The Valdosta metropolitan area, designated the Valdosta metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a metropolitan statistical area consisting of four counties— Brooks, Echols, Lanier, and Lowndes—centered on the city of Valdosta. Located in Southeast Georgia, the metropolitan area's population was 151,118 according to 2023 U.S. census estimates, up from 149,849 at the 2020 U.S. census.

Geography

The Valdosta metropolitan area is located within Southeast Georgia, bordering the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. For U.S. census purposes, the Valdosta metropolitan area includes four counties: Brooks, Echols, Lanier, and Lowndes. It encompasses a total area of .

Principal communities

Places with more than 50,000 inhabitants

* Valdosta (principal city)

Places with 1,000 to 5,000 inhabitants

* Lakeland * Quitman * Hahira

Places with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants

* Barwick (partial) * Dasher * Lake Park *

Moody AFB Moody Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation near Valdosta, Georgia. Geography The base is mostly in northeastern Lowndes County, Georgia, with a portion in Lanier County. Georgia State Route 125 runs through the west ...

(census-designated place) * Morven * Pavo (partial) * Remerton

Unincorporated communities

* Barney * Clyattville *

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas have shifted over the years), or the extent of the area i ...

* Grooverville * Mineola * Naylor * Statenville * Stockton

Demographics

At the 2000 United States census, there were 119,560 people, 42,666 households, and 29,474 families residing in the Valdosta metropolitan area. By the 2023 census estimates, the Valdosta metropolitan area's population increased to 151,118, up from 148,126 according to the 2020 U.S. census. According to the 2000 U.S. census, the racial makeup of the metropolitan area was 62.42%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 33.37%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.40% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.54% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

Latino Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spaniards, Spanish or Latin Americans, Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino (demonym), ...

of any race were 3.19% of the population. In 2022, the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimated its racial and ethnic composition was 53% White, 34% African American, 1% Asian, 5% multiracial, and 7% Hispanic or Latino of any race. The increased demographic diversity follows the greater nationwide diversification as of 2020. In 2000, the median income for a household in the MSA was $28,516, and the median income for a family was $34,044. Males had a median income of $26,347 versus $19,250 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $15,019. In 2022, the median household income for the Valdosta metropolitan area was $51,926 with a per capita income of $27,935. Approximately 17% of the metropolitan area lived at or below the poverty line, and the median value of an owner-occupied housing unit was $178,500.

Economy

The Valdosta metropolitan area forms the economic center of Southeast Georgia. According to the

Georgia Department of Economic Development The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is a department of the state of Georgia, United States. The GDEcD is responsible for managing resources to attract new business investments to Georgia, expand Georgia's existing industries ...

, metropolitan Valdosta and Southeast Georgia's largest industries were the military through the

Georgia Air National Guard The Georgia Air National Guard (GA ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Georgia, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force, and along with the Georgia Army National Guard, an element of the Georgia National ...

, and healthcare and education, stimulated by the Mayo Health Clinic System and

Valdosta State University Valdosta State University (VSU or Valdosta State) is a public university in Valdosta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1906, it launched in 1913 as an all-girls college. VSU is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System ...

. Valdosta State University operates a center of economic development for the region, aiming to increase development within industrial businesses, healthcare, education, arts and athletics. The city of Valdosta hosts Valdosta Mall, the area's regional mall.

Media

The media market of the metropolitan statistical area is centered in the city of Valdosta. Portions of the area also receive television and radio networks from the

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

media market.

Newspaper

* ''

The Valdosta Daily Times ''The Valdosta Daily Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Valdosta, Georgia, United States. It is owned by Carpenter Media Group. History ''The Valdosta Daily Times'' was established in 1867. Community Newspaper Holdings CNHI, LLC (fo ...

Radio

AM: * WJEM 1150 AM; 5 kW Gospel * WVLD 1450 AM; 1 kW Rock (Rock 106.9) * WGUN 950 AM; 4 kW Adult Urban Contemporary * WRFV 910 AM; 50 kW FM: * WDDQ TALK 92.1 FM Talk radio * WAYT 88.1 FM Christian Contemporary (licensed to Thomasville) * WVVS 90.9 FM VSU station * WWET 91.7 FM (Georgia Public Broadcasting) * WAAC 92.9 FM Country * WJYF 95.3 FM Christian Contemporary * WQPW 95.7 FM Adult Contemporary *WJEM 96.1 (repeater of 1150 AM) * WGOV-FM 96.7 FM Urban * WAFT 101.1 FM Christian * WXHT 102.7 FM Pop Hits (Broadcast from Valdosta but licensed to Madison, Florida) * WSTI 105.3 FM Classic Soul and R&B (Broadcast from Valdosta but licensed to Quitman) * W295AO 106.9 Rock (repeater of WVLD 1450AM) * WWRQ 107.9 FM The Beat

Television

* WSWG channel 44 is the local

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

affiliate licensed to Valdosta and based in Moultrie. The station serves the Valdosta and Albany areas, and includes subchannels offering programming from

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...

and Me-TV. * WXGA-TV channel 8 is the local GPB outlet, licensed to Waycross.

Transportation

Highways

There are many signed highways in the area, including the one

interstate highway system The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

, five U.S. routes, and 15 state routes: *

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

* U.S. Route 41 (North Valdosta Road) (co-signed with I-75 between Exits 22 and 60) * U.S. Route 84 (Hill Avenue (Valdosta), Wiregrass Parkway) * U.S. Route 129 * U.S. Route 221 (co-signed with US 84) * U.S. Route 441 * State Route 7 (co-signed with US 41) (Used to be Ashley St(NB)and Patterson St(SB), now they are ALT SR7) * State Route 11 * State Route 31 * State Route 37 * State Route 64 * State Route 76 * State Route 89 * State Route 94 * State Route 122 (Main Street (Hahira, Lakeland)) * State Route 125 (Bemiss Road (Lowndes County)) * State Route 133 (Billy Langdale Parkway, St. Augustine Road (Valdosta)) * State Route 135 * State Route 187 * State Route 333 (Moultrie Road (Brooks County)) * State Route 376

Airports

There are two airports in the area, which also provide service to the Southeast Georgia region: * Quitman Brooks County Airport (4J5) (general aviation) * Valdosta Regional Airport (VLD, KVLD) (commercial service to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport)

References

{{coord, 30, 50, N, 83, 20, W, region:US-GA_scale:500000, display=title Geography of Brooks County, Georgia Geography of Echols County, Georgia Geography of Lanier County, Georgia Geography of Lowndes County, Georgia Metropolitan areas of Georgia (U.S. state) Regions of Georgia (U.S. state)