# Charlton County, Georgia

Charlton County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,518. The county seat is Folkston.

## History

Charlton County was created from a portion of Camden County, Georgia, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on February 18, 1854. The original county seat was at Trader's Hill, until 1901. Additional lands from Ware County, Georgia, were added to Charlton's borders by an 1855 act of the General Assembly. In 1856, an additional legislative act redefined the Charlton–Camden borders again with each county ceding land to the other.
The county is named for Robert Milledge Charlton, a U. S. Senator from Georgia.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 782 square miles (2,030 km$^2$), of which 774 square miles (2,000 km$^2$) is land and 8.8 square miles (23 km$^2$) (1.1%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county by area in Georgia. It is the southernmost county in Georgia. A large portion of the county lies within the Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected areas.
The entire central and southern portion of Charlton County is located in the St. Marys sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla basin. The county's northeastern portion, north of Homeland, is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla basin. The western portion of Charlton County is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the larger Suwannee River basin. The country's southern region is level with the northernmost part of the central and eastern Panhandle of the Florida peninsula.

### Major highways

* US 1
* US 23
* US 301
* SR 4
* SR 15
* SR 23
* SR 40
* SR 40 Conn.
* SR 94
* SR 121
* SR 177
* SR 185
* SR 252

### Adjacent counties

* Brantley County - north
* Nassau County, Florida - south and east
* Camden County - east
* Baker County, Florida - south
* Ware County - north and west

### National protected area

* Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (part)

### Cities

* Folkston
* Homeland

### Unincorporated communities

* Moniac
* Racepond
* Saint George
* Toledo
* Trader's Hill
* Uptonville

## Demographics

Charlton 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 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone (NH) | 7,014 | 8,116 | 7,532 | 68.22% | 66.68% | 60.17% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 2,990 | 3,443 | 2,386 | 29.08% | 28.29% | 19.06% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 39 | 38 | 40 | 0.38% | 0.31% | 0.32% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 35 | 76 | 109 | 0.34% | 0.62% | 0.87% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0.06% | 0.02% | 0.02% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 3 | 5 | 30 | 0.03% | 0.04% | 0.24% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 114 | 180 | 383 | 1.11% | 1.48% | 3.06% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 81 | 310 | 2,036 | 0.79% | 2.55% | 16.26% |
| Total | 10,282 | 12,171 | 12,518 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 12,518 people, 3,675 households, and 2,685 families residing in the county.

## Politics

United States presidential election results for Charlton County, Georgia :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 3,607 | 77.94% | 1,007 | 21.76% | 14 | 0.30% |
| 2020 | 3,419 | 74.85% | 1,105 | 24.19% | 44 | 0.96% |
| 2016 | 2,951 | 73.21% | 1,004 | 24.91% | 76 | 1.89% |
| 2012 | 2,527 | 67.12% | 1,197 | 31.79% | 41 | 1.09% |
| 2008 | 2,466 | 66.70% | 1,197 | 32.38% | 34 | 0.92% |
| 2004 | 2,311 | 68.15% | 1,064 | 31.38% | 16 | 0.47% |
| 2000 | 1,770 | 62.86% | 1,015 | 36.04% | 31 | 1.10% |
| 1996 | 1,374 | 45.33% | 1,368 | 45.13% | 289 | 9.53% |
| 1992 | 1,333 | 46.09% | 1,127 | 38.97% | 432 | 14.94% |
| 1988 | 1,327 | 57.60% | 943 | 40.93% | 34 | 1.48% |
| 1984 | 1,368 | 55.18% | 1,111 | 44.82% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 779 | 34.08% | 1,469 | 64.26% | 38 | 1.66% |
| 1976 | 452 | 20.53% | 1,750 | 79.47% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1972 | 1,244 | 80.05% | 310 | 19.95% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 332 | 17.08% | 455 | 23.41% | 1,157 | 59.52% |
| 1964 | 1,179 | 67.26% | 574 | 32.74% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 289 | 28.28% | 733 | 71.72% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 204 | 21.38% | 750 | 78.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 288 | 26.11% | 815 | 73.89% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 70 | 12.32% | 339 | 59.68% | 159 | 27.99% |
| 1944 | 89 | 16.15% | 462 | 83.85% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 60 | 9.65% | 562 | 90.35% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 28 | 5.63% | 468 | 94.16% | 1 | 0.20% |
| 1932 | 32 | 8.82% | 330 | 90.91% | 1 | 0.28% |
| 1928 | 160 | 27.83% | 415 | 72.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 20 | 11.24% | 151 | 84.83% | 7 | 3.93% |
| 1920 | 28 | 15.14% | 157 | 84.86% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 52 | 22.41% | 169 | 72.84% | 11 | 4.74% |
| 1912 | 22 | 9.95% | 150 | 67.87% | 49 | 22.17% |