Fayette growth is stalled

Tue, 08/12/2008 - 4:01pm
By: John Thompson

Biggest uptick is minority growth; Fayette’s minority population now matches Coweta’s

If you thought that somebody had turned off the faucet on the county’s growth, last week’s Census Bureau report confirmed that suspicion.

According to the report, Fayette’s population on July 1, 2007 was 106,144. Compared to the 2006 figure, the county’s growth rate was an anemic 1.2 percent. But the figures revealed that Fayette’s minority population increase is far outstripping the overall growth numbers.

In 2007, Fayette had 29,296 residents who are classified as minority, and in 2006 the number stood at 27,367 for a growth rate of 7 percent. The county’s minority population is now 27.6 of the population, and the biggest minority group in the county is African-Americans, who number 20,071.

Looking deeper into the numbers, since 2003, the county’s white population has grown 1 percent, while the African-American population grew by 32.3 percent.

In one year, from 2006 to 2007, Fayette’s white population dropped by 363, while the African-American population increased 1,326.

Fayette’s population base seems to mirror those of other suburban counties outside of Atlanta. Henry County’s minority population grew by 13.3 percent, while Coweta’s grew by 6.3 percent.

Coweta’s population was 118,936 as of July 1, 2007, and the county had 29,881 residents classified as minority, 25.3 percent of the population. Coweta’s white population increased from 81,012 in 2003 to 95,261 in 2007 for a growth rate of 17.5 percent.

Coweta’s African-American population saw a similar growth rate. The population grew from 17,622 in 2003 to 20,817 in 2007 for an 18.1 percent growth rate.

Nationally, 302 counties, or nearly one in every 10, are “majority-minority,” said the Census Bureau, meaning the county had a population with more than 50 percent minority residents.

In the Atlanta region, Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton and Rockdale are majority-minority counties.

Any race — including Hispanic, Asian, native American, etc. — other than white is counted as a minority for census purposes.

Among the majority-minority counties with a minority population of 1 million or more were Bronx, N.Y.; Miami-Dade, Fla.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Queens, N.Y.; Bexar (San Antonio) and Dallas, Texas; San Bernardino, Calif.; Kings (Brooklyn), N.Y.; Harris (Houston), Texas; Santa Clara (San Jose) and Riverside, Calif.; Cook (Chicago), Ill.; and Orange, Calif.

Los Angeles County had the largest minority population in the country in 2007. At 7 million, or 71 percent of its total, Los Angeles County was home to one in every 14 of the nation’s minority residents.

The county’s minority population was higher than the total population of all but 12 states.

Maricopa County, Ariz., gained 79,000 minority residents between 2006 and 2007, to lead the nation. Maricopa (Phoenix is its largest city) now has a minority population of 1.6 million, comprising 41 percent of its total. Its minority population ranks seventh nationally.

Based on total population, Starr County in south Texas had the highest proportion of minorities of all counties, at 98 percent. All but two of the top 10 counties in this category were along or near the Mexican border.

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Submitted by skyspy on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 10:18am.

All this article did was confirm the fears of people who were nervous to begin with.

Fayette County doesn't have to be the next sad statistic of urban blight brought on by a change in demographics and crime. Just because it seems to be an Atlanta tradition doesn't mean it has to happen here.

Where will we run to next? How far from Atlanta do we have to move to maintain a nice safe place to live? We have a segment of the population that has turned ruining nice communities into an olympic sport in the Atlanta metro area. How many more nice clean safe places to live should we turn over to them?

Submitted by Spyglass on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 1:58pm.

I have ZERO plans to leave.

After spending today in Decatur, I frankly don't know how folks put up with the traffic and congestion. Don't even mention the nightmare Forsyth County is turning into with out of control growth (where my Mom and other Family members live).

Submitted by Bonkers on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 7:45pm.

We spent most of yesterday in Fayetteville!! Never was so glad to get home in PTC! We did try to visit most of the shopping centers for various reasons and one can get killed just doing that!
Also, nothing went right! Some doors were locked and had notes saying a staff emergency called them out temporarily! Went to an ATT store that was advertised as 119 at the pavilion, and it actually was 117B and not even open! The water wasn't running in Walmart in the bathrooms nor at the water fountains! I could go on, but I won't.
PTC has this to look forward to, also. We should have built the town by-pass in 1952!

Submitted by skyspy on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 2:15pm.

Same here, I have no immediate plans to move. If the law-abiding people don't move, the criminals can't move in. At least not as easily.

Submitted by PTC Avenger on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 2:42pm.

I too do not plan on moving. I've lived here for almost 20 years and I'll be damned if this community erodes on my watch. I'll patrol the streets on horseback if it comes down to it. Everyone seems to realize that there is a problem but no one is doing anything about it. That's about to change. I'm going to put the fear of God into any criminal or thug who dares to come into our community.

Main Stream's picture
Submitted by Main Stream on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 2:59pm.

"I too do not plan on moving."

Good. You can't sell your house now anyway.

But really, where do the scaredy-cats think they can move to? Meriwether County now? Maybe Idaho or Montana?

The good things about this community, far outweigh the bad.


Submitted by Spyglass on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 4:14pm.

Houses are still selling. Maybe not as fast as they once were in some areas, but many areas of the City are in demand.

I also totally agree about the good outweighing the bad.

Submitted by Bonkers on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 7:50pm.

Where are "houses selling" in any meaningful quantity?

Who is demanding houses right now? A few millionaires, maybe.

It does seem we still have fewer "foreclosure homes" at this time. Maybe with the government bailout many of them will make it. I know many who are on the edge!

I don't think positive thinking right now helps our economy a bit. We need some real change.

Submitted by FayetteFlyer on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 1:31pm.

You're turning what over to? Evil flourishes when good people, regardless of race do nothing, or keep running.

MissPittyPat's picture
Submitted by MissPittyPat on Tue, 08/12/2008 - 8:47pm.

As the Riverdale/Clayton county crime inches into Fayette county, more people I know are moving out of Fayette county into Coweta county, some even going to the north side of Atlanta. I am seriously considering selling my home and moving to Coweta county due to the fact that crime is on the rise in Fayette county and I have not seen any big crime stopping programs initiated, other than catching child molesters on the internet.

Look what happened to Fayetteville. At this point in time, I will not even go into Fayetteville north of the court house after dark. I have not shopped that area in years, I go to Coweta county or Lenox.

It is a shame, yes indeed...there goes the neighborhood.


SLUF's picture
Submitted by SLUF on Tue, 08/26/2008 - 10:43pm.

Yet, you are against a police K9 program for crime fighting. How odd.


Submitted by Bonkers on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 7:01am.

Tell you what---we will raise enough money to hire you and a dog to wander around and fight crime!
Just take your prisoners to another county!

SLUF's picture
Submitted by SLUF on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 7:34am.

That's funny-I thought you didn't have time for me anymore and you were done with this? So why are you still talking to me? I've finished listening to you and thinking about anything you say. And you're the one that commanded a K9 unit so why don't we hire you.


Submitted by Bonkers on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 10:26am.

You don't understand!
I don't want a pee ant job with one dog in PTC!
We had 40 Dogs, a pound, 38 K-9 officers, and a drug warehouse!
How do you think I got so rich?
I can be just as full of it as you are!

SLUF's picture
Submitted by SLUF on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 10:54am.

I don't understand. What have I said that makes you say I'm "full of it"? Oh, you mean the facts that I've stated I guess.


Submitted by Spyglass on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 8:28am.

I would compare the crime numbers to your area now and to where you are thinking about looking IF that is a big deal to you. You may be surprised.

MissPittyPat's picture
Submitted by MissPittyPat on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 12:01pm.

I have checked the crime stats. According to the 2007 GBI stats, Coweta and Fayette are close in every major crime such as murder, rape, and robbery. I am not only looking at crime stats as a reason to relocate, but other issues as well.


Submitted by Spyglass on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 1:55pm.

The numbers I just looked at comparing 2007 in Fayette/Coweta were skewed (heavily in many categories) in favor of Fayette.

From the GBI website.

Fwiw, I had to spend the day in Decatur, and the traffic there is something else. I don't know how folks take it.

I'll take a nice golf cart ride anyday.

Submitted by Bonkers on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 7:13am.

Well you see, the fellow what headed up the Internet porn thingey wuz involved in it!! I think meybee we done thet program in!

If I were you I would be keerful about the neighborhood in Coweta thet I moved into! Sum air bad!

Main Stream's picture
Submitted by Main Stream on Tue, 08/12/2008 - 6:57pm.

Sorry, John, but your headline is deceiving. Instead, it should read "Fayette White Growth is Stalled" since the majority of your article centers around minority vs. white population figures in Fayette.

You're not trying to scare the masses are you?


NUK_1's picture
Submitted by NUK_1 on Tue, 08/12/2008 - 7:40pm.

That's the overall population change.

If John/The Citizen was trying to scare the masses, he would have pointed out that it appears that the decline in the last year of the white population while the minority population grew indicates that the early stages of "white flight" may be happening.


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