Bibb County, Georgia
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Template:Infobox U.S. County Bibb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population is 153,887. The county seat is Macon, Georgia6.
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History
Bibb County was created by act of the Georgia Legislature on December 9, 1822, with Macon — to be incorporated in December of 1823 — designated the county seat. It was carved from Jones, Monroe, Houston, and Twiggs counties. The county seat has never been changed, and no other county has ever been created out of land from Bibb County.
The county was named for Dr. William Wyatt Bibb, a physician from Elbert County who went on to serve in the United States Senate and House of Representatives before becoming the first elected Governor of Alabama.
Government
Bibb County is currently governed by a five-member County Commission, with four commissioners elected from individual districts in the county and a chairman elected countywide. The chairman is the chief executive of the county, though the role was reduced from full-time to part-time beginning in 2005, with a chief administrative officer appointed by the commission to run the daily affairs of the government. The current (2006) county commission chairman is Charles Bishop.
Like all other Georgia counties, Bibb has an elected sheriff responsible for maintaining the jail. Bibb's sheriff also manages the county's law enforcement duties, with his deputies acting as the county police force in the unincorporated area; the city of Macon has its own police department. The current (2006) Bibb sheriff is Jerry Modena.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 661 km² (255 mi²). 647 km² (250 mi²) of it is land and 13 km² (5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.03% water.
Adjacent Counties
- Jones County, Georgia - north
- Twiggs County, Georgia - east
- Houston County, Georgia - south
- Crawford County, Georgia - west
- Monroe County, Georgia - northwest
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 153,887 people, 59,667 households, and 39,797 families residing in the county. The population density was 238/km² (616/mi²). There were 67,194 housing units at an average density of 104/km² (269/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 50.13% White, 47.32% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.08% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. 1.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 59,667 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.30% were married couples living together, 20.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 85.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,532, and the median income for a family was $43,479. Males had a median income of $34,263 versus $25,540 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,058. 19.10% of the population and 15.50% of families were below the poverty line. 28.20% of those under the age of 18 and 13.10% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
