Counties / Georgia / Ware County

Ware County, GA

FIPS 13299 · population 35,976 · part of Waycross, GA

$148k
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
$148k
▲ 1.5% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
Median asking rent
$1,200
n/a year over year
Zillow ZORI · direct
Gross yield
9.7%
annual rent ÷ price, before costs
derived: rent × 12 ÷ price ✓
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,031
market rent is 1.16x the 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.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+79.3%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+1.5%FHFA HPI2025+11.1%
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$110k
Surveyed gross rent$789
Rent burden 30%+52.3%
Median year built1978
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
18.7%vacant
15,943estimated housing units
Occupied tenure36.9% renter
owner 63.1%renter 36.9%
Structure mix65.8% single-family
Single-family 65.8%20+ units 1.9%Mobile home 20.0%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 jobs14,275▼ 2.2% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments991annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$917▲ 3.4% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities29.6% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−2.2%WEEKLY WAGE+3.4%Trade, transportation, and utilities29.6%
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

Ware County presents a cash-flow-versus-marketability tension: the reported gross yield must be weighed against listing-market, employment, and flood underwriting that remains incomplete. It suits investigators able to underwrite individual properties and warrants caution for buyers relying on rapid resale or untested insurance costs. Zillow’s 2026-06 county median home value is $148,493. Separately, FHFA’s annual repeat-transaction HPI rose 11.13%; that index is not a home value and cannot be blended with Zillow’s different vintage and method.

02Housing economics

Median asking rent is $1,200 per month, producing the reported 9.70% gross yield before operating costs. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate; it must not substitute for measured market rent or be used to recalculate yield. The effective property-tax rate is 0.96%, so parcel-specific assessment still matters to net operating results. Missing vacancy, turnover, repairs, insurance, utilities, and financing terms prevents a net-yield or debt-coverage conclusion.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com reports 118 active MLS listings and 77 median days on market. These are visible asking-market supply and marketing-time measures, while the published price-reduced share is evidence of seller concessions; none is a closed-sale price or proof of buyer demand alone. In QCEW’s 2025 annual workplace record, covered employment fell 2.21%. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Net migration of 126 tax-return households came with incoming mover AGI $1,053 below outgoing movers’ AGI, limiting the strength of the inflow signal. The record identifies 42 investor purchases among 241 total purchases, or 17.43%, defining a competition segment rather than total demand.

04Risk & next checks

The dominant hazard is inland flood, and the modeled climate-loss ratio is 0.12% of building value per year. That model is not a parcel loss estimate or insurance quote. Flood-zone and elevation review, prior loss history, insurance terms, parcel assessments, condition, vacancy, and operating-cost records are needed before net cash flow can be underwritten. Closed-sale comparables and property-level rent rolls are not published here; without them, exit pricing and rent durability cannot be concluded.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Ware 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
Waycross city*13.8KDeenwood CDP2.4KSunnyside CDP1KManor CDP136Waresboro CDP108Dixie Union CDP81Millwood CDP66
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

7 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Waycross cityIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    13,756
  2. 02
    Deenwood CDPCensus-designated place
    2,360
  3. 03
    Sunnyside CDPCensus-designated place
    1,031
  4. 04
    Manor CDPCensus-designated place
    136
  5. 05
    Waresboro CDPCensus-designated place
    108
  6. 06
    Dixie Union CDPCensus-designated place
    81
  7. 07
    Millwood CDPCensus-designated place
    66

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

0.125% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.96%

$1,047 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+126

879 in · 753 out

Arriving vs leaving income−$1,053

$41,392 arriving · $42,445 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors17.4%

42 of 241 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings118▼ 16.3% year over year
Median days on market77▲ 11.6% year over year
Listings price-reduced16.3%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 6.2% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

Same metro

The other counties in Waycross, GA

A metro is an average of these. Which side of a county line a property sits on can change the tax bill, the hazard profile and the tenant pool.

CountyPopulationPriceRentYieldHazard
Ware County35,976$148k$1,2009.7%inland flooding
Pierce County20,202$216kn/an/ahurricane
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Parcel-level flood exposure and insurance costs may differ materially from the county modeled loss ratio.
  2. Gross yield may not survive vacancy, repairs, insurance, taxes, and other operating costs.
  3. Listing-market indicators may not translate into attainable closed-sale exits.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Is the rent measure a HUD payment standard or a market-rent observation?

It is a published median asking-rent observation; HUD two-bedroom FMR is separately a payment standard.

What does QCEW employment represent here?

Annual covered jobs at county workplaces, not resident employment or an unemployment measure.

Can the record establish parcel-level flood insurance cost?

No. It provides a county modeled climate-loss ratio and identifies inland flood as the dominant hazard, not parcel insurance terms.