The City of Bainbridge grew by 8.31 percent from 10 years ago, information from the U.S. Census says, while the county and the other three municipalities in Decatur County shrank in population.

Bainbridge’s population is 12,697, which is up from 11,722 persons counted in the 2000 Census; and even more than the 1990 Census, which had Bainbridge’s population at 10,712, or a 9.42 percent in those 10 years.

Decatur County’s population is 27,842, which is down from 2000’s 28,240 persons. From 1990 to 2000, Decatur County grew by 2,729, but in the last 10 years, the county lost 398 persons.

Attapulgus, Brinson and Climax also lost population during the last 10 years.

Attapulgus’ population stands at 449 persons. In 2000, the city’s population was 492, which was an increase from 1990, when the city’s population was 380.

For the Town of Brinson, the population is 215, which decreased by 10 persons of 225 in 10 years, and another 13 persons, 238 persons, from 1990.

Climax’s population is 280, which is a decrease of 17 persons in 2000. However, Climax grew from 238 persons in 1990 to 297 in 2000.

As a whole, the 14-county southwest Georgia region gained only 1 percent in population, whereas in the last census, from 1990 to 2000, the region grew by 10 percent. In fact, nine of the 14 counties lost population, and the ones that gained population were Calhoun, Colquitt, Grady, Lee and Thomas.

At least one state House district in Southwest Georgia may be lost and the state Senate district will perhaps be larger in geographic size. The 2010 Census showed that most of the state’s population growth occurred around the Atlanta metro area, which will likely gain more seats in the Georgia House of Representatives and Georgia Senate and in the U.S. House of Representatives. The General Assembly is scheduled to convene a special session later this year to iron out the state reapportionment.

The information came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s redistricting data.

Racial, housing makeup

Decatur County’s racial makeup is 54.2 percent white, 41.1 percent black, 2.5 percent classified themselves of the population some other race, and 1.2 percent said two or more races.

Of the 27,842 persons in Decatur County, 20,760 are 18 years old and older. Also, the data show the county had 10,390 occupied housing units, and 1,735 vacant units, or 14.3 percent.

That is almost reverse of what Bainbridge’s racial makeup is: 41.1 percent white and 54.7 black. 1.9 percent are some other race and 1.3 percent are two or more races.

In the City of Bainbridge, 9,247 of the total 12,697 were over 18 years old. There were 4,757 housing units occupied and 738 units were vacant.

In Attapulgus, the racial makeup is 41.0 percent white, 48.8 percent black, 7.8 percent some other race and 0.9 percent two or more races. There are 170 occupied housing units and 23 vacant units. Of the 449 residents, 328 are over 18 years old.

In Brinson, the racial makeup is 72.6 percent white, 26 percent black, 0.9 percent some other race and 0.5 percent two or more races. Census data show that 166 of the 215 residents are over the age of 18. Also, only 11 of the 88 housing units are listed as vacant.

In Climax, 62.5 percent of the population is white, 35.4 percent is black and 1.4 is some other race. There were no residents that classified themselves as being from more than one racial background. The data also showed that 213 of 280 are over the age of 18. Finally, there are 112 occupied housing units and 15 vacant housing units in Climax, the Census data showed.