Fort Valley is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Fort Valley to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy.
Fort Valley is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.
The education level of Fort Valley citizens, measured as those with bachelor's degrees or advanced degrees, is similar to the national average for all American cities and towns. 19.30% of adults 25 and older in Fort Valley have a college degree.
The per capita income in Fort Valley in 2018 was $23,406, which is lower middle income relative to Georgia, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $93,624 for a family of four. However, Fort Valley contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Fort Valley also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 35.65% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Fort Valley is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Fort Valley home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Fort Valley residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Fort Valley include Irish, English, African, German, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Fort Valley is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
