Why Albany, Georgia? 

Albany is considered the industry, business, retail, education, cultural activities, healthcare and media hub for a large, growing region that includes parts of Florida and Alabama as well as Georgia. Almost 80,000 people call Albany home and with a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of five counties, over 160,000 people live, work, play and/or discover in Albany, Georgia!

• Population (2004):

• Dougherty County:  95,700

• City of Albany:  76,900

• Albany MSA: 160,600

• Population Characteristics:

	Dougherty County	Albany MSA
% White:	35.6%	48.8%
% Black:	62.3%	49.1%
% Hispanic:	1.2%	6.0%
% Other:	0.7%	1.2%

• Albany-to Major Regional Cities:

Atlanta, GA	183
Birmingham, AL	265
Jacksonville, FL	207
Tallahassee, FL	105

• Climate:

Winter Hi/64º	Winter Lo/15º
Summer Hi/100º	Summer Lo/70º

• Median Age:

Male:  31.8

Female:  35.3

• Income:

Per capita:	$23,672
Median household:	$30,934

• Dougherty County has a local sales tax of 3%.  The state of GA has a 4% state sales tax.
• Albany has the lowest housing and transportation costs of Georgia’s metropolitan areas.
• According to the most recent ACCRA cost of living index, Albany holds the title of Georgia’s lowest cost of living urban area.
• Home of a US Marine Corps Logistics Base
• Two regional hospitals providing medical services typically expected in metropolitan areas
• All of Dougherty County Schools are SACS accredited
• Home of Albany State University, Darton College and Albany Technical College
• The Albany (Ga.) Transit System of 18-bus fleet provides bus service within Albany and part of Dougherty County
• SWGA Regional Airport: Eight scheduled commercial flights daily. Passengers are within two hours of 80% of nation’s population