Feasibility Study Company Independent Feasibility Analysis

Georgia · Market Intelligence

Georgia Feasibility Studies

Census estimates put Georgia 98,540 residents higher in July 2025 than a year earlier 1. Georgia's nonfarm payrolls slipped to a preliminary 4,985.7 thousand over the year to August 2026 2, and in December 2025 the Public Service Commission certified 9,885 megawatts of new Georgia Power capacity 3. For a Georgia feasibility study those dates sit beside the state's SBA, USDA and SSBCI record, its Certificate of Need and licensing rules, and nine markets from Atlanta to Valdosta.

Request a methodology briefing Jump to the nine Georgia markets
98,540
Residents added, July 2024 to July 2025 1
4,985.7K
Nonfarm jobs, August 2026, preliminary 2
23,200
Private jobs tied to FY2025 state economic development projects 4
9,885MW
New Georgia Power capacity certified, December 2025 3
The Georgia Thesis

A population gain to July 2025, a payroll dip to August 2026.

The headline case for Georgia is still population. The Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 release put the state's one-year gain at 98,540 residents, among the largest numeric increases of any state 1, and net domestic migration added 27,333 people in the same year to July 2025 5. The payroll series covers a later span: seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment stood at 4,993.0 thousand in August 2025 and at a preliminary 4,985.7 thousand in August 2026 2. The two periods do not overlap, so this page gives each figure its own dates and sets neither against the other.

Within the payroll year the public side moved two ways. Federal government employment in Georgia fell by 9,400 over the year to August 2026 while state and local government added 7,700 6. Atlanta's metro payrolls also slipped over the year, though BLS did not judge the change statistically significant 7. Meanwhile the state recorded $26.3 billion of investment tied to economic development projects in fiscal 2025 4, and Georgia Power has won approval to build new generation sized for large loads that are still arriving 3.

Statewide Economy

Georgia's residents, payrolls and announced investment, 2024 to 2026.

Population rose to July 2025, payrolls dipped to August 2026, and the state reported record project investment for fiscal 2025.

IndicatorFigurePeriodSource
One-year population gain98,540July 2024 to July 20251
Net domestic migration27,333July 2024 to July 20255
Total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted4,993.0 thousandAugust 20252
Total nonfarm employment, preliminary4,985.7 thousandAugust 20262
State and local government jobs, changeUp 7,700August 2025 to August 20266
Federal government jobs, changeDown 9,400August 2025 to August 20266
Investment tied to economic development projects$26.3 billionState fiscal year 20254
Private-sector jobs tied to those projects23,200State fiscal year 20254

Georgia's gain of 98,540 residents in the year to July 2025 came in a Census release whose headline was the historic decline of net international migration nationally 1. The research found no Georgia figure for the international component that year. The domestic stream is documented: 27,333 net arrivals from other states, as the Tennessee State Data Center tabulated the same Census vintage 5.

Georgia ended the payroll year lower: a preliminary 4,985.7 thousand in August 2026 against 4,993.0 thousand in August 2025 2. The Joint Economic Committee's update shows where the change came from on the public side: federal employment down 9,400, state and local government up 7,700 6. The research found no 12-month figures for construction, manufacturing, trade and transportation, leisure, finance or information, and no current list of the ten largest private employers with headcounts.

Announced investment, fiscal 2025 and after

The state's own figure for fiscal 2025 is $26.3 billion of investment and 23,200 private-sector jobs tied to economic development projects, as 11Alive reported the Governor's release 4. Announcements keep coming: in October 2026 the Governor's office announced an investment of nearly $560 million to expand an automotive hybrid-components plant at West Point in Troup County 8, and the Columbus magnet plant described below was announced in September 2025. The research found no single register of the large 2025 to 2026 projects with their status.

Per capita personal income in Georgia was $63,006 in calendar 2024 9, and the median owner-occupied home value in the 2020 to 2024 five-year American Community Survey estimate was $303,300 10.

Capital Access

Georgia's SBA record and its SSBCI allocation.

SBA lending and the state's federal credit allocation are the two channels covered here; USDA's rural programs have their own section below.

SBA lenders approved, for Georgia projects, 15,063 loans under 7(a) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, net of cancellations, for $11,392.3 million approved in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, net of cancellations, according to SBA's loan-level FOIA data 11. Under 504, debentures for Georgia projects totalled $1,681.6 million approved in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, net of cancellations, in the same files 11. The research could not find a primary SBA ranking of the most active Georgia 7(a) lenders or 504 CDCs for fiscal 2025.

The best available proxy is a broker's tabulation. GoSBA Loans ranks Live Oak Banking Co. first, at $127.2 million of Georgia 7(a) volume in 2025, followed by Newtek Bank at $88.7 million, Huntington National Bank at $59.2 million across 124 loans, Metro City Bank at $55.7 million and Northeast Bank at $50.5 million 12. We cite it as secondary, and with a caution: the same page gives two different statewide totals and two different lender counts, so its rankings are a guide to who is lending, not a dataset to model from 12.

SSBCI at the Department of Community Affairs

Treasury approved Georgia's allocation under the current State Small Business Credit Initiative round on November 4, 2022: $199,616,860, which in the state's rules includes a main capital allocation of $109,140,449, a very small business allocation of $8,678,471 and $53,346,483 for socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, with the balance for incentives and other uses 13. The Department of Community Affairs administers the money, and its lender flyer lists $19,616,860 for the Small Business Credit Guarantee 14.

SBA in Georgia

Where a Georgia SBA file meets the program rules.

SBA's power to ask a Georgia borrower for a study comes from 13 CFR 120.160(b): SBA may require professional appraisals, a survey, or a feasibility study 17. SOP 50 10 8.1 with Technical Policy Updates 16 holds the program tests, and SBA's fee notice covers loans approved October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027 18; the practice page for SBA 7(a) and 504 works through both. SBA's Georgia District Office covers all 159 counties 67.

USDA Rural Development

USDA in Georgia: large announced totals, thin program detail.

USDA's December 2025 release gives Georgia's headline. The program-level numbers a B&I study is benchmarked against were not found.

The December 2025 release put the state's Rural Development total at $906 million and split out $501 million for rural development projects and $405 million for affordable housing 15. What it does not do is break the total down by program, and the research found no fiscal 2025 figure for Business and Industry guarantees, Community Facilities or REAP in Georgia. A study should not fill that gap with a national share or an older year; it should state that the Georgia program figures were not published in a form it could cite.

Our USDA Rural Development practice page covers the Agency's feasibility components, and the poultry processing case shows one built for a B&I guarantee on a rural Georgia site.

Agency, Conventional and EB-5

Agency, conventional and EB-5 capital for Georgia projects.

Neither a HUD multifamily office for Georgia files nor a statewide authority issuing bonds for private projects is named in the research. Our conventional and institutional and EB-5 practice pages cover those programs, and the multifamily case takes a suburban Atlanta apartment project through a bank construction loan and an agency permanent takeout.

Rules by Asset Class

Georgia's state-level rules: certificates, licences, tank coverage and rentals.

Georgia regulates health care entry, senior care, child care and fuel tanks at the state level. Zoning, fees and short-term rental rules are set locally.

Health care and Certificate of Need

Georgia still requires a Certificate of Need before a new, expanded or relocated health care facility can be developed, under the state Certificate of Need statute 19. The Department of Community Health's Certificate of Need rules cover hospitals, nursing facilities and similar institutions, while ambulatory surgery and imaging centers still file annual surveys with the department 20. HB 1339, signed in April 2024 and effective July 1, 2024, exempted some renovations and removed expenditure thresholds 21; an academic review published in 2025 called the changes small, and the research found no repeal in 2025 or 2026 22.

Senior care

Georgia licenses personal care homes and classes larger ones as assisted living communities, with the resident threshold set in the department's assisted living rules 23. The larger homes also need a licensed administrator under its personal care home rules 24. The class determines staffing, building standards and therefore operating cost, so an assisted living study names the licence category before it builds a payroll. The state had 1,636,809 residents aged 65 and over in the 2020 to 2024 five-year American Community Survey estimate 10.

Child care

No child care learning center may operate in Georgia without a licence or temporary permit from DECAL, and the licence applies once a provider cares for more than a small number of children for pay 25. The same DECAL rules set staff ratios by age group 25.

Fuel and convenience

Underground storage tanks in Georgia, those under a gas station among them, are covered by the GUST Trust Fund, and a new owner has one year to pass a tightness test and site check to join it 26. The research found no figure for the fund's balance or solvency.

Short-term rentals and local rules

HB 399, effective July 1, 2025, bars local governments from imposing registration mandates on residential rental property; Georgia has no statewide short-term rental licensing or preemption statute, so the rules remain local 27.

Costs, Taxes and Insurance

Wages, insurance and the cost lines a Georgia pro forma has to source.

Georgia's statutory wage floor and its FAIR Plan's 2025 filing change are on record; its tax and cost indices were not found.

Georgia's statutory minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, but the federal $7.25 governs most employers, and the tipped cash wage cited for the state is the federal $2.13 28.

The Georgia Underwriting Association, the state's FAIR Plan, is the insurer of last resort for building and personal property cover, commercial risks included 29. A December 1, 2025 directive changed its filing rules so that it pays premium tax directly to the Commissioner's office from tax year 2025 30. HB 606, introduced on February 24, 2025 to let the plan redistribute risk among insurers, had no confirmed final passage in the research 31. The research found no approved commercial property rate changes for 2025 to 2026 and no documented carrier withdrawals.

The research could not source a statewide sales tax rule for construction materials and business equipment, a construction cost index for its cities, and an effective commercial property tax rate or rank.

Power

Georgia Power's certified build-out and the large loads behind it.

The research holds three forecasts of Georgia Power's seven-year capacity need, made in 2022, 2023 and 2025, and one certified figure, from December 2025.

In January 2025 the Public Service Commission approved a rule letting Georgia Power bill its largest new customers for upstream costs and requiring their contracts to be filed with the Commission 32. The utility filed its 2025 Integrated Resource Plan on January 31, 2025 and won approval in July 3. On December 19, 2025 the Commission certified 9,885 megawatts of new Georgia Power capacity, with a construction cost estimate of $16.5 billion in one law firm's account 3; a second source gives a higher figure, and the research left the two unresolved. The utility's seven-year capacity need was projected at 400 megawatts in 2022, 6,600 in 2023 and 8,500 in 2025, in ServerCountry's reading of the Commission's December 2025 fact sheet 33.

Hazards

Storms, a winter emergency and spring wildfires: the 2024 to 2026 record.

The declarations listed below came from a tropical storm, a winter storm and wildfires.

Tropical Storm Debby's major disaster declaration, DR-4821-GA, dated September 24, 2024, had $38,168,736 of FEMA Public Assistance obligated by June 2026 34. USAFacts' tally of FEMA data shows no federal declarations for Georgia in calendar 2025 and a return of declarations in 2026 35. The first came in January 2026, when EM-3642-GA was issued for the severe winter storm of January 22 to 27 36. In April 2026 FEMA approved fire management assistance for the Pineland Road wildfire in Clinch and Echols counties (FM-5629-GA) and the Highway 82 wildfire in Brantley County (FM-5630-GA) 37.

Georgia's hazard evidence on this page is the declaration record alone; the research found no National Risk Index ranking for the state and no quantified exposure measure for any hazard.

Statewide Supply

What Georgia counts statewide, and what it does not.

Lessors, hotel staff and renter households, counted by two federal programs; the state's personal care home rules are under rules above.

County Business Patterns counted 1,939 establishments among Georgia's residential building lessors in 2023 (County Business Patterns), a count of operating businesses rather than of buildings 38, and 43,887 employees in the state's hotel industry in 2023 (County Business Patterns) 38. Georgia's renter households number 1,398,009 in the 2020 to 2024 five-year American Community Survey estimate 10, and across renter-occupied units paying cash rent the median gross rent is $1,393 in the same 2020 to 2024 five-year American Community Survey estimate 10.

Statewide, the research found no count of hotel rooms, storage space, RV parks, convenience stores, child care places, hospitals or surgery centers, and no vacancy or construction figure for apartments or industrial space, nor an occupancy figure for senior housing.

2025 to 2026

Georgia's 2025 to 2026 record, date by date.

From the PSC's January 2025 billing rule to the Troup County plant expansion of October 2026.

DateEventSource
January 23, 2025PSC approves billing of upstream costs to the largest new Georgia Power customers, with contracts filed at the Commission32
January 31, 2025Georgia Power files its 2025 Integrated Resource Plan; approved in July 20253
July 1, 2025HB 399 takes effect, barring local registration mandates for residential rentals27
September 3, 2025Rare-earth magnet plant announced for Muscogee County, Columbus39
September 15, 2025State reports record fiscal 2025 economic development investment4
December 1, 2025Directive 25-EX-7 changes FAIR Plan premium tax filing30
December 5, 2025USDA announces its Georgia Rural Development total15
December 19, 2025PSC certifies the Georgia Power capacity expansion3
January 24, 2026Emergency declaration EM-3642-GA for the January winter storm36
January 27, 2026Census Vintage 2025 state estimates released1
March 26, 2026Census Vintage 2025 metro estimates released40
April 21 and 22, 2026Fire management declarations FM-5629-GA and FM-5630-GA37
September 18, 2026JEC reports August 2026 Georgia payrolls below a year earlier6
September 30, 2026BLS reports the Atlanta metro's over-the-year payroll change7
October 8, 2026Hybrid-components plant expansion announced in Troup County8

No statewide moratorium or lender exit from 2025 to 2026 turned up in the research.

Review Failures

Where Georgia studies go wrong in review.

Georgia's record invites four misreadings: arrivals taken for jobs, announcements for payroll, one Atlanta broker for the market, and demand before the certificate.

  1. Population growth read as job growth

    Georgia's population grew by 98,540 between July 2024 and July 2025 1. Its payroll figures cover a different span, August 2025 to August 2026, when nonfarm employment went from 4,993.0 thousand to a preliminary 4,985.7 thousand 2.

  2. An announcement counted as payroll

    The state tied 23,200 private-sector jobs to its fiscal 2025 economic development projects 4, and the Columbus magnet plant, announced in September 2025, promised more than 520 39. Both figures come from announcements, not payroll counts.

  3. One broker's pipeline treated as fact

    For the second quarter of 2026, Matthews counted 16,243 Atlanta apartment units under construction and MMG counted 13,896 4142.

  4. The Certificate of Need left for later

    Georgia's statute requires a Certificate of Need before a new, expanded or relocated health care facility is developed 19, and the 2024 reform in HB 1339 exempted some renovations and removed expenditure thresholds 21.

Site Tests

Georgia site work begins at the power company and ends at the traffic count.

Five checks, in the order our Georgia studies take them, each tied to a record on this page.

Electric service first

Georgia Power manages large loads through contracts and certification dockets rather than a public queue 33, and since January 2025 it may bill its largest new customers for upstream costs 32. Nobody outside the utility can see how much of a feeder is already spoken for. That is why the first request in a Georgia file goes to the electric provider: a will-serve letter naming the service and who pays to extend it.

The state the parcel stands in

Two metros on this page cross a state line, Augusta into South Carolina and Columbus into Alabama. Near either line the study states which state's rules and agencies govern the parcel, and sorts its competitors by state before treating them as one market, using the South Carolina or Alabama page for the far side.

Rules the state leaves to towns

Georgia has no statewide short-term rental licensing, and HB 399 stops local governments from requiring rental registration while leaving the rest of the rules to them 27. Impact fees are local too. The study takes each rule from the government that will issue the permit, and a health care use first asks whether it needs a Certificate of Need 19.

Program status, from the agencies

The research reached no USDA rural, Opportunity Zone or HUBZone result in any of the nine markets, and in the Albany metro it left the USDA eligibility of Terrell and Worth counties unverified, so a Georgia study puts each question to the agency's own tool and names the tool behind each answer.

Traffic last

The research found no GDOT station count in any of the nine markets.

Metro Divergence

Nine Georgia markets, each on its own record.

For Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Athens, Albany, Valdosta and Warner Robins the research found no apartment, industrial, storage, retail or senior housing series and no local fee, ordinance or utility record. Augusta, Athens, Albany, Valdosta and Warner Robins also lack an official 12-month payroll change, and the employer headcounts found for Augusta and Columbus carry no date.

Airline and health systems

Atlanta

The largest Georgia metro, led by an airline, hospital systems and universities, where two brokers counted different apartment pipelines for the same quarter.

Port and manufacturing

Savannah

The coastal metro of Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties, where Gulfstream, the port and the Hyundai plant carry demand, HUD expects existing and under-construction apartments to meet rental demand through 2029, and the city and the two outer counties each sit at a different point on impact fees.

Two-state metro

Augusta

A metro that crosses into South Carolina, with a strong 2025 jobs reading from one analyst and no dated employer headcount.

Georgia and Alabama

Columbus (Georgia)

Columbus, Georgia, a metro that takes in an Alabama county, where a new manufacturing announcement sits against a slowly shrinking population.

Middle Georgia hub

Macon

The Macon-Bibb metro of Middle Georgia, whose employer lists and population tables mix in its neighbor to the south.

University town

Athens

A market where the university is by far the largest employer on the county's own list and the published employment evidence is thin.

Southwest Georgia

Albany

A southwest Georgia metro where the city has been losing residents and the record on employers is a decade old.

South Georgia

Valdosta

A south Georgia metro with a 2024 population reading and first-half 2026 job gains that one analyst ranked the largest in percentage terms statewide.

Air Force logistics

Warner Robins

A Middle Georgia metro resting on one federal installation whose workforce is the first number any study there must test.

North of the state line, North Carolina's two largest markets have pages of their own, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, each built from that state's records.

Atlanta

Atlanta: an airline, hospital systems and two counts of one apartment pipeline.

An Atlanta study has to pick its broker series, explain a flat payroll year in a metro still adding residents, and draw a trade area far smaller than the metro.

Census put the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro at 6,482,182 residents on July 1, 2025, as transcribed from the Vintage 2025 metro table 40; the City of Atlanta held 529,110 43. Most of the market lives outside the city, and a trade area drawn around a downtown address misses it.

The employer base is unusually concentrated in a few large organizations. The Chamber's 2025 survey lists Delta Air Lines at 42,090 full-time equivalents, Piedmont Healthcare at 29,646, Publix Super Markets at 23,660 and Wellstar Health System at 21,020, with Northside ranked second behind Delta; the five largest together counted 148,416 FTEs 44. Emory reports 26,400 employees across Emory Healthcare 45, while the survey lists Emory University at 13,500 FTEs 44: different organizations and measures, so a study should not quote one as the other. Georgia Tech appears at 9,389 FTEs 44.

Payrolls went sideways. BLS counted 3,119.4 thousand nonfarm jobs in August 2025 and a preliminary 3,105.1 thousand in August 2026, a change of 14.3 thousand, or 0.5%, that BLS did not find statistically significant 7. A study should present it as flat, not as a decline or a gain.

Apartments carry the most evidence and the most disagreement. Matthews put vacancy at 5.86% in the second quarter of 2026 41; MMG reported stabilized occupancy of 90.5% and an effective rent of $1,570, down 1.0% from a year earlier 42. The two measure different things, and they also disagree on the pipeline: 16,243 units under construction by Matthews' count, 13,896 by MMG's 4142. JLL counted 12.3 million square feet of industrial space under construction 46. The City of Atlanta sets impact fees by square footage for single-family homes and by building height for multifamily 47. The record holds no hotel occupancy or rate level for the metro. Three worked cases are set in metro Atlanta, the Cartersville gas station in Bartow County among them (see cases).

Augusta

Augusta: Richmond County at the core, with a South Carolina side.

A two-state metro with a strong 2025 jobs reading and almost no published supply data.

The Augusta-Richmond County metro is a Georgia and South Carolina metro in the Census tables 48. Census put the metro at 641,231 residents on July 1, 2025, as transcribed by Wikipedia 48. Richmond County, the core, held 206,559 in 2025, which the research reads as essentially unchanged from 2020 49; a study should therefore set its trade area on the side of the metro where the site sits rather than on the core county's trend. Where a trade area crosses the state line, the South Carolina page carries the rules and program context for the Aiken side.

BLS counted 253.0 thousand nonfarm jobs in the metro in July 2026, a preliminary figure 50. An Augusta University economist ranked Augusta the fastest-growing Georgia metro for jobs in 2025 51; a study should cite the BLS series and describe the ranking as one analyst's reading.

Columbus, Georgia

Columbus, Georgia: Muscogee County and a metro that reaches into Alabama.

This is Columbus, Georgia, not Columbus, Ohio: a Georgia and Alabama metro where a new plant meets a population that has been slipping.

Columbus here means Columbus, Georgia, in Muscogee County 39. Its metro reaches into Alabama, as the St. Louis Fed's series name, Columbus, GA-AL, shows 52, so a trade area that crosses the state line needs the Alabama page for the rules on that side.

The demand base has been shrinking slowly. The St. Louis Fed's Census series puts the metro at 326,575 residents in 2021 and 324,830 in 2025 52. Payrolls moved the same way: the Georgia Department of Labor counted 123.1 thousand nonfarm jobs in August 2025 and 122.5 thousand in August 2026 53. Neither figure describes a collapse, but neither supports a pro forma that assumes growth.

The largest new demand signal is industrial. In September 2025 the Governor announced a rare-earth magnet plant in Muscogee County, about $223 million of investment and more than 520 jobs, in a facility of 130,000 square feet planned at Muscogee Technology Park 39.

Macon

Macon: the Macon-Bibb County metro of Middle Georgia.

A Middle Georgia metro whose published tables blend Macon with the Warner Robins metro next door.

The Macon-Bibb County metro's population is published two ways for the same date: 238,533 on July 1, 2025 in Wikipedia's transcription of the Census metro list 48 and 238,553 on its Macon metro page 54. The larger Macon-Warner Robins combined area, which adds the Warner Robins metro, held 446,644 residents in 2025 against 425,416 in 2020 54; the Warner Robins section gives that metro's own figures.

The Georgia Department of Labor, as Middle Georgia CEO reprinted it, counted 101,500 nonfarm jobs in the Macon metro in March 2026 55. The headline spoke of gains, but the same release's year-over-year job change was slightly negative 55, and a study should quote the job count rather than the headline.

The only employer list the research found is a broker's August 2023 report for all of Middle Georgia. It lists Robins Air Force Base at 24,500 employees, Houston Healthcare at 2,475 and Atrium Health Navicent at 637 beds (licensed) 56; because the list covers all of Middle Georgia, a study checks each employer's location against the metro boundary before counting it. A study for Macon should rebuild the list from current sources and keep the two metros apart.

Athens

Athens: the Athens-Clarke County metro and its university.

The University of Georgia tops a county employer list from December 2022; the newer job evidence is secondary.

Census put the Athens-Clarke County metro at 224,148 residents on July 1, 2025, as transcribed by Wikipedia 48. The University of Georgia dominates employment: the county government's own summary lists 11,541 university employees in a December 2022 estimate and 1,728 for Athens-Clarke County Unified Government in fiscal 2021 57. Those figures are several years old, and a study should replace them with current university reporting.

The job evidence is a substitute. An Augusta University economist's reading of state data counted 700 jobs added in Athens in the first half of 2026 51. In a university market the class most exposed to that thin record is student housing, which needs its own count of beds and pre-leasing by property, because no population series measures it.

Albany

Albany: Dougherty, Lee, Terrell and Worth counties.

A southwest Georgia metro where the demand question is decline and the employer record is a decade old.

The 2020 Census counted 148,922 residents in the Albany metro 58, and the research found no 2025 metro figure. The city's own count shows the direction: 69,647 residents in 2020 and 66,907 in 2025 59.

Jobs point the same way. An Augusta University economist ranked Albany among the largest percentage job losses in the state in the first half of 2026, without a count 51. The employer record is old: the latest list the research found dates from 2016 and names the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany among the leading employers 60.

Valdosta

Valdosta: a metro read from secondary sources.

A south Georgia metro with a population reading, two substitute job figures and no employer headcount.

The Valdosta metro had 152,588 residents in 2024 by Wikipedia's reading of Census data 61. The 2020 base on the same page is given two ways, 148,126 and 149,849 61, so a study should take the base from the Census table rather than compute growth from either.

Jobs are read from substitutes. An Augusta University economist's reading of state data counted 600 jobs added in Valdosta in the first half of 2026, the largest percentage gain statewide 51, and USAFacts shows a seasonally adjusted gain of 200 jobs from July to August 2026 66. The record names no Valdosta employer with a headcount.

Warner Robins

Warner Robins: Houston County and Robins Air Force Base.

A Middle Georgia metro resting on one Air Force installation whose workforce a study has to test first.

The Warner Robins metro had 191,614 residents in 2020 and 208,091 in 2025 by Wikipedia's reading of Census tables 54. Houston County went from 163,633 to 178,214 over the same years 62, and the City of Warner Robins from 80,308 to 87,761 63. BLS counted a preliminary 78.1 thousand nonfarm jobs in the metro in April 2026 64.

Robins Air Force Base is the anchor, and its numbers have to be read carefully. Military OneSource, citing the base's FY2025 economic impact statement, gives a total workforce of 21,506: 14,154 appropriated-fund civilians, 4,976 military personnel and 2,376 others 65. The broker list filed under Macon shows a higher figure from August 2023, a different year and measure. A study should use the FY2025 statement and note that most of the workforce is civilian.

Worked Cases

Where Georgia's six worked cases sit.

The worked cases are representative examples: public, dated market evidence, a hypothetical site and sponsor, and a published model.

Metro Atlanta carries three. The Cartersville gas station in unincorporated Bartow County tests a 7(a) start-up in the trade area of I-75 Exit 296, where national travel centers already serve the interchange and the store has to win on commuter trips rather than trucks. The drive-thru quick-service restaurant sits on a suburban commuter corridor in the metro's exurban edge and tests a franchised start-up under SBA 7(a), from trade-area demand to a defensible unit volume. The multifamily community in a fast-growing Atlanta suburb is worked through a bank construction loan and an agency permanent takeout, so it tests absorption and capture rather than an SBA coverage floor.

Two cases sit on the interstate corridors that run toward the coast. The truck stop and travel center is a ground-up project on the I-16 corridor between Macon and the Port of Savannah, underwritten to SBA 504, where diesel and freight volumes carry the revenue case. The select-service hotel is a new flagged property on an interstate and tourism corridor between metro Atlanta and the coast, also under SBA 504, and tests demand segmentation against a competitive set. Rural Georgia carries the sixth: the poultry processing plant, a new inspected plant financed with a USDA Business and Industry guarantee, where grower supply and buyer demand carry more weight than local population.

No location in Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Athens, Albany, Valdosta or Warner Robins is named by a published case. The Savannah page points to the truck stop and multifamily cases; for the other markets the corridor and rural cases above are the closest comparables.

By Asset Class

Georgia projects by asset class.

Links to the asset class pages, where each class's demand method is set out.

Georgia Questions

Georgia feasibility study questions.

Which SBA lenders are active in Georgia?

A broker's tabulation, GoSBA Loans, ranks Live Oak Banking Co. first in Georgia 7(a) volume for 2025 at $127.2 million, followed by Newtek Bank at $88.7 million, Huntington National Bank at $59.2 million across 124 loans, Metro City Bank at $55.7 million and Northeast Bank at $50.5 million 12. The same page gives two statewide totals and two lender counts, so it shows who is lending, not a dataset to model from 12. State credit sits beside it: Georgia's SSBCI allocation of $199,616,860, approved on November 4, 2022, is administered by the Department of Community Affairs 13.

What USDA figures does the research hold for Georgia?

One dated release. USDA's December 2025 release gives Georgia $906 million of Rural Development investment, $501 million of it for rural development projects and $405 million for affordable housing, without naming the fiscal year 15; the USDA section sets out what the release leaves out.

Did Georgia add jobs between August 2025 and August 2026?

Not on the statewide count. Nonfarm employment was 4,993.0 thousand in August 2025 and a preliminary 4,985.7 thousand in August 2026 2; federal jobs fell by 9,400 while state and local government added 7,700 6. The Atlanta metro's change over the year was not statistically significant 7.

What did Georgia's Public Service Commission decide on large electric loads in 2025?

Two things. In January 2025 it approved a rule letting Georgia Power bill its largest new customers for upstream costs and requiring their contracts to be filed with the Commission 32, and in December 2025 it certified 9,885 megawatts of new Georgia Power capacity 3. Large loads are managed through contracts and dockets rather than a public queue 33, which is why our Georgia site tests begin with the electric provider.

Is Columbus on this page Columbus, Georgia?

Yes. Our Columbus section covers Columbus, Georgia, in Muscogee County 39, and its two-state metro, which the St. Louis Fed's Census series names Columbus, GA-AL and puts at 324,830 residents in 2025 against 326,575 in 2021 52, and the Governor announced a rare-earth magnet plant there in September 2025 with more than 520 jobs 39. Columbus, Ohio is a different market and is not covered on this page.

When does a Georgia health care or senior housing project need a Certificate of Need?

Before it is built, if it is a new, expanded or relocated health care facility under the state Certificate of Need statute 19. The Department of Community Health's rules cover hospitals, nursing facilities and similar institutions, while surgery and imaging centers file annual surveys 20. The 2024 reform in HB 1339 exempted some renovations and removed expenditure thresholds 21, and the research found no later repeal 22. Personal care homes and assisted living communities are licensed rather than certified, so their study names the licence class first 23.

Why does this page cover Macon and Warner Robins in separate sections when their figures overlap?

Because they are two metros and the published tables blend them. The Macon-Warner Robins combined area held 446,644 residents in 2025 against 425,416 in 2020 54, and the only Middle Georgia employer list in the research, a broker's August 2023 report, puts Robins Air Force Base at 24,500 employees 56, while the base's FY2025 economic impact statement gives a total workforce of 21,506 65. The Macon and Warner Robins sections keep each metro's own population and job figures apart.

Worked Cases

Worked cases in Georgia.

Neighboring Markets

States that border Georgia.

Underwriting a Georgia project? Start with the market read.

Feasibility Study Company prepares independent Georgia feasibility and market studies to the standard your lender or agency applies. A methodology briefing walks through the evidence for your metro, your asset class and your capital program.

Request a methodology briefing
Sources

Data sources and dates.

Every figure on this page traces to a named, dated source. Secondary sources (news outlets, law firms, brokers and Wikipedia transcriptions of Census tables) are named as such where a primary record was not available.

Market data reviewed by Mark Otava · Updated

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Population Growth Slows Due to Historic Decline in Net International Migration (Vintage 2025), January 27, 2026 (July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025 data).
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Change in total nonfarm employment by state, over-the-month and over-the-year, seasonally adjusted, retrieved October 2026 (August 2025 and preliminary August 2026 data).
  3. Ashurst Perkins Coie (law firm; secondary), Georgia Public Service Commission Approves Georgia Power's Major Generation Expansion to Support Data Centers, retrieved October 2026 (PSC order of December 19, 2025).
  4. 11Alive (reporting the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Office of the Governor release), Economic Development Investments Break New Record, September 15, 2025 (state fiscal year 2025, July 2024 to June 2025).
  5. University of Tennessee, Tennessee State Data Center (secondary, reading Census Vintage 2025), 2025 Estimates Show Another Top-10 Year for Tennessee Population Gains, February 2, 2026 (July 2024 to July 2025 data).
  6. U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, Georgia Employment Update, September 18, 2026 (August 2025 to August 2026 data).
  7. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Over-the-year change in total nonfarm employment for large metropolitan areas, modified September 30, 2026 (August 2025 to August 2026 data).
  8. FOX 5 Atlanta (reprinting the Governor's release), Kemp announces 320 new Hyundai Transys jobs in Georgia, October 8, 2026 (announcement of the same date).
  9. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Personal Income by County, Metro, and Other Areas (Regional table CAINC1), calendar year 2024; retrieved October 16, 2026.
  10. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Detailed Tables (Census Data API), 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates; retrieved October 16, 2026.
  11. U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Capital Access, 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan-level data, loan status as of June 30, 2026 (approval fiscal years 2016 to 2025); retrieved October 16, 2026.
  12. GoSBA Loans (loan broker; secondary), Best Georgia SBA Lenders & Rates (2026), page updated June 7, 2026 (2025 lending data).
  13. Georgia Secretary of State, Rules and Regulations (Department of Community Affairs), Georgia Rules, Subject 110-38-1 (State Small Business Credit Initiative), retrieved October 2026 (allocation approved November 4, 2022; rules current 2026).
  14. Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Lender SSBCI flyer (State Small Business Credit Initiative), retrieved October 2026 (SSBCI 2.0, current).
  15. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Secretary Rollins Announces Major Investment for Rural Communities Across Georgia (Release 0238.25), December 5, 2025 (fiscal year not stated in the release).
  16. U.S. Small Business Administration, SOP 50 10 8.1, Lender and Development Company Loan Programs, with Technical Policy Updates, effective October 1, 2026.
  17. eCFR, 13 CFR 120.160, Loan conditions, current to October 2026.
  18. U.S. Small Business Administration, Information Notice 5000-881797: FY 2027 7(a) Program Fees, 2026 (loans approved October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027).
  19. Justia (Georgia Code text), Georgia Code ยง 31-6-40 (2025), retrieved October 2026 (2025 code).
  20. Georgia Department of Community Health (Georgia Rules), Subject 111-2-2 Certificate of Need, retrieved October 2026 (current rules).
  21. Maynard Nexsen (law firm; secondary), Georgia Health Law Update: CON Reform, retrieved October 2026 (HB 1339, effective July 1, 2024).
  22. Georgia State University Law Review, Health: Certificate of Need (2025), 2025 (2024 legislation reviewed).
  23. Georgia Department of Community Health, Personal Care Homes, retrieved October 2026 (current rules).
  24. Georgia Department of Community Health (Georgia Rules), Rule 111-8-62 Personal Care Homes, retrieved October 2026 (rules revised 2021, current).
  25. Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, Rules and Regulations, Child Care Learning Centers, Chapter 591-1-1, retrieved October 2026 (current rules).
  26. Georgia Environmental Protection Division, What is the GUST Trust Fund?, retrieved October 2026 (current program terms).
  27. HOA Weekly (secondary), Georgia: Tybee Island caps rentals by sector... (title as truncated in the research), retrieved October 2026 (HB 399, effective July 1, 2025).
  28. HiveDesk (secondary, quoting the Georgia Department of Labor), Georgia Minimum Wage 2026, retrieved October 2026 (2026 wage rules).
  29. Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, Guide to Business Insurance, retrieved October 2026 (current).
  30. Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, Directive 25-EX-7: Georgia Underwriting Association (FAIR Plan) filing requirements, December 1, 2025 (from tax year 2025).
  31. BillTrack50 (secondary), GA HB606, retrieved October 2026 (2025 session; introduced February 24, 2025).
  32. DatacenterDynamics, Georgia PSC approves new billing rules for data centers and large load customers, January 27, 2025 (PSC vote of January 23, 2025).
  33. ServerCountry (secondary, citing the PSC Data Center Fact Sheet of December 1, 2025), Georgia Power Infrastructure, retrieved October 2026 (2022, 2023 and 2025 capacity projections).
  34. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Georgia Tropical Storm Debby (DR-4821-GA), data updated June 10, 2026 (declared September 24, 2024).
  35. USAFacts (secondary, FEMA data), How many disasters are declared in Georgia?, retrieved October 2026 (data to September 3, 2026).
  36. Federal Emergency Management Agency, President Donald J. Trump Approves Emergency Declaration for Georgia, January 24, 2026 (winter storm of January 22 to 27, 2026).
  37. Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, Public Assistance/Infrastructure and Local Government Assistance, retrieved October 2026 (declarations of April 21 and 22, 2026).
  38. U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 County Business Patterns (Census Data API), 2023 (employment for the pay period including March 12, 2023); retrieved October 16, 2026.
  39. Office of the Governor of Georgia, Gov. Kemp: Korean Magnet Facility to Create More than 500 Jobs in Columbus, September 3, 2025 (announcement of the same date).
  40. U.S. Census Bureau (as transcribed by Wikipedia; secondary), Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Population Totals: 2020 to 2025, March 26, 2026 (population as of July 1, 2025).
  41. Matthews (broker; secondary), Atlanta, GA Multifamily Market Report Q2 2026, retrieved October 2026 (second quarter 2026 data).
  42. MMG Real Estate Advisors (broker; secondary), Atlanta Q2 2026 Market Report, retrieved October 2026 (second quarter 2026 data).
  43. U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Atlanta city, Georgia (V2025), retrieved October 2026 (population as of July 1, 2025).
  44. Metro Atlanta Chamber, 2025 Metro Atlanta Top Employers Survey, March 2025 (2025 survey, full-time equivalents).
  45. Emory University News Center, Emory Healthcare named to 'America's Best Large Employers' by Forbes, April 30, 2025 (April 2025 headcount).
  46. JLL (broker; secondary), Atlanta industrial market dynamics Q2 2026, retrieved October 2026 (second quarter 2026 data).
  47. Georgia Public Policy Foundation (secondary), Assessment of Georgia Development Impact Fees, retrieved October 2026 (study undated).
  48. Wikipedia (transcribing Census Vintage 2025 metro totals of March 26, 2026; secondary), List of metropolitan areas in Georgia (U.S. state), retrieved October 2026 (population as of July 1, 2025).
  49. Wikipedia (citing Census; secondary), Richmond County, Georgia, retrieved October 2026 (2025 population).
  50. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Augusta Economy at a Glance, retrieved October 2026 (preliminary July 2026 data).
  51. Augusta Business Daily (column by Dr. Simon Medcalfe, Augusta University; secondary), Simon Says: Big swing in jobs in Augusta, August 4, 2026 (January to June 2026 data).
  52. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED/ALFRED, Census data), Resident Population in Columbus, GA-AL (MSA), updated March 27, 2026 (2021 and 2025 annual estimates).
  53. Georgia Department of Labor, Nonagricultural Employment, Columbus MSA, retrieved October 2026 (August 2025 and August 2026 data).
  54. Wikipedia (citing Census; secondary), Macon metropolitan area, Georgia (including the CSA table), retrieved October 2026 (2020 and 2025 population).
  55. Middle Georgia CEO (reprinting a Georgia Department of Labor release; secondary), Metro Macon Reports Gains in Labor Force, Jobs and Employment in March, May 12, 2026 (March 2026 data).
  56. The Kirkland Company (broker; secondary), Macon-Warner Robins Report, August 2023, August 2023 (August 2023 employer list).
  57. Athens-Clarke County Unified Government, Athens-Clarke County By the Numbers, retrieved October 2026 (December 2022 estimates; FY2021 for the county government).
  58. Wikipedia (citing Census; secondary), Albany metropolitan area, Georgia, retrieved October 2026 (2020 Census population).
  59. U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Albany city, Georgia (V2025), retrieved October 2026 (April 2020 and July 2025 population).
  60. Georgia EMC / LocationGeorgia, Top Employers Albany, Georgia, 2016 (2016 employer listing).
  61. Wikipedia (citing Census; secondary), Valdosta metropolitan area, retrieved October 2026 (2020 and 2024 population).
  62. Wikipedia (citing Census; secondary), Houston County, Georgia, retrieved October 2026 (2020 and 2025 population).
  63. U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Warner Robins city, Georgia (V2025), retrieved October 2026 (April 2020 and July 2025 population).
  64. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Warner Robins Economy at a Glance, retrieved October 2026 (preliminary April 2026 data).
  65. Military OneSource, Robins AFB In-Depth Overview (citing the FY2025 economic impact statement), retrieved October 2026 (FY2025 workforce).
  66. USAFacts (secondary), How many jobs were added in Georgia last month?, retrieved October 2026 (July to August 2026 data, seasonally adjusted).
  67. U.S. Small Business Administration, Georgia District, page current late 2025; retrieved October 2026.