Macon County area

Macon County, Alabama covers 613.2 square miles: 608.7 square miles of land and 4.543 square miles of water. Its county seat is Tuskegee. An estimated 18,132 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 010872026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area608.7 mi²
Water area4.543 mi²
Population (2025)18,132
People per mi²30

County outline

Generalized outline of Macon County, Alabama
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Macon County is located

Macon County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 99.3% of Macon County’s measured area and water for 0.7%. Its combined area converts to 1,588.2 square kilometers or approximately 392,453 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land608.6651,576.435389,545.6
Water4.54311.7662,907.5
Total613.2081,588.201392,453.1

How Macon County compares

By original Census land area, Macon County ranks #49 of 67 in Alabama and #1593 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 0.906 times the Alabama county-equivalent median of 672.1 square miles. It accounts for 1.2% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Alabama ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Macon County

The Census Bureau estimates that 18,132 people lived in Macon County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,990 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #50 of 67 in Alabama. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 19,531, the population has declined by 1,399 (−7.2%), compared with +3.3% for Alabama as a whole.

With 608.7 square miles of land, that is 30 people per square mile (12 per km²), placing Macon County #2,008 nationally for density and #45 in Alabama. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Alabama median is 49. Put another way, there are about 21 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate19,46418,91418,53818,36518,27518,132
Change—−550−376−173−90−143

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Macon County

4 incorporated places lie at least partly in Macon County. Together they are home to 10,397 people (57.3%); the other 7,735 (42.7%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Tuskegee city, with 8,644 residents in the county.

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Tuskegee cityCounty seat8,644−7.9%17.1
Notasulga townAlso in 1 other county824−5%14
Franklin town573−2.7%15.1
Shorter town356−7.5%4.54

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Macon County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Macon County is an outlying county of the Auburn-Opelika, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2 county equivalents have 208,013 residents on 1,216.2 square miles of land; Macon County accounts for 50% of the land and 8.7% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #258 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #232 by population. It belongs to the Columbus-Auburn-Opelika, GA-AL Combined Statistical Area.

County equivalentPopulation 2025Land mi²
Lee County189,881607.6
Macon County18,132608.7

ZIP codes

13 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Macon County; 6 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

36029360313603936075360783608336088360893680436830368323686036866

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Macon County

Macon County shares a land border with 6 county equivalents. It has more land than 1 of them. The largest neighbor is Montgomery County (785.4 mi²) and the smallest is Lee County (607.6 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Macon County forms a block of 4,600.6 mi² of land, of which it holds 13.2%.

Map of Macon County and the 6 county equivalents that border it Bullock County, Alabama: 622.8 mi² landLee County, Alabama: 607.6 mi² landTallapoosa County, Alabama: 716.5 mi² landRussell County, Alabama: 641.2 mi² landMontgomery County, Alabama: 785.4 mi² landElmore County, Alabama: 618.5 mi² land
Macon County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. MaconCompare
Montgomery County785.41.3× largerCompare
Tallapoosa County716.51.2× largerCompare
Russell County641.21.1× largerCompare
Bullock County622.8about the sameCompare
Elmore County618.5about the sameCompare
Lee County607.6about the sameCompare

How big is Macon County compared with U.S. states?

Macon County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.7 times as much. Alabama’s county land could hold about 83 areas the size of Macon County.

Land area: Macon County and the closest-sized states
Macon County608.7 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 24.7 miles (39.7 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Macon County?

Macon County has more land than 1,629 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Macon County608.7 mi²
Alabama median672.1 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Macon County at #1,703 nationally by total area, 110 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 0.7%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.4 percentage points lower. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Macon County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#1592Crenshaw County, Alabama608.9Compare
#1593Macon County, Alabama608.7This county
#1594Monroe County, Pennsylvania608.4Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 32.387027, -85.692887. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,576,435,589 m²; AWATER: 11,765,508 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Macon County?

Macon County, Alabama has 608.7 square miles (1,576.4 km²) of land and 4.543 square miles of water, for a total area of 613.2 square miles. It ranks #1593 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Macon County the largest county in Alabama?

No. Macon County ranks #49 of 67 in Alabama by land area. The largest is Baldwin County, with 1,589.9 square miles of land.

What counties border Macon County?

Macon County shares a land border with Bullock County, Lee County, Tallapoosa County, Russell County, Montgomery County, and Elmore County.

What is the population of Macon County?

The Census Bureau estimates Macon County had 18,132 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,990 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 30 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Macon County?

The county seat of Macon County is Tuskegee.

What cities and towns are in Macon County?

Macon County has 4 incorporated places. The most populous are Tuskegee city, Notasulga town, Franklin town, and Shorter town; 7,735 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Macon County part of a metropolitan area?

Yes. It is an outlying county of the Auburn-Opelika, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 2 county equivalents and 208,013 residents.

How many ZIP codes are in Macon County?

13 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Macon County, and 6 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Macon County compare with U.S. states?

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.7 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Macon County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 389,546 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 392,453 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

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