Vidalia, Georgia
Encyclopedia : V : VI : VID : Vidalia, Georgia
- For the plant genus, see Mesua.
Vidalia (pron. VI - dahyl - yah) is a city located primarily in Toombs County, Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,491. It is the largest city in Toombs County. Vidalia's name is said to be a contraction of "via dalia," or "the dahlia way."
Products
Vidalia has a mixed economy, but its largest industry is agriculture. Since 1931, Granex onions grown in and near Vidalia have been licensed and sold internationally as Vidalia onions. In 1986, the Vidalia Onion Trademark Act granted a state trademark and protection on the onions of the Vidalia and Toombs County, Georgia area. The 1989 Federal Marketing Order #955 of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service gave the growers and handlers the legal rights to establish the Vidalia Onion Committee, and it granted U.S. federal protection of the onion's name and protections. In 1990, the Vidalia Onion was named as the "official vegetable" of the state of Georgia. Year 2000 production was estimated at 40,000,000 fifty-pound (22.68 kg) bags.Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.2 km² (17.4 mi²). 44.9 km² (17.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.63%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 10,491 people, 4,167 households, and 2,758 families residing in the city; of these, 160 people lived in Montgomery County, and the rest in Toombs County. The population density was 233.7/km² (605.4/mi²). There were 4,676 housing units at an average density of 104.2/km² (269.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.61% White, 36.88% African American, 0.89% Asian, 0.14% Native American, 1.82% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.24% of the population.There were 4,167 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,365, and the median income for a family was $40,091. Males had a median income of $30,180 versus $18,496 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,369. About 15.4% of families and 19.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.
External links
- [SearchVidalia.com, a local web portal for visitors and residents of the area.]
- [Official website]
- [An economic analysis of the Vidalia Onion and export.]
- [City of Vidalia entry] from the State of Georgia government portal
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.