Berrien County area

Berrien County, Georgia covers 457.9 square miles: 453.4 square miles of land and 4.506 square miles of water. Its county seat is Nashville. An estimated 18,932 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 130192026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area453.4 mi²
Water area4.506 mi²
Population (2025)18,932
People per mi²42

County outline

Generalized outline of Berrien County, Georgia
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 Berrien County is located

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

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 99% of Berrien County’s measured area and water for 1%. Its combined area converts to 1,185.9 square kilometers or approximately 293,044 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land453.3761,174.238290,160.6
Water4.50611.672,883.8
Total457.8821,185.909293,044.5

How Berrien County compares

By original Census land area, Berrien County ranks #38 of 159 in Georgia and #2257 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 1.323 times the Georgia county-equivalent median of 342.7 square miles. It accounts for 0.8% of the combined county land area in the state.

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

Population and density of Berrien County

The Census Bureau estimates that 18,932 people lived in Berrien County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,942 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #100 of 159 in Georgia. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 18,155, the population has grown by 777 (+4.3%), compared with +5.5% for Georgia as a whole.

With 453.4 square miles of land, that is 42 people per square mile (16 per km²), placing Berrien County #1,714 nationally for density and #103 in Georgia. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Georgia median is 69. Put another way, there are about 15 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate18,14318,12818,26118,63018,78318,932
Change—−15+133+369+153+149

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 Berrien County

4 incorporated places lie at least partly in Berrien County. Together they are home to 7,770 people (41%); the other 11,162 (59%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Nashville city, with 5,038 residents in the county. Among places with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Enigma town grew fastest since then (+5.8%).

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Nashville cityCounty seat5,038+1.7%5.103
Ray City cityAlso in 1 other county1,132+18.7%1.146
Enigma town1,106+5.8%3.253
Alapaha town494+3.6%1.027

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

Metropolitan area

Berrien County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.

ZIP codes

6 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Berrien County; 4 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

316223163731639316453174931794

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 Berrien County

Berrien County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents. It has more land than 5 of them. The largest neighbor is Coffee County (592.3 mi²) and the smallest is Lanier County (196.5 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Berrien County forms a block of 2,925.9 mi² of land, of which it holds 15.5%.

Map of Berrien County and the 7 county equivalents that border it Cook County, Georgia: 228.5 mi² landAtkinson County, Georgia: 342.7 mi² landLanier County, Georgia: 196.5 mi² landIrwin County, Georgia: 354.4 mi² landTift County, Georgia: 260.9 mi² landLowndes County, Georgia: 497.3 mi² landCoffee County, Georgia: 592.3 mi² land
Berrien 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. BerrienCompare
Coffee County592.31.3× largerCompare
Lowndes County497.31.1× largerCompare
Irwin County354.41.3× smallerCompare
Atkinson County342.71.3× smallerCompare
Tift County260.91.7× smallerCompare
Cook County228.52× smallerCompare
Lanier County196.52.3× smallerCompare

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

Berrien County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 2.3 times as much. Georgia’s county land could hold about 127 areas the size of Berrien County.

Land area: Berrien County and the closest-sized states
Berrien County453.4 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 21.3 miles (34.3 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 Berrien County?

Berrien County has more land than 965 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Berrien County453.4 mi²
Georgia median342.7 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 Berrien County at #2,317 nationally by total area, 60 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 1%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.2 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 Berrien County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#2256Lawrence County, Ohio453.4Compare
#2257Berrien County, Georgia453.4This county
#2258East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana453.3Compare

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 31.288652, -83.227870. 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: 1,174,239,562 m²; AWATER: 11,671,125 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 Berrien County?

Berrien County, Georgia has 453.4 square miles (1,174.2 km²) of land and 4.506 square miles of water, for a total area of 457.9 square miles. It ranks #2257 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Berrien County the largest county in Georgia?

No. Berrien County ranks #38 of 159 in Georgia by land area. The largest is Ware County, with 899.4 square miles of land.

What counties border Berrien County?

Berrien County shares a land border with Cook County, Atkinson County, Lanier County, Irwin County, Tift County, Lowndes County, and Coffee County.

What is the population of Berrien County?

The Census Bureau estimates Berrien County had 18,932 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,942 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 42 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Berrien County?

The county seat of Berrien County is Nashville.

What cities and towns are in Berrien County?

Berrien County has 4 incorporated places. The most populous are Nashville city, Ray City city, Enigma town, and Alapaha town; 11,162 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Berrien County part of a metropolitan area?

No. Berrien County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.

How many ZIP codes are in Berrien County?

6 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Berrien County, and 4 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

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

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 2.3 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Berrien County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 290,161 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 293,044 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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