The Complete
Martinez Guide

Martinez sits on the eastern edge of Columbia County, bordered to the southeast by Augusta (Richmond County) and to the north and northwest by Evans. It is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place, which means Columbia County is the government. No city services, no city tax, no city council to call.

• Population: 34,535 at the 2020 Census, down slightly from 35,795 in 2010. Earlier counts: 29,877 in 1990, 27,749 in 2000, and 16,472 in 1980, the year Martinez first appeared as a CDP. A 2024 ACS-based estimate put it at 33,750; that is an estimate, not an official count.
• The address trap: ZIP 30907 covers Martinez, but some Martinez mailing addresses sit inside Augusta city limits in Richmond County. That changes schools, taxes, and which water provider you call. Verify the county of any specific address before you trust the town name on the mailbox.
• Character: Established suburban. Martinez is the older suburb of the Augusta area: mid-century ranch and split-level streets, mature trees, and a commercial corridor along Washington Road that has been built out for decades. The northern edge runs to the Savannah River and the Augusta Canal.
• The tradeoff in one line: Older lots and mature trees at prices below Evans, with the same Columbia County schools for most addresses.

Martinez suits people who want an established neighborhood more than a new build: bigger lots, mature trees, and housing stock that runs from mid-century ranches to newer traditional homes. It suits buyers who want Columbia County schools without paying Evans prices. It suits anyone who wants the Augusta Canal and Savannah Rapids Park in their backyard and downtown Augusta a short drive away.

It suits less well if you want new construction everywhere, a town center with a walkable core, or the shortest possible drive to Fort Gordon's gates. For the gate-by-gate picture, see The Fort Gordon Guide.

Martinez is a car community, and Washington Road is its spine.

The roads. Washington Road (SR 28) is the primary commercial strip and the documented congestion corridor, especially around the I-520 interchange and during Masters week. Columbia Road, Furys Ferry Road, Old Evans Road, and William Few Parkway handle the cross-county traffic. The Bobby Jones Expressway (I-520) runs through and west, and River Watch Parkway (SR 104) connects toward the river. I-20 forms the short southern boundary, with Exits 194 (SR 383 / South Belair Road) and 195 (Wheeler Road).

Planning numbers, all estimates. BestPlaces reports an average one-way commute of 24.2 minutes for Martinez residents (against a 26.4-minute national average), with 88.6% driving alone, 7.6% carpooling, 2.9% working from home, and 0.1% on transit. That is a published average, not a promise for your address. No verified drive times to downtown Augusta or Augusta Regional Airport were available at writing time; check a routing app at the hour you would actually travel.

Transit. Augusta Transit's Route 5 (Washington Road / Green Line) runs along the Washington Road corridor on the Augusta/Martinez edge, with stops including Washington Square, the Washington Road Kroger, National Hills Baptist Church, and Fairway Square. In late 2025 the agency proposed cutting one of Route 5's two buses and eliminating Saturday service to meet budget targets; the outcome was unconfirmed as of September 2026, so verify the current schedule and Saturday service at augustatransit.com before you plan around the bus.

Columbia County Public Transit runs door-to-door demand-response service for county residents: 706-556-0807 (5913 Euchee Creek Dr, Grovetown). Reservations are required, and service reaches destinations in Columbia and Richmond counties. Call for current hours, fares, and booking rules before you plan around it.

Do these in roughly this order. Everything here is county level, because Martinez has no city government.

1. Verify the county. Some 30907 addresses sit in Richmond County. Everything below assumes Columbia County. Check your exact address first.
2. Water and sewer: Columbia County Water Utility. In-person office at 2140 William Few Parkway, Grovetown; billing also online at columbiacountyga.gov. The county warns against third-party payment sites; use only the official ones.
3. Electric: No single provider is confirmed for Martinez. Confirm your provider at your exact address before move-in.
4. Natural gas: Georgia is deregulated. Atlanta Gas Light owns the pipes; you shop certified marketers for the rate.
5. Internet: No coverage figures were confirmed for Martinez. Xfinity cable, AT&T fiber, satellite, and 5G home internet are among the options; availability varies by address. Confirm what is actually available at yours before you assume, and do not take anyone's word that fiber reaches a specific street.
6. Trash: Columbia County provides service in the unincorporated area. Confirm the current billing structure and your pickup day with the county before move-in.
7. Driver's license: Georgia Department of Driver Services. Confirm the nearest customer service center and appointment policy at dds.georgia.gov before you go.
8. Vehicle registration: The Columbia County Tax Commissioner's office handles tags as the state's agent. Some county business is done at the Government Center, 630 Ronald Reagan Drive, Evans.
9. Voter registration: Register online with a Georgia driver's license through the Secretary of State. Check or update your status at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
10. Homestead exemption: File in writing with the County Tax Commissioner by April 1 for the current tax year. It is not automatic. Applications go to the Evans office: 630 Ronald Reagan Drive, Building C, (706) 261-8299. File late and the exemption waits a year.
11. School enrollment: Confirm the zoned school at the address level with the Columbia County School District. Never assume a Martinez address means Columbia County schools, and never assume it means a specific high school.
12. Post office: A Martinez post office serves 30907. Confirm the location and retail hours at usps.com before you plan a trip.

Martinez is the established-suburb end of the Columbia County market: older streets, bigger trees, and prices below Evans. The market snapshot below is commercial aggregator data observed in 2026 plus federal figures; cross-check anything you budget around.

Market snapshot:

Housing stock character. The original inventory is mid-century ranch and split-level homes; newer subdivisions are Colonial and traditional styles. Large lots with mature trees are common, and some sections are gated.

Names seen in listings, not endorsements: Spirits Crossing, Merrymont, Amelia Landing, Petersburg Station, Wexford (gated, off Furys Ferry Road across from Publix, with pool, clubhouse, and tennis), and West Lake (gated, traditional brick homes). Subdivision-level price ranges are not established here. Do not let a listing agent's brochure stand in for market data.

Renters: Current apartment names and rents were not verified for this guide; check listings directly.

The honest take: the typical Martinez home sells in the high $270Ks to low $300Ks, slightly below the national average, in a firm seller's market. You get the established neighborhood at a discount to Evans. If new construction is the priority, Grovetown and Evans have more of it.

Martinez is the established-suburb middle of the Columbia County spectrum. The right alternative depends on what you are optimizing for.

For the full gate-by-gate picture, see The Fort Gordon Guide.

Martinez runs slightly below the national average on cost of living, and housing is the reason. HomeSnacks puts the index at 97 (100 is the national average): housing 96, groceries 100, health 100, utilities 94, transportation 105, services 100.

• Income tax: Georgia charges a flat 4.99%.
• Property tax: Columbia County assesses property at 40% of fair market value as of January 1 each year. One mill equals $1 per $1,000 of assessed value. The standard homestead exemption (S1) comes off the 40% assessed value for county and school maintenance-and-operation millage, not bond debt. It is not automatic; file in writing with the County Tax Commissioner by April 1.
• Millage context: The Columbia County Board of Education approved a 2026 digest rollback millage rate of 14.997 mills, the sixth consecutive year of reductions. Get the current total millage for your address from the County Tax Commissioner's office before you budget.
• Sales tax: The county adds its share on top of Georgia's state sales tax. Confirm the current total for a Martinez address before you budget around it.

The honest take: nothing about the tax mechanics is unusual for Columbia County. The savings here versus Evans show up in the purchase price, not the tax rate.

Public schools belong to the Columbia County School District. For most Martinez addresses that means some of the most requested schools in the county, but the Martinez-mailing-address trap from section 1 applies here most of all: a 30907 address inside Augusta city limits feeds Richmond County schools instead.

Feeder patterns per the district's feeder chart (revised January 2024), all address-specific:

• Martinez Elementary > Evans Middle or Lakeside Middle > Evans High or Lakeside High
• Blue Ridge Elementary > Lakeside Middle or Stallings Island Middle > Lakeside High
• Westmont Elementary > Columbia Middle or Evans Middle > Evans High
• Stevens Creek Elementary > Stallings Island Middle > Lakeside High
• South Columbia Elementary > Lakeside Middle or Stallings Island Middle > Lakeside High
• Evans Elementary > Evans Middle > Evans High

One common Martinez path runs Stevens Creek Elementary to Stallings Island Middle to Lakeside High, and a Martinez-area guide notes that Lakeside High offers the AP Capstone program. District headquarters: 4781 Hereford Farm Road, Evans, (706) 541-0650. Confirm your exact address's schools with the district rather than trusting a listing or a neighbor.

Private schools: Augusta Preparatory Day School and Augusta Christian Schools appear on the Martinez school list, but official addresses, tuition, and grades were not verified for this guide. Confirm directly with any school you consider.

The honest take: for most Martinez addresses you get the same district as Evans and Grovetown. What you are really buying is the address; verify it.

Two hospitals sit within easy reach, and the Augusta medical district backs them up.

Urgent-care options exist along the Washington Road corridor; confirm any specific location's hours before you go. Dental, pediatric, and primary-care practices were not researched for this guide. No endorsements either way; ask neighbors and check credentials directly.

Washington Road is the shopping spine. Verified options first; everything else is confirm-before-you-go.

Grocery:

• Kroger, 4115 Columbia Road, Martinez, GA 30907 (near the Columbia Road and Kroger Road intersection; anchor of Merchants Village). Directory-sourced; confirm current hours before you plan around them.
• Kroger, 2801 Washington Road (Washington Walk; Augusta mailing address near the Martinez border). Listed on Kroger's official store locator.

Retail corridors:

• Washington Road: Mullins Crossing, anchored by Target, Belk, Marshalls, and Chick-fil-A, with Academy Sports, Starbucks, and Petco nearby. A 2026 retail listing puts traffic past the corridor at roughly 36,000 vehicles per day. This is also the congestion story from section 3.
• Columbia Road: the second corridor, with its own grocery and service retail.

Directory sources also report Publix, The Fresh Market, Aldi, Costco, and Food Lion in the Augusta/Martinez area. None of those specific locations were confirmed through official store locators for this guide, so verify before you plan around them. Dining recommendations: none verified on record, so none are given. Ask around when you get here.

Names seen in directories for Martinez, no endorsements. Verify any provider's license at families.decal.ga.gov before you enroll, and confirm current pricing and waitlists directly with any provider you consider.

• Childcare Network #23, 3830 Washington Road, Martinez, GA 30907 (6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., ages 6 weeks to 12)
• Childcare Network, 246 Rose St, Martinez, GA 30907
• Prince Of Peace Preschool (follows the Columbia County school calendar; part-time preschool)
• Kinder Castle Childcare (licensed center; Martinez area)
• Little Castle Child Care, 220 Baston Rd, Martinez
• R&L Mini Miracles Childcare Learning Center, 4507 Columbia Rd, Martinez

The canal and the river are the reason Martinez's northern edge feels different from the rest of Columbia County.

Savannah Rapids Park, 3300 Evans-To-Locks Road, Martinez, GA 30907. A 33-acre park on the Augusta Canal and Reed Creek waterfall, and the home of the historic Augusta Canal headgates. The 25,000-square-foot Savannah Rapids Pavilion hosts events from 12-person meetings to 750-guest banquets (tours Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; 706-868-3349; savannahrapids@columbiacountyga.gov). A pedestrian bridge starts the 7-to-7.5-mile canal towpath trail that runs all the way to Augusta. Listed hours: daily 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Reed Creek Nature Park & Interpretive Center, 3820 Park Lane, Martinez, GA 30907. Columbia County's hands-on environmental park with a wetland boardwalk, opened in 2007. Interpretive center: 706-210-4027. Confirm current hours before you go.

Library: there is no Martinez branch. The nearest county branch is the Columbia County Library, 7022 Evans Town Center Blvd, Evans, GA 30809 (706-863-1946), headquarters of the Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System. Confirm hours before you go.

Other county parks sit a short drive away: Evans Towne Center Park, Blanchard Woods Park, and Lakeside Park in Evans; Patriots Park in Grovetown.

Abilene Baptist Church (Southern Baptist), 3917 Washington Road, Martinez, GA 30907, (706) 869-1774. Sunday worship at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m., Sunday School at 9:45 a.m., evening worship at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday programs at 6:15 p.m. Nursery and preschool worship run during morning services. A second campus meets at Harlem Middle School in Harlem. The congregation traces its roots to a 1774 congregation.

Beyond Abilene, no other congregation's official page was verified for this guide, so no other church is named here. The corridor holds the typical suburban spread of Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, and nondenominational churches. Check any congregation's own site or social page for current service times before visiting.

Martinez is a residential community, not a job center. No defensible list of major employers or job totals exists, so this guide will not invent one.

The honest picture: most Martinez households earn their living from some mix of Fort Gordon (to the south, via I-520 and Washington Road), the Augusta medical district (Doctors Hospital, University Hospital, Augusta University Health), Savannah River Site (across the river in South Carolina), and retail and service growth along the Washington Road corridor. The Fort Gordon Guide covers the installation economy in full. Employer counts and job totals are not stated here because none were verified.

Martinez was founded in the record by Jose Antonio Martinez y Zaldivar, a wealthy man from Camaguey, Cuba, who bought land in Columbia County in 1869 and named it El Cordero Ranch. Cordero means lamb. His old hacienda and several buildings, barns, and a water tower still stand off Old Ferry Road near the intersection of River Watch Parkway and Baston Road; the ranch is now about 20 acres.

Martinez first appeared as a census-designated place in the 1980 census and grew into the county's most populous CDP by 2010 (35,795) before easing to 34,535 in 2020. The identity never changed: the established, older suburb of the Augusta area, with older housing stock, commercial maturity along Washington Road, and canal-and-river recreation at its northern edge.

• MARTIN-EZ. Named for a Cuban ranchero, pronounced like it looks in English. Say it right on day one.
• The headgates of the historic Augusta Canal. They sit in Martinez at Savannah Rapids Park, with the 7-to-7.5-mile towpath running all the way to downtown Augusta.
• Reed Creek Falls. The falls flow into the canal at the park; Reed Creek Nature Park is the county's hands-on wetland interpretive center.
• Unincorporated, by structure. No city hall, no mayor, no city taxes. Residents get county services directly, which is why the moving checklist is a county checklist.
• Priced below the national average. Median home value $282,175 (HomeSnacks), cost of living index 97, in a seller's market with about two months of inventory.

The honest rule for this section: no invented figures, no borrowed certainty.

Some "Martinez" addresses are in Richmond County. This is the single most expensive mistake a newcomer can make here. Schools, taxes, and water provider all change. Verify the county of any specific address.

Washington Road traffic is the persistent complaint. The corridor backs up at predictable hours, especially around the I-520 interchange and during Masters week. No delay times are invented here.

Feeder schools are address-specific. Never assume a Martinez address means a specific high school, or even Columbia County schools. Confirm with the district.

Martinez has no municipal government. Do not look for a city hall. County business goes to the Columbia County Government Center at 630 Ronald Reagan Drive, Evans.

Safety, with the official numbers. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation's 2024 UCR summary for Columbia County (population 168,748) reports 1 murder, 19 rape, 7 robbery, 92 aggravated assault, 110 burglary, 816 larceny-theft, 58 motor-vehicle theft, 4 arson, and 1,115 total index crimes. Implied rates run roughly 70.5 violent crimes and roughly 586 property crimes per 100,000 residents, both well below national averages; a 2023 analysis of Georgia MSA counties found Columbia County had the third-lowest crime rate among them (2022 data). These are county-level figures; no neighborhood, corridor, subdivision, or ZIP-level breakdown is claimed here. Martinez is policed by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.