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ARC ranks area counties’ growth

Fayette County was one of the slowest-growing counties in the Atlanta region. That’s just one of the facts in the recently-released population estimates by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC).ÊThis decade, the fast-growing Atlanta region has averaged more than 71,000 new residents each year. During the past year (from April 1, 2003 Ð April 1, 2004) estimates show that the region added 46,800 new residents, bringing the total 10-county regional population to 3,716,100 as of April 2004.

Fayette grew by only 500 residents in the last year. ARC estimates the county’s population went from 98,400 in 2003 to 98,900 this year.

“There are fewer jobs in the Atlanta area (the Atlanta MSA) today than there were in 2000,” said Bart Lewis, chief of ARC’s research division. “Given that the primary source of population growth in the region is new residents moving here for jobs, it is not surprising to see growth slow down.”

All 10 Atlanta region counties (Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale) as well as the City of Atlanta added population last year.Ê The Atlanta region’s population of 3.7 million exceeds that of 25 states, according to Census estimates for 2003. The population estimates are preliminary until adopted by the ARC Board on August 25.

As a result of the national recession, population growth in the Atlanta region has slowed from an average of 87,158 per year in the 1990s to an average of 71,680 per year between 2000 and 2004.

•The City of Atlanta has reversed its population losses in the 1980s and 1990s, adding an average of 4,607 new residents per year between 2000 and 2004. That this reversal occurred during an economic slowdown makes it all the more impressive.

• Gwinnett County continues to lead the Atlanta region in population growth, 2000-2004, with an average increase of 20,588 persons per year. This is no surprise since Gwinnett also led the region in net population increase in both the 1980s and 1990s.

• Henry County, averaging 9,240 new residents per year, 2000-2004, and Fulton County, averaging 9,124, ranked second and third behind Gwinnett.

• In percentage terms, Henry County led the region with an average annual increase of 7.0 percent between 2000 and 2004. Cherokee ranked second with an average of 4.5 percent and Douglas was third at 3.6 percent.

Fulton County remains the region’s largest county with 852,500 residents in 2004. DeKalb ranks second with 695,100 residents, but third place Gwinnett, 670,800, is gaining fast. Gwinnett, one of the fastest growing counties in the United States, became the region’s (and the state’s) third largest county in 2002.