Macon, Georgia

Macon, which is often referred to as Macon–Bibb County, is a merged city and county located in the state of Georgia in the United States. It is nicknamed "The Heart of Georgia" due to its location at the geographic centre of the state of Georgia and its proximity to the fall line of the Ocmulgee River. This location is about 137 kilometres southeast of Atlanta and 85 miles southeast of Atlanta.

In the year 2020, Macon had a total population of 157,346 people. It is the most populous municipality within the Macon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in the year 2020 had a total population of 233,802 people. Macon is the largest city in the Macon–Warner Robins Combined Statistical Area (CSA), a larger trading area with an estimated 420,693 residents in 2017; the CSA is adjacent to the Atlanta metropolitan area just to the north.

Voters in a referendum held in 2012 gave their approval to the merging of the governments of the City of Macon and Bibb County, which resulted in Macon being the fourth-largest city in the state of Georgia (just after Augusta). On January 1, 2014, the two governments were formally unified into one.

Macon is connected by three interstate highways: I-16, which connects the city to Savannah and coastal Georgia; I-75, which connects the city with Atlanta to the north and Valdosta to the south; and I-475, which connects the city to Valdosta to the southwest (a city bypass highway).

The city is home to a significant number of museums and cultural landmarks, as well as educational establishments of varying levels. Middle Georgia Regional Airport and Herbert Smart Downtown Airport are the two airports that provide service to the region.