Signature · 2 LILA tracts (40% of tracts)
Ben Hill County, GA
Ben Hill County's signature pressure is desert tracts: 2 LILA tracts (40% of the book) alongside 30.1% low-access.
- 30.1%
- low-access pop.
- 2
- food-desert tracts
- 21.3%
- on SNAP
- 17K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Ben Hill County, GA
LA-ELEVATED · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-POCKET · SNAP-HEAVY · VEH-OK · DENSITY-DENSE
- LA-ELEVATED 30.1% low-access
- ABOVE-NATIONAL +8.0 pts vs US
- LILA-POCKET 2 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-HEAVY 21.3% SNAP
- VEH-OK 6.3% no vehicle
- DENSITY-DENSE 40% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Muscogee County (+ 0.1 pts)
Upper-band low-access
Ben Hill County sits in the upper national band (30.1%, #920 of 3,079) with 2 LILA tracts.
- #920
- national by low-access %
- #51
- in GA
- 2
- low-access tracts
- 2K
- food-desert residents
Upper-band counties often pair elevated low-access with clustered LILA tracts. Low access = >1 mile urban / >10 miles rural.
Signature read: 2 LILA tracts (40% of tracts) .
How Ben Hill County compares nationally
Relative to the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA food-access data, Ben Hill County's 30.1% low-access share is elevated, higher than 70% of them and ranked #920 most-affected nationwide.
Ben Hill County's elevated USDA tier split
5 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 2 LILA.
Ben Hill County is mostly rural by USDA tract type (3 rural, 2 urban), so most tracts are held to the 10-mile test and only the 2 urban tracts face the 1-mile one.
Ben Hill County vs nearby high low-access peers
Poles + nearest peers in Georgia, not a full county-board reprint
- Chattahoochee
Chattahoochee 97.7%
97.7 % low-access
- Bartow 30.3
Bartow 30.3%
30.3 % low-access
- Ware 30.3
Ware 30.3%
30.3 % low-access
- Muscogee 30.2
Muscogee 30.2%
30.2 % low-access
- Ben Hill 30.1
Ben Hill 30.1%
30.1 % low-access
- Whitfield 29.9
Whitfield 29.9%
29.9 % low-access
- Dade 0
Dade 0%
0 % low-access
FARA 2019 · elevated low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 5 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 17,634 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 2 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 2 |
| Low-Access Population | 5,315 |
| Low-Access Share | 30.1%above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 2,321 |
ACS 2024 · elevated SNAP band
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 17,089 |
| Median Household Income | $41,758 |
| Poverty Rate | 25.2%well above the national average |
| SNAP Households | 1,511 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 21.3%well above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 6.3%below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 1.7% |
Thick SNAP store book in Ben Hill County
Ben Hill County has 32 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 4 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 19 locations (59% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Where the store book sits, by town
All 32 authorized stores are in Fitzgerald, 2 of them grocery-grade (supermarket or large/medium grocery).
Convenience Store · 19
- 107 express, fitzgerald
- brahmani maa, fitzgerald
- e z food mart, fitzgerald
- flash foods llc 274155, fitzgerald
- fosters fast stop, fitzgerald
- jerry's grocery, fitzgerald
- jet food store 100, fitzgerald
- lil pantry #9, fitzgerald
- money saver, fitzgerald
- murphy usa 5698, fitzgerald
- neels corner, fitzgerald
- nouria 106 ocilla highway 210, fitzgerald
- peach express, fitzgerald
- puja food mart, fitzgerald
- sav a ton, fitzgerald
- short stop, fitzgerald
- stop and go, fitzgerald
- taylor's food mart, fitzgerald
- wild chicken corner, fitzgerald
Combination Grocery/Other · 9
- cvs pharmacy 4603, fitzgerald
- dollar general 2098, fitzgerald
- dollar general 15233, fitzgerald
- dollar general 22707, fitzgerald
- dollar general 25767, fitzgerald
- dollar tree 3519, fitzgerald
- family dollar 218, fitzgerald
- g & l quality boer, fitzgerald
- stone's country meats, inc, fitzgerald
Small Grocery Store · 2
- la plaza azteca, fitzgerald
- tienda mexicana la estrella, fitzgerald
Super Store · 2
- harveys supermarket 1617, fitzgerald
- walmart s/c 686, fitzgerald
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in Georgia
One of 158 counties in Georgia, 6 are shown here.
Compare Ben Hill County vs Appling County → · All Georgia counties →
Counties near Ben Hill County's elevated low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Ben Hill County, both outside Georgia so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside GA (30.1% here).
- Des Moines County, IA · 30.1% low-access
- Crawford County, KS · 30.1% low-access
- Essex County, MA · 30.1% low-access
- Saginaw County, MI · 30.1% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside GA (21.3% here).
- Barbour County, AL · 21.3% SNAP
- Cleveland County, NC · 21.3% SNAP
- McCurtain County, OK · 21.3% SNAP
- Lewis County, WV · 21.3% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
Georgia among South Atlantic states
Georgia ranks 1st of 9 South Atlantic states by population-weighted low-access (30.9%). Ben Hill County, at 30.1%, runs 0.8 pts below the Georgia rate.
- Georgia 30.9%
- South Carolina 28.7%
- Delaware 27.3%
- Florida 25.1%
- North Carolina 22.9%
- Maryland 22.7%
- West Virginia 21.3%
- Virginia 20.4%
- District of Columbia 4.6%
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted by state; divisions per the U.S. Census Bureau. National state map
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Ben Hill County, GA are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 13017. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.