Locust Grove is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. The population was 8,947 in 2020. Some unincorporated communities such as Luella and many rural areas surround Locust Grove, and those communities have Locust Grove postal addresses.
Locust Grove has experienced a growth in population and in businesses coming into the area. In 1900 the population of the city was 254 and is now over 5,000.
Contents
History
The community was named for a grove of locust trees near the original town site. Georgia General Assembly incorporated Locust Grove in 1893.
Government
In December 2025, the Henry County Sheriff's Office, which serves the county including Locust Grove, promoted NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal to the position of Chief of Community Relations. O'Neal had previously served as the office's Director of Community Relations for five years.
Geography
Locust Grove, Georgia is located in southern Henry County, Georgia, situated 35 miles southeast of Atlanta along Interstate 75 at Exit 212 (Bill Gardner Parkway).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.78 square miles (30.51 km2) of which 11.59 square miles (30.02 km2) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.49 km2) is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Locust Grove had a population of 8,947. The median age was 32.5 years. 29.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 9.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 86.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 82.0 males age 18 and over.
93.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 6.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,962 households in Locust Grove, of which 47.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.7% were married-couple households, 13.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The city had 1,837 families.
There were 3,110 housing units, of which 4.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.1%.
Arts and culture
Attractions
Tanger Outlet Center opened for business in the fall of 1994. Since that time many new businesses have made Locust Grove their home.
Locust Grove is also home to Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit preserve and rehabilitation facility home to more than 1,000 animals. A group home sharing the site was previously licensed by the state of Georgia to provide residential care for up to 24 children but has since closed.
Locust Grove has a platform for watching the Norfolk Southern line that runs parallel to State Route 42/US Highway 23. It is equipped with a scanner radio that allows visitors to the platform to listen in to the local railroad frequency, which broadcasts out of the defect detector in nearby Jenkinsburg.
Education
Public
Locust Grove Elementary School
Unity Grove Elementary School
Luella Elementary School
New Hope Elementary School
Bethlehem Elementary School
Locust Grove Middle School
Luella Middle School
Ola Middle School
Locust Grove High School
Luella High School
Ola High School
Private
Strong Rock Christian School
Heritage Baptist Christian School
Infrastructure
Major highways
Interstate 75
U.S. Highway 23
Georgia State Route 42
Georgia State Route 155
Georgia State Route 401