Georgia · county 13217

Newton County, Georgia: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Newton 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 Newton County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

124,010 people (2024 Census estimate, +9.8% since 2020)
274 square miles of land · 453 people per square mile

How Newton County compares — against the other counties in Georgia

124,010 — people: 22nd highest of 159 Georgia counties.
$14,013 — spending per student in its school districts: 88th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
74.1 years — life expectancy: 59th highest of 158 Georgia counties.
12.9% — share of adults under 65 without health insurance: 128th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
18.3% — child poverty: 119th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
93.7% — households with broadband internet: 7th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
$76,151 — median household income: 27th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
2.0% — share of bridges rated poor: 47th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
$102 — federal grant dollars per resident: 119th highest of 159 Georgia counties.
$22.8 million — expected yearly losses from natural hazards: 35th 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 Newton County

13 active community water systems list Newton County in the area they serve, reporting 95,877 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

NEWTON CO. WATER-SEWERAGE AUTH buys surface water · local government · GA2170004	74,364 served
COVINGTON buys surface water · local government · GA2170001	14,391 served
OXFORD buys surface water · local government · GA2170020	2,132 served
PORTERDALE buys surface water · local government · GA2170014	1,944 served
MANSFIELD buys surface water · local government · GA2170002	791 served
NEWBORN WATER SYSTEM buys surface water · local government · GA2170003	667 served
DIAL WATER SYSTEM groundwater · private · GA2170010	648 served
RIVERSIDE ESTATES MHP #2 buys surface water · private · GA2170028	334 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 549 people were held in Newton County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 299.

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 Newton County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

NEWTON CO SCH DIST18,661 students

Spent $292.2 million — $261.5 million to run schools, about $14,013 per student, plus $26.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $110.9 million local (mostly property tax), $130.5 million state, $55.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $77.4 million.

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 — Newton County beside Georgia

Life expectancy74.1 years · Georgia 75.6 years

Adults under 65 without health insurance12.9% · Georgia 13.6%

Children in poverty18.3% · Georgia 18.8%

Households without enough food (food insecurity)11.7% · Georgia 13.1%

Households with broadband internet93.7% · Georgia 89.4%

Households with severe housing problems16.6% · Georgia 15.2%

Drug overdose deaths per 100,00020.2 · Georgia 21.9

Residents per primary care doctor4,272 · Georgia 1,517

Residents per mental health provider939 · Georgia 525

Unemployment3.8% · Georgia 3.2%

Median household income$76,151 · 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: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Newton County about $22.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Very Low.

The costliest hazards here

River and inland flooding$13.3 million a year · Relatively Low

Tornado$3.9 million a year · Relatively Moderate

Strong wind$1.2 million a year · Relatively Moderate

Heat wave$843,257 a year · Relatively Low

Cold wave$831,172 a year · Relatively Low

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

99 bridges in Newton County: 71 in good condition, 26 fair, and 2 poor (2.0%). “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

SR 212 over LAKE JACKSON(OCMULGEE R) · built 1964	6,260 vehicles a day
DIAL MILL ROAD over LITTLE HAYNES CREEK · built 1970	1,910 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 $11.4 million of work in Newton County in fiscal 2025, about $102 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 Newton 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 Newton County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

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

Nearby counties: Rockdale County (12 mi) · Walton County (17 mi) · Henry County (19 mi) · Jasper County (19 mi) · Butts County (19 mi) · Morgan County (20 mi).