Signature · 7.8% SNAP (10th pct in GA)
Effingham County, GA
Distance to a supermarket is a real obstacle for a meaningful share of Effingham County residents. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert here and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).
- 22.2%
- low-access pop.
- 0
- food-desert tracts
- 7.8%
- on SNAP
- 69K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Effingham County, GA
LA-ELEVATED · PHOTO-FINISH · LILA-NONE · SNAP-LIGHT · VEH-OK · DENSITY-CLEAR
- LA-ELEVATED 22.2% low-access
- PHOTO-FINISH +0.1 pts vs US
- LILA-NONE 0 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-LIGHT 7.8% SNAP
- VEH-OK 2.8% no vehicle
- DENSITY-CLEAR 0% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Johnson County (+ 0.1 pts)
The food-access picture
According to the USDA Food Access Research Atlas, Effingham County ranks #1,506 of 3,079 U.S. counties by low-access share and #70 of 151 counties in GA (22.2% low-access).
- #1,506
- national by low-access %
- #70
- in GA
- 3
- low-access tracts
- 3K
- food-desert residents
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA).
Signature read: 7.8% SNAP (10th pct in GA) (-4.3 pts vs U.S. SNAP) .
How Effingham County compares nationally
Relative to the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA food-access data, Effingham County's 22.2% low-access share is elevated, higher than 52% of them and ranked #1,518 most-affected nationwide.
Effingham County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
10 census tracts grouped by USDA classification .
By USDA urbanicity classification, Effingham County has 2 urban and 8 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
Effingham County low-access neighbourhood
Poles + nearest peers in Georgia, not a full county-board reprint
- Chattahoochee
Chattahoochee 97.7%
97.7 % low-access
- Lamar 22.4
Lamar 22.4%
22.4 % low-access
- Johnson 22.3
Johnson 22.3%
22.3 % low-access
- Oconee 22.3
Oconee 22.3%
22.3 % low-access
- Effingham 22.2
Effingham 22.2%
22.2 % low-access
- Wilkinson 21.8
Wilkinson 21.8%
21.8 % low-access
- Dade 0
Dade 0%
0 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 10 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 52,250 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 3 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 0 |
| Low-Access Population | 11,589 |
| Low-Access Share | 22.2%near the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 3,414 |
ACS 2024 · lower SNAP band
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 69,143 |
| Median Household Income | $88,438 |
| Poverty Rate | 6.8%well below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 1,892 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 7.8%below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 2.8%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 0.5% |
Thick SNAP store book in Effingham County
Effingham County has 53 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 5 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 33 locations (62% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 33
- 1780 country store, bloomingdale
- 76 rincon, rincon
- blue jay food mart, rincon
- chevron, bloomingdale
- ebenezer chevron, rincon
- el cheapo 61, guyton
- gate service station 225, rincon
- gurudev datta inc n/a, clyo
- love's travel stop 819, rincon
- mahant 7 inc, eden
- marathon food, rincon
- murphy express 8792, rincon
- nouria 1283 highway 21 south 855, springfield
- nouria 6188 highway 21 south 854, rincon
- one stop, clyo
- parker's 102, rincon
- parker's 108, bloomingdale
- parker's 40, rincon
- parker's 92, guyton
- parker's 97, bloomingdale
- parker's 98, rincon
- parkers 30, guyton
- parkers 34, springfield
- parkers 42, bloomingdale
- prapti fuel stop inc, rincon
- reyansh management #2, springfield
- rincon country store, rincon
- rudra bp, bloomingdale
- shymagi, springfield
- shree dutta inc, rincon
- shyam food mart, eden
- springfield bp, springfield
- vherai llc 1, springfield
Combination Grocery/Other · 15
- cvs pharmacy 7758, rincon
- dollar general 17747, guyton
- dollar general 3929, rincon
- dollar general 4371, guyton
- dollar general 4374, springfield
- dollar general 10479, eden
- dollar general 12439, guyton
- dollar general 21352, clyo
- dollar general 22263, guyton
- dollar general 22294, rincon
- dollar general 25069, springfield
- dollar general store 17546, rincon
- dollar tree 3910, rincon
- family dollar store 3064, springfield
- walgreens 10799, rincon
Super Store · 3
- ken's iga 4, guyton
- kroger 625, rincon
- walmart 1011, rincon
Small Grocery Store · 1
- woods seafood on laurel llc, springfield
Supermarket · 1
- food lion 2826, springfield
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 Effingham County vs Appling County → · All Georgia counties →
Nationwide peers for Effingham County's low-access or SNAP share
SNAP-led peer set first for Effingham County (7.8%), with low-access neighbours deduped against it, both outside Georgia.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside GA (22.2% here).
- Floyd County, IA · 22.2% low-access
- Floyd County, IA · 22.2% low-access
- Jefferson County, KY · 22.2% low-access
- Jefferson County, KY · 22.2% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside GA (7.8% here).
- Elmore County, ID · 7.8% SNAP
- Elmore County, ID · 7.8% SNAP
- Clay County, IN · 7.8% SNAP
- Clay County, IN · 7.8% 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.
Food access nationally, Georgia in context
Effingham County sits inside Georgia (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
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 Effingham County, GA are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 13103. 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.