Slower than Atlanta, about 150 miles away, Augusta is a Georgia river city of about 200,000 people on the Savannah River, with a large medical district and Fort Gordon nearby. Most people know it for one week in April, when the Masters draws the golf world to Augusta National.
You cannot walk into the golf club, but there is plenty else to see. The Augusta Canal and its Discovery Center, the Riverwalk, the Morris Museum of Art, and the shops and restaurants on Broad Street make a good day. Summerville has the older, leafier homes, while suburbs like Evans and Martinez in Columbia County are where many families settle. Costs are gentle for the region, and housing in the city itself is inexpensive. The catch is crime: violent crime runs above the US average, mostly outside downtown and the medical district, and car break-ins are common. Summers are hot and humid, and thunderstorms can be fierce.
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- Known as
- The Garden City; Home of the Masters; Golf capital of the South
- Founded
- 1736 settled; 1798 incorporated as city; 1996 consolidated with Richmond County
- Airports
- Augusta Regional Airport (AGS), about 10 mi south of downtown, limited nonstop service mainly to Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas and Miami; Columbia Metropolitan (CAE) about 70 mi; Atlanta (ATL) about 150 mi; Savannah/Hilton Head (SAV) about 125 mi
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20% for table service; bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 10-15%; hotel housekeeping $2-5 per night; bellhops $1-2 per bag; hair and spa services 15-20%
About this data
Population city figure is the Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (about 202k; Wikipedia citing Census 2025 estimate; Augusta city balance excludes small separate municipalities so it is slightly lower than the county); MSA 641,231 is Census July 1 2025 estimate (Augusta-Richmond County GA-SC MSA). Area is the consolidated total 797.7 km2 including water; land area is smaller. Elevation and coordinates from Wikipedia. Visitor and event URLs appeared in current search results. Crime rate, prices, rents, hotel rates, tipping and cost-of-living index are approximate estimates from general knowledge and could not be verified in this session; treat as ballpark. Data date: population 2025, rest 2025-2026.
