Royston is a city in Franklin, Hart, and Madison counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 2,649 at the 2020 census.
History
A post office called Royston has been in operation since 1878. The community was named after W.A. Royston, a local merchant.
The Georgia General Assembly first incorporated Royston in 1879.
Geography
Royston is located in the southeast corner of Franklin County and the southwest corner of Hart County at (34.285592, -83.109841). A small portion extends south into Madison County. U.S. Route 29 passes through the center of town, leading northeast to Hartwell and southwest to Athens. Georgia State Route 17 leads north from Royston to Lavonia and southeast to Elberton.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Royston has a total area of , of which , or 0.51%, is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Royston had a population of 2,649. The median age was 40.3 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 82.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 77.1 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,118 households in Royston, of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 30.1% were married-couple households, 20.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 42.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.