Who is the Burke County Clerk of Superior Court?

Radeta Green Smith (Democratic) is the Clerk of Superior Court of Burke County, Georgia.

Who is the Burke County Coroner?

Val Prescott (Republican) is the Coroner of Burke County, Georgia.

Who is the Burke County Probate Judge?

Ashley Moore, Jr. (Democratic) is the Probate Judge of Burke County, Georgia.

Who is the Burke County Sheriff?

Alfonzo Williams (Democratic) is the Sheriff of Burke County, Georgia.

Who is the Burke County Tax Commissioner?

Marian S. Jackson (Democratic) is the Tax Commissioner of Burke County, Georgia.

Who are the Burke County commissioners?

Lucious Abrams, Jr. (District 1); Terri Lodge Kelly (District 2); Evans Martin (District 3); Tommy Nix (District 4); Q.U. "Art" Lively, III. (District 5).

Who is on the Burke County School Board?

Ruby Saxon Myles (Board of Education Member, District 1); Jackie Payton (Board of Education Member, District 2); Franklin Lane (Board of Education Member, District 5).

What is the population of Burke County?

About 24,470 people, with a median age of 38.3; the median household income is $53,014 and 18.3% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Burke County?

4.5% in September 2026 (preliminary): 481 people unemployed in a labor force of 10,687, against 4.4% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

How many local governments are there in Burke County?

11 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 6 municipal, 1 school district and 3 special district governments.

Burke County, GA elected officials: county commissioners, sheriff, school board and cities

Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Burke County: 13 seats on 7 elected bodies. 2 seats were on the November 3, 2026 ballot; they update once the county certifies its results.

Board of Commissioners

Burke County Board of Commissioners

Each member is elected by the voters of their district.

Office	Who holds it now	Next term
County Commissioner, District 1	Lucious Abrams, Jr. Democratic source
County Commissioner, District 2	Terri Lodge Kelly Democratic source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 3	Evans Martin Republican source
County Commissioner, District 4	Tommy Nix Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 5	Q.U. "Art" Lively, III. Republican source

County officers

Office	Who holds it now
Clerk of Superior Court	Radeta Green Smith Democratic source
Coroner	Val Prescott Republican source
Probate Judge	Ashley Moore, Jr. Democratic source
Sheriff	Alfonzo Williams Democratic source
Tax Commissioner	Marian S. Jackson Democratic source

School Board

Burke County Board of Education

Each member is elected by the voters of their district.

Office	Who holds it now	Next term
Board of Education Member, District 1	Ruby Saxon Myles source	Re-elected (elected, per the official body)
Board of Education Member, District 2	Jackie Payton source	Re-elected (elected, per the official body)
Board of Education Member, District 5	Franklin Lane source	Re-elected (elected, per the official body)

How many local governments Burke County has

The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 11 local governments in Burke County. This page lists the ones whose offices are elected.

Kind of government	Census count (2022)	Listed on this page
County government	1	1
Cities, towns, villages and townships	6	0
School districts (school boards)	1	1
Special districts (elected boards)	3	0

Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments: Government Units Listing (census.gov).

About these counts

The Census Bureau counts every independent local government once, in the county it assigns it to: the one it mostly serves or where it's based. A city or district that crosses county lines is counted in only one county, so it may be listed on this page but counted elsewhere, or the other way around. Many special districts, such as housing authorities, have appointed boards, and some places have more than one elected body, so the two columns measure different things. School systems run by a county, city or the state aren't counted as separate governments, though their boards may be listed here; in some states the Bureau counts community or state colleges as school districts. The counts are as of 2022.

Who lives in Burke County

24,470people

38.3median ageU.S.: 38.9

$53,014 household incomeU.S.: $80,734

18.3%below the U.S.: 12.5%

15.5%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%

$151,600median home valueU.S.: $332,700

5%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%

1.7%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%

8.7%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%

13.8%U.S.: 8.4%

47.4%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%

30.6%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%

Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 3.6% · White 48% · Black 45% · Asian 0.5% · Other or more than one race 2.9% (Hispanic or Latino people can be of any race; the other groups are non-Hispanic.)

Census Bureau, 2020–2024 5-year estimates (data.census.gov).

About these figures

The American Community Survey asks about 3.5 million households a year about who lives there, their work, income, schooling and housing. The 5-year estimates pool 2020–2024 answers so that every county and district has enough of them. They're estimates with a (larger for smaller places), and they're different from the once-a-decade census count. "Median" means half are above and half below. Household income is before taxes and includes everyone in the household. The unemployment share here is the survey's five-year average, so it differs from the monthly rate in the BLS jobs report. Race and Hispanic origin are as people describe themselves.

Health insurance means any coverage, private or public (such as Medicaid or Medicare), when people answered; the share is of everyone except people on active military duty and people living in institutions such as prisons and nursing homes. The housing shares are of renting households, and of homeowners with a mortgage, for whom the Census Bureau can compute them (households with no income, or renters who pay no cash rent, are left out). Rent here is gross rent, rent plus utilities; owner costs include the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities and fees.

Jobs in Burke County

4.5%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 4.4%. Georgia: 3.5%.

481people unemployedSeptember 2026, preliminary.

10,206people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.

10,687in the September 2026, preliminary.

Yearly average unemployment rate, 2016–2025.

Every month, last two years

Month	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
September 2026 (preliminary)	4.5%	481	10,206	10,687
August 2026	4.7%	490	10,018	10,508
July 2026	5.4%	568	9,988	10,556
June 2026	4.9%	513	9,914	10,427
May 2026	4.3%	451	10,050	10,501
April 2026	3.9%	409	10,209	10,618
March 2026	4.3%	456	10,037	10,493
February 2026	4.6%	489	10,058	10,547
January 2026	5.6%	595	10,022	10,617
December 2025	4.2%	444	10,156	10,600
November 2025	4.5%	473	10,129	10,602
October 2025	not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025	4.4%	457	9,951	10,408
August 2025	4.4%	452	9,798	10,250
July 2025	5.2%	535	9,720	10,255
June 2025	4.7%	483	9,708	10,191
May 2025	4.5%	462	9,803	10,265
April 2025	4.0%	425	10,133	10,558
March 2025	4.4%	453	9,944	10,397
February 2025	4.8%	495	9,867	10,362
January 2025	5.2%	546	9,906	10,452
December 2024	4.8%	497	9,958	10,455
November 2024	4.9%	509	9,953	10,462
October 2024	5.8%	609	9,920	10,529

Yearly averages

Year	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
2025 (11 months)	4.6%	475	9,920	10,395
2024	5.1%	526	9,869	10,395
2023	5.0%	520	9,857	10,377
2022	4.8%	498	9,917	10,415
2021	5.1%	542	9,988	10,530
2020	6.3%	664	9,857	10,521
2019	4.8%	511	10,101	10,612
2018	5.5%	590	10,045	10,635
2017	6.5%	697	9,995	10,692
2016	7.1%	739	9,642	10,381

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, : BLS publishes county figures only that way, so they rise and fall with the seasons; compare a month with the same month a year earlier rather than with the month before. Georgia's figure above is on the same basis; seasonally adjusted, as in BLS's monthly state release, it was 3.3% in September 2026. The latest month is preliminary and is revised the next month, and BLS revises earlier years each spring. People are counted where they live. October 2025 wasn't collected during the 2025 federal government shutdown, so 2025's yearly average covers 11 months.

Crime reported in Burke County

218.4 per 100,0002018. Georgia: 338.9.

2,085.7 per 100,0002018. Georgia: 2,642.9.

1murders2018, 51 violent crimes in all.

2018 is the latest year with complete reporting here: at least one of the county's police agencies didn't send the FBI a full year of figures since, so later totals would be undercounts.

Earlier years

Year	Violent	Rate	Property	Rate
2018	51	218.4	487	2,085.7
2017	97	411.5	499	2,116.9
2016	142	601.0	926	3,919.1

By police agency (5)

Agency	Year	Violent	Property	People served
Burke County Sheriff's Office	2025	19	150	17,496
Waynesboro Police Department	2023	21	88	5,555
Sardis Police Department	2018	0	22	967
Blythe Police Department	2023	0	0	769
Midville Police Department	2025	0	0	380

Crimes to the county's city and county police agencies (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A), per 100,000 people they serve. Years with incomplete reporting are left out. Crime in Georgia · the U.S.

Police staffing

4.25 per 1,000 residents2024, 5 agencies serving 25,199 people.

107sworn officers2024, full-time, as of October 31.

61civilian staff2024, full-time.

2024 is the latest year every agency here sent the FBI its staff count.

Agencies counted (5), 2024

Agency	Officers	Civilians	People served
Burke County Sheriff's Office	75	55	17,499
Waynesboro Police Department	21	4	5,545
Sardis Police Department	5	1	999
Midville Police Department	3	1	379
Blythe Police Department	3	0	777

Earlier years

Year	Officers	Per 1,000	Civilians	Agencies
2024	107	4.25	61	5
2018	96	4.17	46	5
2017	93	4.00	42	5

Full-time employees of the county's city police departments and sheriff's office, as each reported them to the FBI (Uniform Crime Reporting, Law Enforcement Employees), per 1,000 people in the areas those agencies serve (the FBI's population figures). A year is shown only when every one of these agencies sent a count; a count under half or over double the agency's own counts in nearby years is treated as not sent. Towns policed under contract by another agency are counted through that agency. State police, campus and other agencies aren't included. Sheriffs' offices often also run the county jail and courthouse security, so their staff counts include those jobs.

Quick answers

Who is the Burke County Clerk of Superior Court?: Radeta Green Smith (Democratic) is the Clerk of Superior Court of Burke County, Georgia.
Who is the Burke County Coroner?: Val Prescott (Republican) is the Coroner of Burke County, Georgia.
Who is the Burke County Probate Judge?: Ashley Moore, Jr. (Democratic) is the Probate Judge of Burke County, Georgia.
Who is the Burke County Sheriff?: Alfonzo Williams (Democratic) is the Sheriff of Burke County, Georgia.
Who is the Burke County Tax Commissioner?: Marian S. Jackson (Democratic) is the Tax Commissioner of Burke County, Georgia.
Who are the Burke County commissioners?: Lucious Abrams, Jr. (District 1); Terri Lodge Kelly (District 2); Evans Martin (District 3); Tommy Nix (District 4); Q.U. "Art" Lively, III. (District 5).
Who is on the Burke County School Board?: Ruby Saxon Myles (Board of Education Member, District 1); Jackie Payton (Board of Education Member, District 2); Franklin Lane (Board of Education Member, District 5).
What is the population of Burke County?: About 24,470 people, with a median age of 38.3; the median household income is $53,014 and 18.3% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Burke County?: 4.5% in September 2026 (preliminary): 481 people unemployed in a labor force of 10,687, against 4.4% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Burke County?: 11 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 6 municipal, 1 school district and 3 special district governments.

Officeholders as of November 6, 2026, from the Georgia Secretary of State's official results of each seat's last election (the November 2024 general, or a special election since), and for seats up in 2026 whose 2022 result the SOS site doesn't carry, the incumbent the SOS marks on that seat's 2026 primary, nonpartisan or November contest; officials appointed since then may differ; each name links to its source. Officials change between elections (appointments, resignations), and the body's own website is the authority. Party is shown only for offices elected on a partisan ballot.

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