Sell Your Commercial Property In Macon, GA

Who rents in Macon

Macon and Bibb County share a consolidated government, which the Census Bureau reports as a single place. The 2020–2024 ACS counts 156,578 residents in 59,921 occupied homes, split almost evenly between 30,802 owner households and 29,119 renter households. The median household income is $51,234.

Robins Air Force Base, south of Macon in Houston County, is the area's main military employer. The base's 2025 economic impact statement reports a $4.48 billion contribution to Georgia's economy and $1.73 billion in salaries, and Military OneSource describes it as the largest single-site industrial complex in Georgia, with a workforce of almost 22,000 civilians, contractors and military members. The same overview says $1.29 billion of base pay went to civilians working on base and $414 million to military members, and that the base awarded $7.2 billion in contracts in fiscal 2025. Civilians working on base account for most of that payroll. Macon also has Mercer University, whose university profile lists 8,945 students across its campuses.

Rents and affordability

Macon-Bibb's median gross rent is $1,066 a month, or $12,792 a year, about 25% of the county's median household income. It is the lowest of the four mid-size Georgia cities in the same ACS tables, below Columbus at $1,106, Augusta at $1,142 and Savannah at $1,382. Rent burden is high even at that level: 15,433 renter households, 53.0%, spend 30% or more of income on rent and utilities, and 8,939, or 30.7%, spend half or more, according to the ACS. That is higher than in Augusta (52.1%) or Columbus (47.4%), and it limits how quickly rents can rise in older buildings.

HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rents show a different picture for voucher-assisted units. Even the efficiency FMR is above the county's median rent:

A Macon two-bedroom FMR of $1,307 is $241 above the county's median gross rent. For owners willing to work with the Housing Choice Voucher program, that gap can lift income on units that would otherwise lease near the median. Warner Robins falls in HUD's separate Warner Robins area, where three- and four-bedroom FMRs run well above Macon's. FY2027 FMRs take effect October 1, 2026.

The apartment stock

Of 71,962 housing units in the ACS, 46,156, or 64.1%, are detached houses. Buildings with five or more units hold 14,462 units, or 20.1%: 5,329 in 5 to 9 unit buildings, 3,585 in 10 to 19, 2,098 in 20 to 49 and 3,450 in 50 or more. Another 7,413 units are in two- to four-unit buildings. The median unit was built in 1977, so half the housing is close to 50 years old or older.

The ACS counts 12,041 more housing units than occupied homes, about 16.7% of the stock. That figure includes for-sale, seasonal and long-term vacant properties, not only vacant rentals, but it is high, and it means a building's condition and management weigh heavily on whether it holds tenants.

Property taxes on apartment buildings in Bibb County

Georgia assesses real property at 40% of fair market value, set by the county board of tax assessors as of January 1, with 45 days to appeal after a notice is mailed, per the Department of Revenue. The 2025 millage report lists Macon-Bibb's levy at 9.575 mills and the school district at 14.674, for 24.249 mills, or about 0.97% of market value. A $1 million building would owe about $9,700 a year. The downtown business improvement district adds 5.000 mills inside its boundaries. That total is below the roughly 30-mill statewide average reported by the Department of Revenue.

The HB 581 floating homestead exemption applies only to owner-occupied homes, so rental buildings can be reassessed to full market value every year. The law does require assessment notices to show an estimated roll-back rate, which tells an owner whether the county expects to lower its millage as values rise.

Landlord rules and local compliance

Under O.C.G.A. 44-7-19, Macon-Bibb cannot regulate rent amounts. The 2024 Safe at Home Act, summarized in the Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook, caps deposits at two months' rent, requires their return within 30 days, exposes landlords with more than ten units to triple damages for wrongful withholding, and requires a three-business-day written notice to pay before filing a dispossessory.

What this means if you own a building here

Macon's low tax rate and voucher rents above the market median can support value, but high rent burden and an old stock put the focus on collections and capital needs. Georgia's transfer tax of $1 per $1,000 is a small cost at closing. Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit buildings in Macon-Bibb and the surrounding area. Try our cap rate calculator or read how we make offers on our sell your apartment building page.