ZIP Code 30907

Augusta is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta was established in 1736 and is named in honor of Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (1719-1772), the bride of Frederick, Prince of Wales and the mother of the British monarch George III. The process of consolidation between the City of Augusta and Richmond County began with a 1995 referendum in the two jurisdictions. The merger was completed on July 1, 1996. Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta metropolitan area. In 2020 it had a population of 611,000, making it the second-largest metro area in the state. Internationally, Augusta is best known for hosting The Masters golf tournament each spring. The Masters brings over 200,000 visitors from around the world to the Augusta National Golf Club. In 2016, it was announced that the new National Cyber Security Headquarters would be based in Augusta. The site of Augusta was used by Native Americans as a place to cross theSavannah River, because of its location on the fall line. The area along the river was long inhabited by varying cultures of indigenous peoples, who relied on the river for fish, water and transportation. Augusta developed rapidly as a market town as the Black Belt in the Piedmont was developed for cotton cultivation. During the American Civil War, Augusta housed the principal Confederate powder works. After the war, Augusta had a booming textile industry leading to the construction of many mills.

History

Augusta is the primary city name, but also Martinez are acceptable city names or spellings. Augusta was the second state capital of Georgia from 1785 until 1795 (alternating for a period with Savannah, the first) The city experienced the Augusta Fire of 1916, which damaged 25 blocks of the town and many buildings of historical significance. Augusta was a center of activities during Reconstruction and after. In the mid-20th century, it was a site of civil rights demonstrations. In 1993, an area known as Hyde Park in Augusta, Georgia, was investigated by the EPA for contamination. Two of five neighborhoods in Hyde Park appeared to have arsenic, chromium, and dioxin. However, residents were told it was not a risk to their health unless they somehow ingested it on a regular basis. In 1970, Charles Oatman, a mentally disabled teenager, was killed by his cellmates in an Augusta jail. A protest against his death broke out in a riot involving 500 people, after six black men were killed by police, each found to have been shot in the back. The noted singer and entertainer James Brown was called in to help quell lingering tensions, which he succeeded in doing. At the time the article was written, the citizens still questioned why the EPA and ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Disease Registry) did not consider these chemicals as a threat to them. The investigation totaled $1.2 million, and people living in the area were hoping for government assistance to move away from Hyde Park. The citizens question why that is not considered.

Geography

Augusta is located along the Georgia/South Carolina border, about 150 mi (240 km) east of Atlanta and 70 mi (110 km) west of Columbia. The city is located about halfway up the Savannah River on the fall line, which creates a number of small falls on the river. Augusta has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with short, mild winters, very hot, humid summers, and a wide diurnal temperature variation throughout much of the year. The heaviest recorded snowfall was in February 1973 with 14.0 snowfall (35.56 cm) Freezing rain is also a threat in wintertime. The Augusta Downtown Historic District is a historic district that encompasses most of downtown Augusta and its pre-Civil War area. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Augusta is located at 33°2812N 81°5830W (33.4700, 81.9750) and has a total area of 306.5 sq mi (793.8 km²), of which 302.1sq mi (782.4 km²) is land and 4.3squ mi (11.1km²) (1.42%) is water. There are 53 nights with the low reaching the freezing mark, 82 days reaching or exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) annually. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 45.4°F (7.4 °F) in January to 81.6 °F in July.

Demographics

As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 202,081 people, 66,838 households, and 41,517 families residing in the city. In the 2010 census, AugustaRichmond County had 195,844 residents. The most-attended denomination is the Southern Baptist Convention, with 221 congregations and 114,351 members. The Jewish community in Augusta dates back to the early 19th century. Around 1,300 Jews currently live in Augusta, who collectively support a Jewish Community Center. There are two congregations: Congregation Children of Israel (Reform) and Adas Yeshurun (Conservative). There is also a Chabad-Lubavitch house. The city-county consolidated area was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. As of the 2000 census, the median income for a household in theCity-County area was $37,231, and the median incomes for a family was $45,372. About 13.2% of families and 16.8%. of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 12.5% ofThose age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.09. There were 84,427 housing units at an average density of 279.5 per square mile.

Economy

Augusta is a regional center of medicine, biotechnology, and cyber security. The city's three largest employers are Augusta University, the Savannah River Site (a Department of Energy nuclear facility) and the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon. The Augusta community has experienced a decrease in bankruptcy filings and saw a slight decrease in the unemployment rate from late 2009 to March 2011. While unemployment fell to a two-year low of 8.3% in April 2011, unemployment rates have since risen to 9.9% as of July 2011.Companies that have facilities, headquarters or distribution centers in the Augusta metro area include CareSouth, NutraSweet, T-Mobile, Covidien, Solo Cup Company, Automatic Data Processing, Solvay S.A., Bridgestone, Teleperformance, Olin Corporation, Sitel, E-Z-GO, Taxslayer, Elanco, KSB Company (Georgia Iron Works), Club Car (Worldwide Headquarters), Halocarbon, MTU Friedrichshafen (subsidiary of Tognum), Kimberly Clark Corporation, Nutrien (formerly PotashCorp), John Deere, Kellogg's and Delta Air Lines' baggage call center. Augusta plays host to TechNet on a yearly basis which brings in various military, government, and private sector leaders to the area to showcase new cyber related products as well as discussions on cyber based collaboration efforts between the public and private sectors. The top public sector employers are: Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, and Augusta University.

Sports

Augusta is home to The Masters golf tournament, one of the four major championships in the sport. Augusta hosted the 2006 Professional Disc Golf World Championships. The city is the host of the Head of the South Regatta, a youth rowing regatta on the Savannah River. Augusta has an all-female flat track roller derby team, the Soul City Sirens. The Augusta 706ers were a minor league professional basketball team in the American Basketball Association. The team was founded in 2017 and stopped operations in December 2018 because of a lack of funds. Augusta is the featured home of the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships which leads cyclists through Downtown Augusta and Fort Gordon. It is also the host to the Nike EBL Peach Jam held in neighboring North Augusta, South Carolina which features some of the top high school basketball teams across the United States. The Masters is the most prestigious golf tournament in the world, and is held in Augusta every year during the first full week of April. The course was ranked in 2009 as the third best golf course in the World by Golf Magazine. It has several disc golf facilities, including Pendleton King Park and Lake Olmstead. It also hosts the Augusta Southern Nationals billed as "World's Richest Drag Boat Race" for 30 consecutive years. The event was part of the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series and was sanctioned by the International Hot Boat Association. Over 100 racing teams competed annually for $140,000 in purse and prizes while trying to beat the course record of 252.94 mph (407.07 km/h).

Parks and recreation

Riverwalk Augusta is a riverfront park along and on top of the city's levee. Augusta Canal is a historic canal with bike/pedestrian path. Phinizy Swamp Nature Park is a wetlands park with pedestrian/bike paths and boardwalks. Diamond Lakes Regional Park in south Richmond County is a regional park featuring a disc golf course, dog park, amphitheater, bike and running paths, and gardens. Pendleton King is a public park featuring an amphitheaters, gardens, a putting green, and a fountain in which children can play. The city of Augusta is home to the American Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. It is also the home of the Augusta Museum of Nature and Science, which was established in 1881. The Augusta Museum is a national historic site, with a collection of more than 1,000 pieces of art, including works of art by James Oglethorpe. The museum is also home to a public art collection, including several works of public art by the likes of William Blake, William Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens. It was also the site of the opening of Augusta's first city hall in 1805. The town's first public school was opened in 1808. The first public library was opened the same year, in 1809, and was later expanded in 1810. The current city library is the oldest in the city, and is located on the second floor of a building on the third floor.

Law and government

In 1995, citizens of Augusta and unincorporated parts of Richmond County voted to consolidate their city and county governments. Citizens of Hephzibah and Blythe, also located in Richmond County, voted against joining in the merger, which took effect January 1, 1996. The unified government consists of a mayor and ten commissioners. Augusta is one of the few consolidated city-counties in the state that retain the sheriff in a law enforcement capacity. Prior to consolidation, Augusta had a city police department and the Richmond County sheriff patrolled the uninc incorporated areas of the county. The consolidation charter deems the sheriff as the chief law enforcement officer of Augusta County. Augusta-Richmond has a mayor, ten commissioners, and a super district that encompasses half of the city's population. The mayor is elected at-large, while the commissioners are elected in single-member districts. Augusta has a police department, and the sheriff's office patrols the main city of Augusta as well as the unIncorporated areas of Bly the and HephZibah. Both towns have their own police departments. Augusta also has a fire department, but the sheriff patrols the city and the fire department in Heph Zibah as well. Augusta's mayor is also the mayor of the town of Augusta, which has its own police department. The county has a sheriff, who patrols the town and the surrounding unincorporated areas. Augusta and Richmond County have a combined population of more than 2,000,000.

List of mayors

See List of mayors of Augusta, Georgia for a list of Augusta's mayors. See List of Georgia mayors for a full list of mayors in the state. See list of Georgia governors for a complete list of all governors in Georgia. see list of governors in the U.S. state of Georgia for an overview of governors of the state in the United States. See city of Augusta for a map of the city in Georgia, by state and county. See Augusta's mayor for a detailed map of Augusta in Georgia and the state at a later date. The city's mayor is a member of the Georgia Democratic Party. The mayor of Augusta is a former mayor of the same city, and served in the Georgia House of Representatives in the 1980s and 1990s, and was elected mayor in 2000. The town's mayor was elected to a second term in 2008. The current mayor is John McChrystal, who was elected in 2010. The Augusta mayor was re-elected in 2012. The Mayors of Augusta have been elected for a third term in 2014 and 2015. The Mayor of Augusta has been in office since 1998. The City of Augusta was founded in 1881. The first mayor was William "Bill" McChary, who served as mayor from 1881 to 1883. The present mayor is William McCharry, who took office in 1998 and served two terms as mayor until 2002. The last mayor was William McChrylate, who died in office in 2007, and is buried in Augusta.

Education

Public schools in Augusta are managed by the Richmond County School System. The school system contains 36 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and the following eight high schools: Glenn Hills, Butler, Westside, Hephzibah, T. W. Josey, A.R.C. (Academy of Richmond County), Lucy Craft Laney, and Cross Creek. There are four magnet schools: C. T. Walker Traditional Magnet School and A. R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet High School. Private schools include Aquinas High School, Episcopal Day School, Saint Mary on the Hill Catholic School, Immaculate Conception School, Hillcrest Baptist Church School. Augusta Christian Schools, Augusta First Seventh-day Adventist School, and Augusta Preparatory Day School serve Augusta, but are located in neighboring Martinez. Georgia Military College (state funded military college), main campus located in Milledgeville. Brennanau University (private, not-for-profit, undergraduate and graduate-level higher education), maincampus located in Gainesville, Georgia. Augusta University (public research university) (state four-year college) (State Technical College, state technical college) Paine College (private, Methodist historically black college) Georgia State College (state four- year college, statetechnical college), state technicalcollege, stateTechnical College, Georgia State University (state technical college, public research university), Georgia State Community College (State technical college), State University of Georgia (state community college).

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Augusta, Columbia County, Georgia = 32.9. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 81. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 98. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Augusta = 4.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 202,081 individuals with a median age of 34.3 age the population dropped by -1.53% in Augusta, Columbia County, Georgia population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 668.52 residents per square mile of area (258.12/km²). There are average 2.49 people per household in the 73,253 households with an average household income of $37,741 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.20% of the available work force and has dropped -3.62% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 22.66%. The number of physicians in Augusta per 100,000 population = 499.7.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Augusta = 43.7 inches and the annual snowfall = 1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 107. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 222. 92 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 33.5 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 30, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Augusta, Columbia County, Georgia which are owned by the occupant = 50.99%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 33 years with median home cost = $80,290 and home appreciation of 1.19%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $8.07 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,152 per student. There are 15.1 students for each teacher in the school, 311 students for each Librarian and 451 students for each Counselor. 6.73% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 12.21% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 6.64% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).