Georgia · county 13033

Burke County, Georgia: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Burke County — people, schools, health, drinking water, bridges, disaster risk, the jail, federal grants and how to vote — each with its source. A full County Commons site (the budget line by line, your tax bill, audits, local offices) isn't built for Burke County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

24,472 people (2024 Census estimate, −0.7% since 2020)
827 square miles of land · 30 people per square mile

How Burke County compares — against the other counties in Georgia

24,472 — people: 79th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
$19,444 — spending per student in its school districts: 14th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
73.0 years — life expectancy: 77th highest of 158 Georgia counties.
11.8% — share of adults under 65 without health insurance: 142nd highest of 159 Georgia counties.
31.0% — child poverty: 51st highest of 159 Georgia counties.
82.8% — households with broadband internet: 77th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
$51,388 — median household income: 99th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
5.0% — share of bridges rated poor: 13th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
$373 — federal grant dollars per resident: 56th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
$9.3 million — expected yearly losses from natural hazards: 77th highest of 159 Georgia counties.

“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.

Drinking water — public water systems serving Burke County

7 active community water systems list Burke County in the area they serve, reporting 8,591 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

WAYNESBORO groundwater · local government · GA0330004	5,900 served
SARDIS groundwater · local government · GA0330002	1,151 served
MIDVILLE groundwater · local government · GA0330001	776 served
KEYSVILLE groundwater · local government · GA0330044	305 served
GIRARD groundwater · local government · GA0330000	254 served
VIDETTE groundwater · local government · GA0330003	127 served
WESTERN ESTATES groundwater · local government · GA0330049	78 served

Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.

The jail — people held in the county jail

About 100 people were held in Burke County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 96.

Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.

Public schools — district budgets, fiscal 2023

1 school district has its office in Burke County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

BURKE CO SCH DIST3,990 students

Spent $83.2 million — $77.6 million to run schools, about $19,444 per student, plus $5.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $102.3 million local (mostly property tax), $4.9 million state, $16.7 million federal.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.

Health, money and internet at home — Burke County beside Georgia

Life expectancy73.0 years · Georgia 75.6 years

Adults under 65 without health insurance11.8% · Georgia 13.6%

Children in poverty31.0% · Georgia 18.8%

Households without enough food (food insecurity)14.3% · Georgia 13.1%

Households with broadband internet82.8% · Georgia 89.4%

Households with severe housing problems11.2% · Georgia 15.2%

Drug overdose deaths per 100,00019.6 · Georgia 21.9

Residents per primary care doctor3,039 · Georgia 1,517

Residents per mental health provider2,222 · Georgia 525

Unemployment5.5% · Georgia 3.2%

Median household income$51,388 · Georgia $74,521

Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.

Disaster risk — FEMA's National Risk Index

Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Burke County about $9.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively High.

The costliest hazards here

River and inland flooding$2.9 million a year · Very Low

Hurricane$1.8 million a year · Relatively Low

Tornado$1.3 million a year · Relatively Low

Earthquake$964,668 a year · Relatively Low

Drought$764,234 a year · Relatively Moderate

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.

Bridges — condition of every public bridge, 2025

80 bridges in Burke County: 57 in good condition, 19 fair, and 4 poor (5.0%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.

Busiest bridges rated poor

HERNDAN ROAD over BUCKHEAD CREEK · built 1957	330 vehicles a day
WALKER DOW ROAD over BUCKHEAD CREEK · built 1988	158 vehicles a day
HILLS MILL ROAD over BUCKHEAD CREEK · built 1990	158 vehicles a day
WALKER DOW ROAD over THORNTON CREEK · built 1988	10 vehicles a day

Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.

Federal grants — the money that came in, and what's open now

Federal grants paid for $9.2 million of work in Burke County in fiscal 2025, about $373 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.

Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.

Open now: federal grants county governments can apply for

F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026 Fish and Wildlife Service · F26AS00062	closes 2026-10-13
OVC FY 2026 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Office for Victims of Crime · O-OVC-2026-172699	closes 2026-10-14
BJA FY 2026 Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172661	closes 2026-10-15
FY26 Bureau of Land Management Youth Conservation Corps - Bureau wide Bureau of Land Management · L26AS00064	closes 2026-10-16
FY 2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) FAA Contract Tower (FCT) Competitive Grant Program Airport Improvement Program Discretionary Grants · DOT-FAA-26-0117-002	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Service Area Competition (SAC) Health Resources and Services Administration · HRSA-27-005	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Competition AmeriCorps · AC-08-20-2026	closes 2026-10-20
DOJ FY 2026 Assisting Neighborhoods and Governments with Enforcement of Laws (ANGEL) Grant Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172778	closes 2026-10-20
Long-term health outcomes of people living with spina bifida Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD · CDC-RFA-DD-26-0222	closes 2026-10-26
OJJDP FY 2026 Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention · O-OJJDP-2026-172741	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Veterans Treatment Court Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172714	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172708	closes 2026-10-29

From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.

Voting

Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Georgia are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.

Not here yet

The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Burke County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Burke County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

More of Georgia: the state government and every county in Georgia.

Nearby counties: Jenkins County (18 mi) · Richmond County (21 mi) · Jefferson County (24 mi) · Screven County (31 mi) · Barnwell County, SC (36 mi) · Emanuel County (37 mi).