The Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) is a trading and marketing region in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina, spanning fourteen counties in Georgia and seven in South Carolina.[1] The term was coined in 1950 by C.C. McCollum, the winner of a $250 contest held by The Augusta Chronicle to generate the best name for the area.[1] Today the initialism is so commonly used that the full name is not known to all residents.[1] The region is located on and named after the Savannah River, which forms the border between the two states. The largest cities within the CSRA are Augusta, Georgia and Aiken, South Carolina. (The CSRA does not include the city of Savannah, Georgia or any portion of the Savannah metropolitan area.)

Central Savannah River Area
CSRA
Downtown Augusta on Broad Street The Aiken County Courthouse in Downtown Aiken
Map outlining the Central Savannah River Area
Country	United States
State	Georgia South Carolina
Largest city	Augusta
Area
• Total	9,605 sq mi (24,880 km2)
• Land	9,400 sq mi (24,000 km2)
• Water	205 sq mi (530 km2)  2.1%
Population  (2018)
• Total	767,478
• Density	80/sq mi (31/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code(s)	478, 706, 762, 803, 839, 864,

The total population of the CSRA is 767,478 in 2018. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the seven-county Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area (at the center of the CSRA) had an estimated population of 580,270 in 2013,[2] making it the second most populous in the state of Georgia.

Counties

In Georgia

In South Carolina

Communities

Places with more than 40,000 inhabitants

• Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia (Principal city) Pop: 197,872

Places with 10,000 to 40,000 inhabitants

• Martinez, Georgia Pop: 35,795
• Aiken, South Carolina Pop: 29,884
• Evans, Georgia Pop: 29,011
• North Augusta, South Carolina Pop: 21,873
• Grovetown, Georgia Pop: 12,210

Places with 5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants

• Thomson, Georgia Pop: 6,718
• Belvedere, South Carolina Pop: 5,792
• Waynesboro, Georgia Pop: 5,816
• Sandersville, Georgia Pop: 5,912

Places with 1,000 to 5,000 inhabitants

Places with less than 1,000 inhabitants

References

External links

• CSRA Regional Commission (only encompassing the 13 Georgia counties)
• CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority, Inc. (only encompassing the 13 Georgia counties)
• Savannah River Site: CSRA Regional Science and Engineering Fair Regional science fair competition for science projects winning first-place at their respective schools (Grades 4-12)
• Columbia County outpaces state population gains