Who is the Tift County Clerk of Superior Court?

Clay Pate (Republican) is the Clerk of Superior Court of Tift County, Georgia.

Who is the Tift County Coroner?

Joshua D. Hendrix (Republican) is the Coroner of Tift County, Georgia.

Who is the Tift County Probate Judge?

Suzanne Carter Johnson (Republican) is the Probate Judge of Tift County, Georgia.

Who is the Tift County Sheriff?

Gene Scarborough (Republican) is the Sheriff of Tift County, Georgia.

Who is the Tift County Tax Commissioner?

R. Chad Alexander (Republican) is the Tax Commissioner of Tift County, Georgia.

Who are the Tift County commissioners?

Donnie Hester (District 1); Melissa Hughes (District 2); Paul Webb (District 3); Stan Stalnaker (District 4); Fred W. "Buck" Rigdon, Jr. (District 5); Greg Wood (District 6); Tony McBrayer (District 7).

Who is on the Tift County School Board?

Marilyn R. Burks (Board of Education Member, District 1); Pat McKinnon (Board of Education Member, District 2); John Waddell (Board of Education Member, District 3); Jonathan E. Jones (Board of Education Member, District 7).

What is the population of Tift County?

About 41,438 people, with a median age of 37.6; the median household income is $53,255 and 20.8% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Tift County?

3.4% in September 2026 (preliminary): 679 people unemployed in a labor force of 20,093, against 3.0% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

How many local governments are there in Tift County?

9 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 3 municipal, 1 school district and 4 special district governments.

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

Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Tift County: 16 seats on 7 elected bodies. 5 seats were on the November 3, 2026 ballot; they update once the county certifies its results.

Board of Commissioners

Tift 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	Donnie Hester Democratic source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 2	Melissa Hughes Democratic source
County Commissioner, District 3	Paul Webb Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 4	Stan Stalnaker Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 5	Fred W. "Buck" Rigdon, Jr. Republican source
County Commissioner, District 6	Greg Wood Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 7	Tony McBrayer Republican source

County officers

Office	Who holds it now
Clerk of Superior Court	Clay Pate Republican source
Coroner	Joshua D. Hendrix Republican source
Probate Judge	Suzanne Carter Johnson Republican source
Sheriff	Gene Scarborough Republican source
Tax Commissioner	R. Chad Alexander Republican source

School Board

Tift 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	Marilyn R. Burks Democratic source
Board of Education Member, District 2	Pat McKinnon Democratic source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Board of Education Member, District 3	John Waddell Republican source
Board of Education Member, District 7	Jonathan E. Jones Republican source

How many local governments Tift County has

The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 9 local governments in Tift 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	3	0
School districts (school boards)	1	1
Special districts (elected boards)	4	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 Tift County

41,438people

37.6median ageU.S.: 38.9

$53,255 household incomeU.S.: $80,734

20.8%below the U.S.: 12.5%

21%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%

$165,200median home valueU.S.: $332,700

2.8%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%

5.9%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%

5%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%

14.5%U.S.: 8.4%

43.4%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%

26.7%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%

Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 13.2% · White 52.9% · Black 29.5% · Asian 1.3% · Other or more than one race 3.1% (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 Tift County

3.4%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 3.0%. Georgia: 3.5%.

679people unemployedSeptember 2026, preliminary.

19,414people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.

20,093in the September 2026, preliminary.

Yearly average unemployment rate, 2016–2025.

Every month, last two years

Month	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
September 2026 (preliminary)	3.4%	679	19,414	20,093
August 2026	3.3%	632	18,744	19,376
July 2026	3.1%	599	18,573	19,172
June 2026	3.5%	676	18,449	19,125
May 2026	2.9%	567	18,913	19,480
April 2026	2.5%	489	19,163	19,652
March 2026	3.1%	612	19,246	19,858
February 2026	3.4%	672	19,368	20,040
January 2026	3.4%	671	19,352	20,023
December 2025	2.9%	598	19,887	20,485
November 2025	3.3%	668	19,696	20,364
October 2025	not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025	3.0%	605	19,323	19,928
August 2025	3.4%	669	18,859	19,528
July 2025	3.4%	661	18,738	19,399
June 2025	3.5%	669	18,684	19,353
May 2025	3.0%	578	18,594	19,172
April 2025	2.5%	493	18,993	19,486
March 2025	3.0%	602	19,204	19,806
February 2025	3.2%	626	19,215	19,841
January 2025	3.0%	601	19,297	19,898
December 2024	2.7%	546	19,742	20,288
November 2024	2.7%	540	19,534	20,074
October 2024	2.9%	597	19,677	20,274

Yearly averages

Year	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
2025 (11 months)	3.1%	615	19,135	19,750
2024	3.0%	614	19,526	20,140
2023	3.0%	608	19,813	20,421
2022	2.9%	597	20,077	20,674
2021	3.5%	725	19,841	20,566
2020	5.2%	1,041	18,926	19,967
2019	3.5%	685	19,035	19,720
2018	4.1%	771	17,997	18,768
2017	4.8%	896	17,771	18,667
2016	5.5%	995	16,961	17,956

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 Tift County

454.0 per 100,0002018. Georgia: 338.9.

3,516.9 per 100,0002018. Georgia: 2,642.9.

5murders2018, 182 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	182	454.0	1,410	3,516.9
2017	272	671.8	1,697	4,191.1
2016	229	567.7	1,675	4,152.3

By police agency (2)

Agency	Year	Violent	Property	People served
Tift County Sheriff's Office	2025	100	297	23,056
Tifton Police Department	2018	103	802	16,779

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

3.12 per 1,000 residents2018, 2 agencies serving 39,363 people.

123sworn officers2018, full-time, as of October 31.

25civilian staff2018, full-time.

2018 is the latest year every agency here sent the FBI its staff count.

Agencies counted (2), 2018

Agency	Officers	Civilians	People served
Tift County Sheriff's Office	82	17	22,584
Tifton Police Department	41	8	16,779

Earlier years

Year	Officers	Per 1,000	Civilians	Agencies
2018	123	3.12	25	2
2017	92	2.31	52	2
2016	129	3.26	24	2

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 Tift County Clerk of Superior Court?: Clay Pate (Republican) is the Clerk of Superior Court of Tift County, Georgia.
Who is the Tift County Coroner?: Joshua D. Hendrix (Republican) is the Coroner of Tift County, Georgia.
Who is the Tift County Probate Judge?: Suzanne Carter Johnson (Republican) is the Probate Judge of Tift County, Georgia.
Who is the Tift County Sheriff?: Gene Scarborough (Republican) is the Sheriff of Tift County, Georgia.
Who is the Tift County Tax Commissioner?: R. Chad Alexander (Republican) is the Tax Commissioner of Tift County, Georgia.
Who are the Tift County commissioners?: Donnie Hester (District 1); Melissa Hughes (District 2); Paul Webb (District 3); Stan Stalnaker (District 4); Fred W. "Buck" Rigdon, Jr. (District 5); Greg Wood (District 6); Tony McBrayer (District 7).
Who is on the Tift County School Board?: Marilyn R. Burks (Board of Education Member, District 1); Pat McKinnon (Board of Education Member, District 2); John Waddell (Board of Education Member, District 3); Jonathan E. Jones (Board of Education Member, District 7).
What is the population of Tift County?: About 41,438 people, with a median age of 37.6; the median household income is $53,255 and 20.8% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Tift County?: 3.4% in September 2026 (preliminary): 679 people unemployed in a labor force of 20,093, against 3.0% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Tift County?: 9 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 3 municipal, 1 school district and 4 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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