Baxley, Georgia

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Baxley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 31513. The Survey maps it on the Baxley quadrangle. 4,942 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 203 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Baxley within Appling County

On record in Baxley

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 4 records

Appling County Courthouselisted 1980
Citizens Banking Companylisted 1985
C. W. Deen Houselisted 1982
United States Post Office-Baxley, Georgialisted 2000

Population over time

2 figures

Baxley grew from 4,400 to 4,942 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	4,400
2020	4,942	+542 (+12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 8 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1953 USGS Waycross quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1958 USGS Waycross quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1970 USGS Baxley quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1979 USGS Hazlehurst quadrangle1:100000
1988 USGS Waycross quadrangle1:250000

Fires near this place

675 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 675 fires within 5 miles of Baxley between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,618 acres in total. 30 started naturally. 37 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	432
Misuse of fire by a minor	91
Arson/incendiarism	37
Natural	30
Smoking	30
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	28
Recreation and ceremony	16
Equipment and vehicle use	11

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
9 September 2011	Misuse of fire by a minor	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2012-APPLING-026
7 September 2019	Recreation and ceremony	1.5 acres	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2020APPLING013
7 September 1995	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
6 September 2019	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2020APPLING012
4 September 2017	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2018-APPLING-006
4 September 1993	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
3 September 1993	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
29 September 2016	Debris and open burning	1.1 acres	Georgia Forestry Commission	FY2017-APPLING-029

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Appling County

Storms near this place

60 of 109 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Baxley in 109 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 73 thunderstorm wind, 22 hail, 5 flood, 3 tornado. The reports record 15 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	5 hurt, $50,000	Thunderstorm winds overturned a trailer and seriously injured five people along Georgia Highway 15. Numerous trees and power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	5 hurt	Thunderstorm winds blew unsecured camper top into the window of a resturant. Window was broken injuring patrons.
November 2002	Tornado (F0)	Baxley	2 hurt, $200,000	Along Ben Carter Road in Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park. Three mobile homes destroyed and four damaged. Two wood frame residential structures damaged. Pine trees snapped off and twisted. Numerous power lines down.
September 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	1 hurt, $65,000	Mobile homes were blown off their foundations and siding was ripped from the sides of industrial buildings. Twelve mobile homes were damaged, and one with major damage, because a tree fell on it. One vehicle was damaged. Large trees and power lines were blown down. The damaged was associated with the remnants of Hurricane Georges.
March 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	1 hurt, $55,000	Three mobile homes destroyed.
February 2003	Tornado (F0)	Baxley	1 hurt, $50,000	One mobile home flipped over with a minor injury. EMA reports twisted tops of pine trees in nearby woods.
April 1997	Tornado (F0)	Baxley	$100,000	Fifteen homes were damaged and several vehicles.
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$60,000	Estimated 40 to 50 mph winds rolled an empty mobile home over destroying it. Unknown is home had tie downs.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$15,000	Trees blown down. One home damaged.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$15,000	Animal Shelter damaged. Large trees were blown down.
March 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$10,000	A tree was blown down onto a mobile home at Davis Landing along the Altamaha River in Appling County. The time of damage was based on radar. The cost of damage was estimated for inclusion of the event in Storm Data.
March 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$6,000	no account filed
August 2013	Flood	Baxley	$5,000	Numerous secondary county roads remained covered by flood waters from recent heavy rainfall. Appling county schools were closed on Tuesday, 8/20, due to flood waters. The cost of damage was unknown, but it was estimated such that this flood event could be included in StormData. The estimate is likely grossly underestimated.
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$5,000	Large trees and power lines down across city.
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$5,000	Small trees down on power lines resulting in power outages lasting several hours. Debris blown into automobiles damaging some.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$5,000	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$5,000	Several large trees were downed on the north side of Baxley from thunderstorm winds.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$5,000	Ten to fifteen homes received minor wind damage from thunder- storm winds in Baxley. Most damage of the damage was confined to missing shingles and shattered storm windows. A few small trees and several large limbs were also downed by the thunder- storm winds.
March 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$4,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down. Some minor home damage.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$3,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
July 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$3,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$3,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
August 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$3,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$3,000	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$3,000	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$2,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$2,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
April 2015	Flood	Baxley	$2,000	Areas of Appling county NE of Baxley were closed due to heavy flooding rainfall. Highway 144 NE of Baxley was impassable due to flood waters. Georgia Route 144 at Ellis Road had about 1 mile of water covering the road. The cost of property damaged was estimated for the event to be included in Storm Data. This values is likely an under estimate.
August 2013	Flood	Baxley	$2,000	Appling county had several roads flooded and closed due to days of bands of heavy rainfall. The cost of road damage was unknown and estimated.
December 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$2,000	Trees were blown down along State Road 15 and U.S. Highway 1 near Baxley. The time of the event was based on radar. The cost of damage was estimated for inclusion in Storm Data and could be inaccurate.
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$2,000	Large trees and power lines down across town. Roads blocked.
January 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$2,000	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
January 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$2,000	Large trees were blown down along Zoar Road.
August 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$2,000	Large trees and power lines were blown down near Pineygrove Church.
February 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$2,000	Large tress and power lines were blown down.
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$2,000	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
February 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$1,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
January 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$1,500	Large trees were blown down along HWY 15.
April 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$1,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$1,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$1,500	Large trees and power lines were blown down.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$1,000	Trees and branches were blown down or broken off along Dolphus Lane. The cost of damage was unknown, but it was estimated for inclusion in Storm Data.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$600	Large trees were blown down at Orvin and Dyal School road.
July 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$500	A tree was blown down on U.S. Highway 1 north of Baxley. The time of damage was based on radar. The cost of damage was unknown but estimated for Storm Data.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$500	Large trees and power lines were blown down on US-341 and US-1.
March 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	$500	no account filed
July 2018	Lightning	Baxley	$100	A home was struck by lightning on Fair Street. Minimal property damage was reported. The cost of damage was estimated.
May 2025	Flash Flood	Baxley	-	Appling county had over 10 road washouts \| during flooding rainfall. Radar estimated \| 3-4 inches of rainfall fell within 24 hrs \| across the flooded areas.
May 2025	Hail	Baxley	-	A photo of hail was shared by the Appling \| county EM which estimated to be quarter \| sized. They also reported pea to nickel size \| hail fell in the Baxley area.
July 2024	Heavy Rain	Baxley	-	A personal weather observation site Dunns Lake \| - KGABAXLE13 measured 3.54 inches of rain. \| Rain began around 4:30 PM.
August 2023	Flood	Baxley	-	Multiple secondary roads were flooded in the Baxley city limits.
January 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	-	A few large trees were blown down near Baxley. The time of damage was based on radar.
August 2023	Heavy Rain	Baxley	-	A public rain gage measured 7.65 inches of storm total rainfall thus far along Pitty Pat Lane. Numerous other rain gages across Baxley measured 6-7 inches of rainfall.
August 2023	Flash Flood	Baxley	-	Flash flooding occurred within the city of Baxley. Homes and businesses were flooded. Flash flooding occurred along Brobston Street with several homes inundated with flood water and along Tippins and South Dean streets with businesses inundated with flood water.
January 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	-	A couple of trees were blown down near Ricardo Street and along County Farm Road. The time of damage was based on radar.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	-	Multiple reports of trees down within the city of Baxley along Zoar Road, Kennedy Road, Harvey Street and Brobston Street. The time of damage was based on radar.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	-	The Appling county EM reported that roof shingles and siding were blown off of a single wide mobile home. It was reported that there was some prior rot to the siding prior to the damage. A window on a door was blown out and some tree limbs were downed. Also, an outbuilding was blown over. Penny sized hail was also reported.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Baxley	-	Wind damaged the siding of buildings and a roof was lifted up an blown onto the street in downtown Baxley.
August 2020	Hail	Baxley	-	Golf ball size hail was observed near North Main Street and Ivy Street in Baxley.
August 2020	Hail	Baxley	-	Quarter size hail was observed near the intersection of Pine Street and Anthony Street near Baxley.

Every storm recorded in Appling County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Speer Homes	0.5 miles	8
Baker Homes	0.5 miles	8
Clay Homes	0.6 miles	8
Warrick Homes	0.8 miles	8
Holt Homes	0.9 miles	8
Bassville	1.2 miles	8
Cook Heights	1.4 miles	8
Shady Acres	1.6 miles	8

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Baxley	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2038428	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 331106. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.