Who is the Sumter County Clerk of Superior Court?

Cortisa E. Barthell (Democratic) is the Clerk of Superior Court of Sumter County, Georgia.

Who is the Sumter County Coroner?

Bobby Hancock-Harris (Republican) is the Coroner of Sumter County, Georgia.

Who is the Sumter County Sheriff?

Eric D. Bryant (Democratic) is the Sheriff of Sumter County, Georgia.

Who is the Sumter County Tax Commissioner?

Leah Watson (Republican) is the Tax Commissioner of Sumter County, Georgia.

Who are the Sumter County commissioners?

Clay Jones (District 1); James C. "Jim" Reid, Jr. (District 3); David Baldwin (District 4); Jessie Mickey Smith (District 5).

Who is on the Sumter County School Board?

Abbis Yvette Bivins (Board of Education Member, District 1); Edward F. Jackson, Jr. (Board of Education Member, District 3); Carolyn Cheatham Hamilton (Board of Education Member, District 5); Dwight Bernard Harris (Board of Education Member, District 7).

What is the population of Sumter County?

About 29,061 people, with a median age of 37.9; the median household income is $42,653 and 23.7% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Sumter County?

4.5% in September 2026 (preliminary): 549 people unemployed in a labor force of 12,214, against 4.6% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

How many local governments are there in Sumter County?

13 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 5 municipal, 1 school district and 6 special district governments.

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

Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Sumter County: 12 seats on 6 elected bodies. 5 seats were on the November 3, 2026 ballot; they update once the county certifies its results.

Board of Commissioners

Sumter 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	Clay Jones Democratic source
County Commissioner, District 3	James C. "Jim" Reid, Jr. Republican source
County Commissioner, District 4	David Baldwin Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 5	Jessie Mickey Smith Democratic source

County officers

Office	Who holds it now
Clerk of Superior Court	Cortisa E. Barthell Democratic source
Coroner	Bobby Hancock-Harris Republican source
Sheriff	Eric D. Bryant Democratic source
Tax Commissioner	Leah Watson Republican source

School Board

Sumter 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	Abbis Yvette Bivins source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Board of Education Member, District 3	Edward F. Jackson, Jr. source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Board of Education Member, District 5	Carolyn Cheatham Hamilton source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Board of Education Member, District 7	Dwight Bernard Harris source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet

How many local governments Sumter County has

The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 13 local governments in Sumter 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	5	0
School districts (school boards)	1	1
Special districts (elected boards)	6	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 Sumter County

29,061people

37.9median ageU.S.: 38.9

$42,653 household incomeU.S.: $80,734

23.7%below the U.S.: 12.5%

21.4%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%

$120,200median home valueU.S.: $332,700

4.7%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%

4.3%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%

5.8%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%

14%U.S.: 8.4%

49.6%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%

25.6%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%

Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 6.2% · White 38.5% · Black 49.8% · Asian 1.3% · Other or more than one race 4.1% (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 Sumter County

4.5%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 4.6%. Georgia: 3.5%.

549people unemployedSeptember 2026, preliminary.

11,665people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.

12,214in 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%	549	11,665	12,214
August 2026	4.5%	531	11,309	11,840
July 2026	4.5%	525	11,058	11,583
June 2026	4.9%	564	10,898	11,462
May 2026	4.3%	497	11,182	11,679
April 2026	3.9%	459	11,226	11,685
March 2026	4.5%	537	11,302	11,839
February 2026	4.8%	573	11,293	11,866
January 2026	5.0%	587	11,180	11,767
December 2025	4.6%	561	11,521	12,082
November 2025	4.8%	590	11,752	12,342
October 2025	not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025	4.6%	557	11,636	12,193
August 2025	4.9%	585	11,330	11,915
July 2025	5.1%	605	11,148	11,753
June 2025	5.1%	598	11,128	11,726
May 2025	4.5%	530	11,254	11,784
April 2025	4.1%	481	11,381	11,862
March 2025	4.5%	545	11,483	12,028
February 2025	4.7%	561	11,427	11,988
January 2025	4.9%	592	11,397	11,989
December 2024	4.6%	568	11,739	12,307
November 2024	4.4%	551	11,841	12,392
October 2024	4.6%	579	11,896	12,475

Yearly averages

Year	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
2025 (11 months)	4.7%	564	11,405	11,969
2024	4.7%	577	11,697	12,274
2023	4.3%	556	12,291	12,847
2022	3.9%	514	12,585	13,099
2021	5.3%	700	12,516	13,216
2020	7.0%	950	12,593	13,543
2019	4.6%	645	13,274	13,919
2018	5.6%	776	12,971	13,747
2017	6.4%	904	13,138	14,042
2016	7.2%	996	12,804	13,800

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 Sumter County

547.5 per 100,0002018. Georgia: 338.9.

3,757.9 per 100,0002018. Georgia: 2,642.9.

3murders2018, 161 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	161	547.5	1,105	3,757.9
2017	115	382.6	958	3,187.6

By police agency (4)

Agency	Year	Violent	Property	People served
Americus Police Department	2025	141	475	15,632
Sumter County Sheriff's Office	2025	17	87	12,363
Plains Police Department	2018	1	3	720
Leslie Police Department	2025	0	0	336

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

2.77 per 1,000 residents2025, 4 agencies serving 28,846 people.

80sworn officers2025, full-time, as of October 31.

70civilian staff2025, full-time.

Agencies counted (4), 2025

Agency	Officers	Civilians	People served
Sumter County Sheriff's Office	48	55	12,363
Americus Police Department	26	13	15,632
Leslie Police Department	4	1	336
Plains Police Department	2	1	515

Earlier years

Year	Officers	Per 1,000	Civilians	Agencies
2025	80	2.77	70	4
2018	85	2.89	60	4
2017	87	2.89	56	4

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 Sumter County Clerk of Superior Court?: Cortisa E. Barthell (Democratic) is the Clerk of Superior Court of Sumter County, Georgia.
Who is the Sumter County Coroner?: Bobby Hancock-Harris (Republican) is the Coroner of Sumter County, Georgia.
Who is the Sumter County Sheriff?: Eric D. Bryant (Democratic) is the Sheriff of Sumter County, Georgia.
Who is the Sumter County Tax Commissioner?: Leah Watson (Republican) is the Tax Commissioner of Sumter County, Georgia.
Who are the Sumter County commissioners?: Clay Jones (District 1); James C. "Jim" Reid, Jr. (District 3); David Baldwin (District 4); Jessie Mickey Smith (District 5).
Who is on the Sumter County School Board?: Abbis Yvette Bivins (Board of Education Member, District 1); Edward F. Jackson, Jr. (Board of Education Member, District 3); Carolyn Cheatham Hamilton (Board of Education Member, District 5); Dwight Bernard Harris (Board of Education Member, District 7).
What is the population of Sumter County?: About 29,061 people, with a median age of 37.9; the median household income is $42,653 and 23.7% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Sumter County?: 4.5% in September 2026 (preliminary): 549 people unemployed in a labor force of 12,214, against 4.6% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Sumter County?: 13 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 5 municipal, 1 school district and 6 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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