White County area

White County, Georgia covers 242.3 square miles: 240.8 square miles of land and 1.483 square miles of water. Its county seat is Cleveland. An estimated 29,802 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 133112026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area240.8 mi²
Water area1.483 mi²
Population (2025)29,802
People per mi²124

County outline

Generalized outline of White 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 White County is located

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

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 99.4% of White County’s measured area and water for 0.6%. Its combined area converts to 627.4 square kilometers or approximately 155,044 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land240.773623.599154,094.7
Water1.4833.841949.1
Total242.256627.44155,043.8

How White County compares

By original Census land area, White County ranks #124 of 159 in Georgia and #2928 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 0.703 times the Georgia county-equivalent median of 342.7 square miles. It accounts for 0.4% of the combined county land area in the state.

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

Population and density of White County

The Census Bureau estimates that 29,802 people lived in White County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,492 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #65 of 159 in Georgia. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 27,997, the population has grown by 1,805 (+6.4%), compared with +5.5% for Georgia as a whole.

With 240.8 square miles of land, that is 124 people per square mile (48 per km²), placing White County #860 nationally for density and #52 in Georgia. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Georgia median is 69. Put another way, there are about 5.2 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate28,10828,38628,77828,98229,61029,802
Change—+278+392+204+628+192

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 White County

2 incorporated places lie at least partly in White County. Together they are home to 4,103 people (13.8%); the other 25,699 (86.2%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Cleveland city, with 3,472 residents in the county.

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Cleveland cityCounty seat3,472−0.3%3.886
Helen city631+18.6%2.089

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

Metropolitan area

White 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

7 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in White County; 3 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

30523305273052830533305453056430571

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 White County

White County shares a land border with 5 county equivalents. It has more land than 1 of them. The largest neighbor is Hall County (392.5 mi²) and the smallest is Towns County (166.6 mi²). Together with its neighbors, White County forms a block of 1,681.8 mi² of land, of which it holds 14.3%.

Map of White County and the 5 county equivalents that border it Habersham County, Georgia: 276.9 mi² landLumpkin County, Georgia: 281.4 mi² landHall County, Georgia: 392.5 mi² landUnion County, Georgia: 323.6 mi² landTowns County, Georgia: 166.6 mi² land
White 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. WhiteCompare
Hall County392.51.6× largerCompare
Union County323.61.3× largerCompare
Lumpkin County281.41.2× largerCompare
Habersham County276.91.1× largerCompare
Towns County166.61.4× smallerCompare

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

White County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 4.3 times as much. Georgia’s county land could hold about 240 areas the size of White County.

Land area: White County and the closest-sized states
White County240.8 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 15.5 miles (25 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 White County?

White County has more land than 294 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
White County240.8 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 White County at #2,965 nationally by total area, 37 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 0.6%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.6 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 White County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#2927Montgomery County, Georgia241.1Compare
#2928White County, Georgia240.8This county
#2929Camden County, North Carolina240.3Compare

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 34.644182, -83.743000. 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: 623,600,288 m²; AWATER: 3,841,613 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 White County?

White County, Georgia has 240.8 square miles (623.6 km²) of land and 1.483 square miles of water, for a total area of 242.3 square miles. It ranks #2928 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is White County the largest county in Georgia?

No. White County ranks #124 of 159 in Georgia by land area. The largest is Ware County, with 899.4 square miles of land.

What counties border White County?

White County shares a land border with Habersham County, Lumpkin County, Hall County, Union County, and Towns County.

What is the population of White County?

The Census Bureau estimates White County had 29,802 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,492 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 124 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of White County?

The county seat of White County is Cleveland.

What cities and towns are in White County?

White County has 2 incorporated places. The most populous are Cleveland city and Helen city; 25,699 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is White County part of a metropolitan area?

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

How many ZIP codes are in White County?

7 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in White County, and 3 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

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

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 4.3 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in White County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 154,095 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 155,044 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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