Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-07-08
23 of Georgia's 159 counties — 14% — have no county-wide zoning. That is the 14th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Wheeler County (83/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 959 counties nationwide → Georgia counties with no building codes → Full Georgia profile →
23 of 159 Georgia counties · sorted by Index score
The Georgia DCA GOMI 'Communities with Zoning Ordinance' atlas shades Wheeler County as 'No County Zoning Ordinance'.
Georgia DCA GOMI Zoning Atlas (Communities with Zoning Ordinance) ↗Bacon County's official government site lists no planning/zoning department or zoning ordinance, and the county requires no building permits outside Alma, indicating the unincor…
Bacon County Government - Administration ↗The Georgia DCA GOMI zoning atlas shades unincorporated Wilcox County as 'No County Zoning Ordinance' per the mandated Government Management Indicators survey.
Georgia DCA - Communities with Zoning Ordinance (GOMI) ↗This rural county with no incorporated cities lists no planning or zoning department and no zoning ordinance appears in its code, only a state-required comprehensive plan.
Echols County Government - Departments ↗The Georgia DCA GOMI 'Communities with Zoning Ordinance' atlas shades Telfair County as 'No County Zoning Ordinance'.
Georgia DCA GOMI Zoning Atlas (Communities with Zoning Ordinance) ↗The county's official ordinance listing includes building-permit, mobile-home, flood, and soil-erosion ordinances but no zoning or land-use ordinance, indicating the unincorpora…
Treutlen County Government - Ordinances ↗Georgia's DCA/GOMI zoning survey lists Glascock County as not having a countywide zoning ordinance (only city zoning exists in the county).
Georgia DCA - GOMI Communities with Zoning Ordinance (zoning atlas) ↗The official Clinch County government site lists no planning, zoning, or land-use department among its offices, consistent with an unzoned rural county, though the authoritative…
Clinch County, Georgia (official county government site) ↗The unincorporated county has no zoning ordinance or planning/zoning department; its official pages list only building/electrical/mobile-home permits, and only the incorporated …
Atkinson County GA - Forms and Applications ↗The Georgia DCA GOMI 'Communities with Zoning Ordinance' atlas shades Calhoun County (SW Georgia, seat Morgan) as 'No County Zoning Ordinance'.
Georgia DCA GOMI Zoning Atlas (Communities with Zoning Ordinance) ↗The official county Code of Ordinances index contains no zoning ordinance; land use is regulated only through a subdivision development ordinance and mobile-home permit.
Wilkinson County Code of Ordinances ↗Emanuel County's Code of Ordinances contains a Planning (subdivision/land-development) chapter but no zoning ordinance chapter, and the county does not impose county-specific zo…
Emanuel County Code of Ordinances (Municode) ↗The county's official Standard Zoning page states: 'Washington County has no zoning regulations in the unincorporated areas of the county' (only flood/waterway building regulati…
Washington County Standard Zoning ↗Towns County does not appear among Georgia communities with a county zoning ordinance on the state (DCA/GOMI) zoning list; unincorporated Towns County is unzoned.
Georgia DCA/GOMI - Communities with Zoning Ordinance ↗The Georgia DCA GOMI zoning atlas and county site show no county zoning ordinance or dedicated zoning department for Webster County.
Georgia DCA GOMI Zoning Atlas (Communities with Zoning Ordinance) ↗The county's codified ordinances include subdivision and manufactured-home regulations but no county-wide zoning ordinance, consistent with this rural county having no county zo…
Evans County, GA - County Ordinances ↗The county's official ordinance list includes a building permit and manufactured home ordinance but no comprehensive zoning/land-use ordinance for the unincorporated county.
Toombs County Commission - Ordinances ↗A zoning verification letter from Early County confirms there is 'No Zoning Ordinance in Unincorporated Early County'; the county applies placement standards (minimum acreage, r…
Early County Code Enforcement ↗The unincorporated county has no zoning ordinance (only the City of Folkston does), per the Joint Charlton County Comprehensive Plan.
Joint Charlton County Comprehensive Plan ↗There is no zoning in the unincorporated areas of Fannin County (nor in McCaysville or Morganton); development must still comply with county land use and building ordinances.
Fannin County Development Authority - Zoning, Permitting & Inspections ↗Baldwin County's Land Use Code covers subdivision, manufactured-home-park, flood, erosion, special-use and building-code regulations but no zoning-district ordinance; a county z…
Baldwin County, GA — Land Use Code Regulations ↗The county Planning department describes only subdivision and land-disturbance regulation (no countywide zoning ordinance); the National Zoning Atlas likewise reports unincorpor…
Hart County - Planning ↗Decatur County states it 'has not yet adopted a zoning ordinance' and instead regulates land use through other ordinances, chiefly the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).
Decatur County GA - Building and Planning ↗One email a week: the best counties to live off-grid, rule changes that matter, and rule changes as Georgia counties adopt or drop codes. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Georgia state page for all 159 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.