Rockdale County, Georgia - Wikipedia

County in Georgia, United States County in Georgia

Rockdale County, Georgia
County
Rockdale County Courthouse in Conyers
FlagSeal
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Coordinates: 33°39′N 84°02′W / 33.65°N 84.03°W / 33.65; -84.03
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	October 18, 1870; 155 years ago (1870-10-18)
Named after	Rockdale Baptist Church
Seat	Conyers
Largest city	Conyers
Area
• Total	132 sq mi (340 km2)
• Land	130 sq mi (340 km2)
• Water	2.3 sq mi (6.0 km2)  1.7%
Population (2020)
• Total	93,570
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	rockdalecountyga.gov

Rockdale County is a county located in the North Central portion in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,570 up from 85,215 in 2010.[1][2] The county seat is Conyers.[3]

Rockdale County is included in Metro Atlanta.

History

[edit]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (November 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Rockdale County was formed on October 18, 1870[4][5] and received its name from Rockdale Baptist Church (est. May 29, 1847), which was named after the granite strata that rests under the county's red clay top soil.[6] A bill introduced by John F. Hardin and John Harris carved Rockdale out of the northern portion of Newton County; parts of Rockdale County also came from neighboring Henry, Walton, Gwinnett, and DeKalb counties. Conyers, Rockdale's only incorporated town and urban center, became the county seat.

Prior to Rockdale becoming a county, the land had been inhabited by the Creek and Cherokee; the boundary between the two native nations, the Hightower Trail, ran directly through the area. Burial remains have been discovered in the Honey Creek and Hi-Roc areas. Whites began migrating to the area in the early 19th century and initial white settlers suffered from Indian raids. Early white settlements developed along Big Haynes Creek in the northern part of the county, the Yellow River in the middle portion of the county, and Honey Creek in the south.

Communities formed around grist mills and newly formed churches such as Haralson Mill, Costleys Mill, Dial Mill, Zacharys Mill, McElroys Mill, Union Grove Baptist Church, Ebenezer Methodist Church, Philadelphia Methodist Church, Salem Baptist Church, Smyrna Presbyterian Church, Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Bethel Christian Church, Honey Creek Baptist Church, and Whites Chapel Methodist Church. Other communities included Magnet and Zingara. These settlers were largely subsistence farmers.

During the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman marched the Union Army north of Conyers on his way to Covington from Lithonia. Seizure and destruction of property accompanied his army's march through the area. Many of the residents of Conyers, fearing Sherman would raze the city, fled to nearby Social Circle in Walton County, since Conyers was an important stop on the Georgia Railroad, but Conyers remained unscathed by the war.

The city is a fine example of residential and commercial architecture of the 19th century. According to a historical marker on U.S. Highway 278 west of Conyers, Major General Joseph Wheeler of the Confederate States Army and part of his staff were captured by Union troops pursuing Jefferson Davis on May 9, 1865. Wheeler was later released in Athens only to be recaptured again. He was wounded three times and had his horse shot out from under him sixteen times.

During Reconstruction, Conyers and Rockdale County experienced tremendous growth. According to the local newspaper, The Weekly Farmer, the population of Conyers increased from 300 to 2,000. The number of stores, businesses, schools, and churches of the county rapidly multiplied as well. Parts of the county were infamous for moonshining and the county became dry in 1882, prohibiting the sale and manufacture of liquor except by a licensed pharmacist as prescribed by a physician. The economy of the county was still based primarily on agriculture into the early 20th century. The PBS documentary The Lost Children of Rockdale County is about a syphilis outbreak which occurred in the county during the 1990s.

Geography

[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 132 square miles (340 km2), of which 130 square miles (340 km2) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2) (1.7%) is water.[7] It is the second-smallest county in Georgia by area, ahead of Clarke County.

The entirety of Rockdale County is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.[8]

Adjacent counties

[edit]

• Newton County – Southeast
• Henry County – southwest
• DeKalb County – west
• Walton County – northeast
• Gwinnett County – north

Communities

[edit]

City

[edit]

• Conyers

Census-designated places

[edit]

• Lakeview Estates
• Milstead

Demographics

[edit] Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	6,838	—
1890	6,813	−0.4%
1900	7,515	10.3%
1910	8,916	18.6%
1920	9,521	6.8%
1930	7,247	−23.9%
1940	7,724	6.6%
1950	8,464	9.6%
1960	10,572	24.9%
1970	18,152	71.7%
1980	36,747	102.4%
1990	54,091	47.2%
2000	70,111	29.6%
2010	85,215	21.5%
2020	93,570	9.8%
2024 (est.)	97,610	[9]	4.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]1790-1880[11] 1890-1910[12] 1920-1930[13] 1930-1940[14] 1940-1950[15] 1960-1980[16] 1980-2000[17] 2010[18] 2020[19]

Rockdale County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic compositionNote: the U.S. 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[20]	Pop 2010[18]	Pop 2020[19]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	50,967	34,826	24,500	72.69%	40.87%	26.18%
Black or African American alone (NH)	12,670	38,996	53,785	18.07%	45.76%	57.48%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	166	179	168	0.24%	0.21%	0.18%
Asian alone (NH)	1,339	1,498	1,532	1.91%	1.76%	1.64%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	36	52	72	0.05%	0.06%	0.08%
Other race alone (NH)	100	230	617	0.14%	0.27%	0.66%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	651	1,371	3,356	0.93%	1.61%	3.59%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	4,182	8,063	9,540	5.96%	9.46%	10.20%
Total	70,111	85,215	93,570	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2020 census

[edit]

As of the 2020 census, there were 93,570 people, 33,114 households, and 23,533 families residing in the county.[21]

The median age was 39.7 years; 23.6% of residents were under the age of 18, and 15.5% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.6 males age 18 and over.[21]

Eighty-six point three percent of residents lived in urban areas, while 13.7% lived in rural areas.[22]

The racial makeup of the county was 27.4% White, 58.1% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 5.7% from some other race, and 6.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.2% of the population.[23]

Of the 33,114 households, 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 32.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[21]

There were 35,427 housing units, of which 6.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.9% were owner-occupied and 32.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.3%.[21]

2010 census

[edit]

In 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $53,599, and the median income for a family was $60,065. Males had a median income of $41,087 versus $29,189 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,300. About 5.70% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.00% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.

Education

[edit] Main article: Rockdale County School District

Government and policing

[edit]

Rockdale County Sheriff

[edit]

The Sheriff's Office provides police patrol to the county areas other than in Conyers which has a municipal police department. The Sheriff also protects the court, maintains the county prison, and provides administration services.[citation needed]

Politics

[edit]

A former Republican stronghold, Rockdale County has undergone a massive shift towards the Democratic Party in recent decades, primarily due to large growth of the African-American population. In 2000, Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush won 62.64% of the county's vote, defeating Democrat Al Gore by 29 percentage points. However, just 20 years later, Democratic nominee Joe Biden won 69.88% of the county's vote, defeating Republican incumbent Donald Trump by nearly 41 percentage points. Contrary to national and statewide trends, Rockdale County delivered a larger margin for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in 2024, who defeated Republican nominee Donald Trump by 47 percentage points even as Trump narrowly flipped the state of Georgia back to the GOP column.

United States presidential election results for Rockdale County, Georgia[24]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	№	%	№	%	№	%
1912	51	10.32%	432	87.45%	11	2.23%
1916	56	9.05%	490	79.16%	73	11.79%
1920	201	29.17%	488	70.83%	0	0.00%
1924	24	5.53%	382	88.02%	28	6.45%
1928	156	24.84%	472	75.16%	0	0.00%
1932	18	3.73%	461	95.45%	4	0.83%
1936	73	8.01%	837	91.88%	1	0.11%
1940	86	6.23%	1,291	93.55%	3	0.22%
1944	96	9.21%	946	90.79%	0	0.00%
1948	146	9.86%	1,209	81.63%	126	8.51%
1952	321	16.16%	1,665	83.84%	0	0.00%
1956	484	21.39%	1,779	78.61%	0	0.00%
1960	496	21.94%	1,765	78.06%	0	0.00%
1964	1,503	43.25%	1,972	56.75%	0	0.00%
1968	1,195	25.85%	1,213	26.24%	2,215	47.91%
1972	3,560	81.82%	791	18.18%	0	0.00%
1976	2,974	39.06%	4,640	60.94%	0	0.00%
1980	5,300	52.65%	4,395	43.66%	372	3.70%
1984	10,121	75.46%	3,291	24.54%	0	0.00%
1988	12,413	73.77%	4,330	25.73%	83	0.49%
1992	11,945	52.64%	7,003	30.86%	3,742	16.49%
1996	13,006	57.31%	7,656	33.73%	2,034	8.96%
2000	15,440	62.64%	8,295	33.65%	914	3.71%
2004	18,856	60.42%	12,136	38.89%	214	0.69%
2008	16,921	44.78%	20,526	54.32%	337	0.89%
2012	15,716	41.19%	22,023	57.72%	417	1.09%
2016	13,478	35.39%	23,255	61.06%	1,354	3.56%
2020	13,014	29.11%	31,237	69.88%	448	1.00%
2024	11,711	25.75%	33,165	72.94%	595	1.31%

[25] United States Senate election results for Rockdale County, Georgia3

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	№	%	№	%	№	%
2022	7,752	24.51%	23,877	75.49%	0	0.00%

Rockdale County is one of nine counties that shifted more than 25 percentage points to the left from 2012 to 2024.[26]

Board of Commissioners
District	Commissioner	Party
CHAIR (at-large)	JaNice Van Ness (chairwoman)	Democratic
Post 1	Tuwanya Smith	Democratic
Post 2	Doreen Williams	Democratic

Georgia General Assembly

[edit]

Georgia State Senate

[edit]

District		Name	Party	Assumed office
	43	Emanuel Jones	Tonya Anderson	2017

Georgia House of Representatives

[edit]

District		Name	Party	Assumed office
	91	Angela Moore	Democratic	2023
	92	Rhonda Taylor	Democratic	2023
	93	Doreen Carter	Democratic	2023

Recreation

[edit]

• Georgia International Horse Park[27]
• Black Shoals Lake and Covered Bridge
• Old Towne Conyers Historic District
• Monastery of the Holy Spirit[28]
• Salem Campground[29]
• Smyrna Campground
• Milstead Historic Mill Village
• Panola Mountain State Park
• Rockdale Baptist Church
• Georgia Revolution FC [30]

Transportation

[edit]

Major highways

[edit]

• I-20 / US 278 / SR 12 / SR 402
• SR 20
• SR 138
• SR 162
• SR 212

Pedestrians and cycling

[edit]

• Arabia Mountain Path
• Conyers Trail
• Deer Run Trial
• Rockdale River Trail
• S River Trail

Notable people

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Jill Arrington, ESPN college football reporter
• Billy Buckner, former Major League Baseball player
• Pop-punk band Cartel's Will Pugh, Joseph Pepper, Jeff Lett, Nic Hudson, & Kevin Sanders
• David Elder, former Major League Baseball player
• Dakota Fanning, actress
• Elle Fanning, actress
• Holly Hunter, actress
• John Mark Karr, JonBenét Ramsey's falsely claimed murderer
• Clint Mathis, World Cup soccer player
• Jack McBrayer, actor
• Kevin Ware, current college basketball player
• E.R. Shipp - Pulitzer Prize recipient
• Grady Jarrett - NFL player
• Teddy Swims - Singer

See also

[edit]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockdale County, Georgia
• List of counties in Georgia

Sources

[edit]

• Margaret G. Barksdale, E. L. Cowan, Francis A. King, eds. A History of Rockdale County (Conyers, Ga., 1978).
• The Heritage of Rockdale County, Georgia (Waynesville, N.C., 1998).

References

[edit]

1. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
2. ^ US Census Bureau, 2020 Report, Rockdale County, Georgia
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. ^ "History of Rockdale County". Rockdale County. Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
5. ^ "Rockdale County". Georgia.gov. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
6. ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 191. ISBN 0-915430-00-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 17, 2003.
7. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
8. ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
9. ^ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
10. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade". United States Census Bureau.
11. ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
12. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
13. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
14. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
15. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
16. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
17. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
18. ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Rockdale County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
19. ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Rockdale County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
20. ^ "P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Rockdale County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
21. ^ a b c d "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
22. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
23. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
24. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
25. ^ "2022 Senate Election (Official Returns)". Commonwealth of Georgia by county. November 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
26. ^ Goldmacher, Shane (May 25, 2025). "How Donald Trump Has Remade America's Political Landscape". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2025. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
27. ^ The Conyers (2023). "Georgia International Horse Park". Georgia International Horse Park. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
28. ^ "Monastery of the Holy Spirit |". www.trappist.net. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
29. ^ Salem Campground website
30. ^ "Soccer | Georgia Revolution | Mcdonough". Georgia Revolution. Retrieved February 17, 2024.

External links

[edit]

• Rockdale County Historical Maps
• Rockdale County Courthouse
• The Rockdale Citizen Serving the citizens of Rockdale and Newton Counties
• The Rockdale News Archived March 23, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
• Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce Wayback Machine
• Conyers Convention and Visitor's Bureau Conyers Convention & Visitor's Bureau
• The Lost Children Of Rockdale County PBS

Places adjacent to Rockdale County, Georgia
Gwinnett County Walton County DeKalb County Rockdale County, Georgia Newton County Henry County

v t e Municipalities and communities of Rockdale County, Georgia, United States
County seat: Conyers
City	Conyers
CDPs	Lakeview Estates Milstead
Georgia portal United States portal

v t e Metro Atlanta
Counties Barrow Bartow Butts Carroll Cherokee Clayton Cobb Coweta Dawson DeKalb Douglas Fayette Forsyth Fulton Gwinnett Hall Haralson Heard Henry Jasper Lamar Meriwether Newton Paulding Pickens Pike Rockdale Spalding Walton
Municipalities and CDPs in Metro Atlanta 500k+ Atlanta 100k–250k Cumberland East Cobb Sandy Springs 25k–100k Alpharetta Brookhaven Duluth Douglasville Dunwoody East Point Gainesville Johns Creek Lawrenceville Mableton Marietta Milton Newnan Peachtree City Peachtree Corners Roswell Redan Smyrna Tucker 10k–25k Acworth Belvedere Park Buford Candler-McAfee Carrollton Cartersville Chamblee College Park Conyers Covington Decatur Doraville Druid Hills Fayetteville Forest Park Griffin Kennesaw Suwanee Lilburn Monroe Mountain Park North Decatur North Druid Hills Panthersville Powder Springs Riverdale Snellville Stockbridge Sugar Hill Union City Vinings Winder Woodstock
Topics Architecture Arts Climate Crime Colleges and universities Demographics Festivals Government Historic Districts History Media Museums Neighborhoods Parks People Public schools Religion Skyscrapers Sports Tourism Transportation (Atlanta) Transportation (Metro Atlanta)
Georgia

v t e State of Georgia
Atlanta (capital)
Topics	Index Climate change Geology History Congressional delegations Government Law People Mass media newspapers radio TV Music Elections Geography State parks Symbols Transportation Tourist attractions African Americans (Slavery)
Society	Abortion Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Gun laws LGBTQ rights Politics Sports
Regions	Central Georgia Coastal Georgia East Georgia East Central Georgia Golden Isles Lower Coastal Plain Metro Atlanta North Georgia Northeast Georgia Northwest Georgia Sea Islands South Georgia Southeast Georgia Southwest Georgia West Georgia West Central Georgia
Largest cities	Albany Atlanta Athens Augusta Columbus Johns Creek Macon Marietta Roswell Sandy Springs Savannah South Fulton Valdosta Warner Robins
Counties	Appling Atkinson Bacon Baker Baldwin Banks Barrow Bartow Ben Hill Berrien Bibb Bleckley Brantley Brooks Bryan Bulloch Burke Butts Calhoun Camden Candler Carroll Catoosa Charlton Chatham Chattahoochee Chattooga Cherokee Clarke Clay Clayton Clinch Cobb Coffee Colquitt Columbia Cook Coweta Crawford Crisp Dade Dawson Decatur DeKalb Dodge Dooly Dougherty Douglas Early Echols Effingham Elbert Emanuel Evans Fannin Fayette Floyd Forsyth Franklin Fulton Gilmer Glascock Glynn Gordon Grady Greene Gwinnett Habersham Hall Hancock Haralson Harris Hart Heard Henry Houston Irwin Jackson Jasper Jeff Davis Jefferson Jenkins Johnson Jones Lamar Lanier Laurens Lee Liberty Lincoln Long Lowndes Lumpkin Macon Madison Marion McDuffie McIntosh Meriwether Miller Mitchell Monroe Montgomery Morgan Murray Muscogee Newton Oconee Oglethorpe Paulding Peach Pickens Pierce Pike Polk Pulaski Putnam Quitman Rabun Randolph Richmond Rockdale Schley Screven Seminole Spalding Stephens Stewart Sumter Talbot Taliaferro Tattnall Taylor Telfair Terrell Thomas Tift Toombs Towns Treutlen Troup Turner Twiggs Union Upson Walker Walton Ware Warren Washington Wayne Webster Wheeler White Whitfield Wilcox Wilkes Wilkinson Worth (Campbell) (Milton)
Georgia (U.S. state) portal Category WikiProject

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	United States Israel
Geographic	MusicBrainz area
Other	NARA Yale LUX

33°39′N 84°02′W / 33.65°N 84.03°W / 33.65; -84.03