County food-access profile · Georgia
Forsyth County, GA
Forsyth County sits among the counties with the widest food-access gaps the USDA tracks, most residents here live well outside a comfortable walk or drive to a supermarket. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 55.9%
- low-access pop.
- 1
- food-desert tracts
- 2.2%
- on SNAP
- 267K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
55.9% of Forsyth County residents live in a low-access area, and 1 of its 45 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 36
- low-access tracts
- 14K
- food-desert residents
- 2.0%
- households, no vehicle
- 4.3%
- below poverty line
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, 1-and-10-mile measure).
Forsyth County carries one of the more serious food-access burdens the USDA Atlas tracks: its low-access share of 55.9% is well above the national share. 36 of the county's 45 census tracts fall into that category, areas where residents live far from a supermarket, covering about 98,125 people. 1 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 14,155 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Forsyth County compares nationally
Forsyth County sits among the nation's most food-access-constrained counties: its 55.9% low-access share outpaces 95% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, ranking #145 most-affected nationwide.
Forsyth County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 45 census tracts in Forsyth County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Forsyth County vs. other Georgia counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Georgia
- Forsyth
Forsyth County, GA
55.9 % low-access
- Appling
Appling County, GA
47.8 % low-access
- Atkinson 23.5
Atkinson County, GA
23.5 % low-access
- Bacon 3.3
Bacon County, GA
3.3 % low-access
- Baker
Baker County, GA
61.3 % low-access
- Baldwin
Baldwin County, GA
24.6 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 45 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 175,511 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 36 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 1 |
| Low-Access Population | 98,125 |
| Low-Access Share | 55.9%well above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 14,155 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 267,287 |
| Median Household Income | $143,784 |
| Poverty Rate | 4.3%well below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 1,927 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 2.2%well below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 2.0%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 0.4% |
About 2.2% of Forsyth County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 55.9% of residents are low-access, well above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 2.2% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 1,927 households here.
- 2.0% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 1 tract meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Forsyth County
well above the national share
1 of Forsyth County's 45 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 2.2% of all its tracts.
A further 35 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 36.
An estimated 98,125 residents, roughly 55.9% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 14,155 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 9 tracts (20.0%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Forsyth County
Forsyth County has 105 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 7 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 44 locations (42% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 44
- 138 labodega, alpharetta
- 76 cumming, cumming
- a & l quick stop, cumming
- aagnee food mart & vape, cumming
- al's quick stop, cumming
- alpharetta marathon 1, alpharetta
- circle m food shop 38, cumming
- circle m food shop 39, cumming
- citgo at cumming square, cumming
- citgo quik mart, alpharetta
- clipper 74, cumming
- danielzz food mart, cumming
- flowers bakery outlet 685, cumming
- ga#9 texaco, cumming
- golden key european food store, cumming
- hut bakery n/a, alpharetta
- jp cumming 263, cumming
- keith bridge bp, gainesville
- keith bridge food mart, cumming
- la jarochita market, cumming
- lake lanier shell, gainesville
- lakeland plaza chevron, cumming
- leon's food mart, cumming
- marathon gas, cumming
- murphy express 8662, alpharetta
- quiktrip 778, suwanee
- quiktrip 812, cumming
- quick serve, cumming
- quiktrip 1725, cumming
- quiktrip 1767, alpharetta
- quiktrip 817, cumming
- quiktrip 841, cumming
- race trac 396, cumming
- racetrac 2355, cumming
- racetrac 2523, cumming
- racetrac 2537, alpharetta
- racetrac 2566, alpharetta
- racetrac 2570, cumming
- racetrac2602 2602, cumming
- shell food mart, cumming
- shell food mart, cumming
- speedway 4106, cumming
- speedway 8495, alpharetta
- vp food mart, cumming
Combination Grocery/Other · 21
- cvs pharmacy 191, cumming
- cvs pharmacy 2279, suwanee
- cvs pharmacy 2310, cumming
- cvs pharmacy 3882, cumming
- cvs pharmacy 4682, cumming
- cvs pharmacy 4113, cumming
- dollar general 1025, cumming
- dollar general 1266, cumming
- dollar general 14285, gainesville
- dollar general 22420, cumming
- dollar general 23193, cumming
- dollar general store 16594, cumming
- dollar tree 2016, cumming
- dollar tree 2021, cumming
- dollar tree 5702, cumming
- indifresh 1, cumming
- sai market, cumming
- walgreens 10423, cumming
- walgreens 17282, cumming
- walgreens 7946, cumming
- walgreens 7994, cumming
Supermarket · 18
- aldi 76034, cumming
- aldi 76162, cumming
- ingles markets 106, cumming
- ingles markets 438, cumming
- ingles markets 456, cumming
- publix 0026, cumming
- publix 0049, cumming
- publix 1089, alpharetta
- publix 1091, suwanee
- publix 1130, cumming
- publix 519, cumming
- publix 616, alpharetta
- publix super market 1773, cumming
- publix super markets, inc. 1690, cumming
- suvidha grocery 1, suwanee
- sprouts farmers market 515, cumming
- sprouts farmers market 516, suwanee
- wilkes meat market of cumming, cumming
Super Store · 14
- bj's membership club 144, cumming
- carniceria hernandez, cumming
- cherians international fresh market, cumming
- costco wholesale 1175, cumming
- kroger 432, cumming
- kroger 473, cumming
- kroger store 486, cumming
- kroger 627, cumming
- lidl 1441, cumming
- target store t-1394, cumming
- walmart 7185, cumming
- walmart 878, cumming
- walmart supercenter 4185, cumming
- walmart supercenter 4436, alpharetta
Medium Grocery Store · 4
- international gourmet foods, alpharetta
- supermercado el torito, alpharetta
- san diego panaderia, alpharetta
- supermercado lazacatecana, cumming
Large Grocery Store · 3
- ali baba market, alpharetta
- fergusons meat market, cumming
- la rosita supermarket 2, cumming
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 1
- alpharetta halal meat, cumming
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Georgia
Compare Forsyth County vs Appling County → · All Georgia counties →
Food access nationally, Georgia in context
Forsyth County sits inside Georgia (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Forsyth County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Forsyth County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Forsyth County? ▼
Is Forsyth County a food desert? ▼
What share of Forsyth County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
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.