The city of Appling is the county seat of Columbia County. Rapid growth has transformed this county from a rural neighbor of Augusta to the major suburban county in the second largest metropolitan area in Georgia. There are many reasons for our rapid growth (65% during the ’80s and more this decade) – a growing and diversified job market, a premier school system, affordable land, open spaces lending an air of the countryside, and a stable, conservative county government. Columbia County is predominantly residential and includes a highly-skilled workforce. Household income levels rank third among Georgia’s 159 counties.