Counties / Georgia / Telfair County

Telfair County, GA

FIPS 13271 · population 11,831 · outside every metro area

$116k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$116k
▲ 1.1% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$712
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$973
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

One annual series is unavailable
FHFA five-year cumulativen/anot annualized · through n/a
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+1.1%FHFA HPIperiod n/an/a
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$113k
Surveyed gross rent$712
Rent burden 30%+47.9%
Median year built1979
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
28.8%vacant
4,705estimated housing units
Occupied tenure35.1% renter
owner 64.9%renter 35.1%
Structure mix61.9% single-family
Single-family 61.9%20+ units 0.3%Mobile home 25.5%Other 12.3%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs2,120▲ 2.5% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments226annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$842▲ 4.6% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities33.4% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+2.5%WEEKLY WAGE+4.6%Trade, transportation, and utilities33.4%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Telfair presents a low-dollar entry point but an incomplete income case: Zillow's county median home value was $116,307 in 2026-06, only 1.15% above its labeled prior-year observation. The central tension is whether a buyer can document property-level rent and flood or insurance costs before treating modest value movement as support for an acquisition. It merits investigation by operators able to verify leases and hazard exposure; buyers relying on headline yield or resale momentum should be cautious.

02Housing economics

Measured market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD's $973 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not asking rent, and cannot substitute for market rent or yield. The supplied effective property-tax rate is 1.12%, with $1,269 median annual tax; these are carrying-cost inputs, but neither tax measure ties to a specific property assessment. Realtor.com MLS listing-market figures are not published, leaving no county read on visible supply, marketing time, seller reductions, or pending activity.

03Demand & competition

Demand and buyer competition are mixed rather than conclusive. Annual QCEW covered employment at county workplaces rose 2.51%; it is neither resident employment nor an unemployment measure. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Tax-return migration records show 216 movers in and 228 out; average AGI was $30,106 for in-movers versus $34,544 for out-movers. That combination does not show a net gain in mover purchasing power. Investors accounted for 4 of 43 purchases, or 9.30%, which establishes participation but not broad competitive pressure.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the modeled climate loss ratio is 0.14% of building value per year; it is a modeled expected-loss rate, not property-specific damage. FHFA annual HPI figures are not published, so no repeat-transaction index can corroborate or challenge Zillow's direction. Next checks are parcel flood zone and elevation, insurance terms, tax assessment, actual leases or asking-rent comparables, plus MLS listings, days on market, reductions, pending activity and closed-sale records. Those missing items prevent a property-level cost, rent and liquidity conclusion.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Telfair County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
McRae-Helena city*6KLumber City city1KMilan city*842Scotland city*218Jacksonville city121
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

5 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    McRae-Helena cityIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    6,030
  2. 02
    Lumber City cityIncorporated place
    1,004
  3. 03
    Milan cityIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    842
  4. 04
    Scotland cityIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    218
  5. 05
    Jacksonville cityIncorporated place
    121

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.137% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.12%

$1,269 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-12

216 in · 228 out

Arriving vs leaving income−$4,438

$30,106 arriving · $34,544 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors9.3%

4 of 43 mortgages

investorother financed
No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Market rent, gross yield, and MLS liquidity metrics are unpublished, leaving cash flow and exit conditions untested.
  2. Property-specific inland-flood exposure and insurance cost can diverge from the county modeled climate loss rate.
  3. Out-migration and lower incoming mover AGI may not support sufficient tenant or buyer depth.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. Market rent is not published, and HUD FMR cannot fill the gap.

Do county data provide an MLS supply or seller-concession read?

No. Active listings, days on market, reductions, and pending ratio are not published.

Is repeat-transaction appreciation corroboration available?

No. FHFA annual HPI figures are absent.