Tifton, Georgia, USA
Nickname: Friendly City
Location in Tift County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 31°27′48″N 83°30′36″W / 31.46333, -83.51
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Tift
Government
- Mayor	Paul Johnson
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	31793-31794
Area code(s)	229
FIPS code	13-764762
GNIS feature ID	03241593
Website: http://www.tifton.net

Tifton is a city in Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 15,060 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Tift County⁶.

Geography

Tifton is located at 31°27′48″N, 83°30′36″W (31.463418, -83.510065)¹.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 15,060 people, 5,532 households, and 3,601 families residing in the city. The population density was 651.1/km² (1,686.2/mi²). There were 6,102 housing units at an average density of 263.8/km² (683.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.26% White, 31.57% African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.64% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.61% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.56% of the population.

There were 5,532 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 14.3% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,234, and the median income for a family was $37,023. Males had a median income of $27,206 versus $20,174 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,455. About 20.7% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.0% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.

History

In 2000 Tifton officially became the Reading Capital of the World, a distinction based on amassing over 2 million points in the Accelerated Reader program and achieving other goals such as increasing library circulation and reducing illiteracy rates. This distinction was celebrated on Nov. 15, 2000, when a packed high school stadium read aloud from Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, as a 30-foot Cat in the Hat balloon swayed overhead. The crowd then read silently from books of their own, earning the city dual entries in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people reading together in one place as well as the most reading together silently. Although Tifton is the reading capital of the world, the only public bookstore in town is The Christian Bookstore on Main Street. Tifton has a public library, in addition to an extensive college library located at nearby Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. [1]

The city has previously been recognized as a Top 100 Small Town and as the Cleanest City in America.^{[citation needed]}

See also: http://www.tifton.net/tiftonhistory.html

Points of interest

• Coastal Plain Research Arboretum
• Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC)
• Georgia Agrirama

Until recently, Tifton was the home of the world's second largest magnolia tree, which was located in Magnolia Tree Park. This acclaim came to a tragic end when the tree was struck by lightning and killed sometime in 2006. [Discovered by Brett Meager and Rob Colgan on 10/14/06] Although it no longer grows, the tree still stands. It is not known where the new second largest magnolia tree resides.

Also of note is that Tifton is the birthplace of classical singer Adriana Zabala and country singer Cyndi Thomson.

External links

• Tifton, Georgia website

• An article by a local author:[2]

Coordinates: 31.463418° N 83.510065° W

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