Among 264 Georgia towns, just 4 have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Sparks. The average trip to work in Sparks is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Adel (20%), Valdosta (12%) and Tifton (6%).
0%work in town
| Sparks | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $39,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.4% | 9.1% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Sparks0%
Adel20%
Valdosta12%
Tifton6%
Nashville5%
21 mi
median commute distance
75
jobs based in Sparks
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Mild winters and hot summers in Sparks
Sparks has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Sparks’ July high is 91°F.
91°summer high
Typical low → high °F
Winter41–64°
Spring54–78°
Summer70–91°
Fall56–79°
Nov 27
typical first frost
Mar 6
typical last frost
+0.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
91°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
Sparks faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by hurricanes
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities.
50risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
HurricanesInland floodingTornadoes
6
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Sparks
18pages on Sparks
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Sparks; the nearest are
Wiregrass Georgia Technical CollegeCommunity college · Public · Valdosta20 mi$3,480 in-state tuitionAbraham Baldwin Agricultural CollegeUniversity or college · Public · Tifton22.2 mi$3,268 in-state tuition
About 1 of every 100 Sparks residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
About Sparks
Town in Georgia, USA
Sparks is a town in Cook County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,052 at the 2010 census, and 2,043 in 2020.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 240 ft
- ZIP code
- 31647
- Area code
- 229
Sparks’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Sparks.
How the neighbors grade
Sparks has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Sparks and Adel report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sparks with a neighbor →
Questions about Sparks
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Sparks, GA expensive?
That is 2.4 years of the area's median household income ($53,651 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.