Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 23,478. Griffin was founded in 1840 and named for landowner Col. Lewis Lawrence Griffin. Griffin Technical College was located in Griffin from 1963 and a branch of Southern Crescent Technical College is in Griffin. The Griffin Synodical Female College was established by Presbyterians, but closed. The University of Georgia maintains a branch campus in Griffin. History The Macon and Western Railroad was extended to a new station in Griffin in 1842. In 1938, Alma Lovell had been distributing religious Bible tracts as a Jehovah's Witness but was arrested for violating a city ordinance requiring prior permission for distributing literature. In Lovell v. City of Griffin, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the city had violated her First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The Griffin Commercial Historic District (among the National Register of Historic Places listings in Spalding County, Georgia) is generally bounded by Central Alley, Sixth Street, Taylor Street and Eighth Street. The district includes the Griffin Grocery Company Building, now the Griffin Regional Welcome Center. The western part of the city was heavily damaged by an EF3 tornado on January 12, 2023. The tornado was one of four that were on the ground simultaneously in the area. This particular tornado injured 18 people along its path. Geography Griffin is located at (33.247602, -84.270891). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.55%) is water. Demographics 2020 census As of the 2020 United States census, there were 23,478 people, 8,945 households, and 5,347 families residing in the city. 2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 23,451 people, 8,876 households, and 5,955 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 9,636 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 49.88% African American, 46.98% White, 0.17% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.98% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.22% of the population. There were 8,876 households, out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 24.1% had a female