Last week, it was the U.S. Census Bureau that indicated Fayette’s once-vibrant growth engine has stalled.

This week, population estimates were released from the Atlanta Regional Commission that offers even more gloomy news on Fayette’s growth rate.

According to the ARC’s estimate, Fayette’s estimated population for April 1, 2008, is 106,000. The latest estimate is only 600 more residents than last year’s 105,400.

The press release outlining the new figures indicate that the county’s growth is 67 percent slower than the 1,800 person-per-year pace set this decade.

The county’s growth rate of .6 percent over the last year is the slowest in the region. DeKalb County had a 1.3 percent increase, but the county added 9,200 residents, which is 19 percent higher than the growth rate during the decade.

Cobb also added 9,500 residents in the last year, which is 14 percent higher than the 8,300 person per year pace this decade.

“This is the first significant slowdown in metro Atlanta’s growth since the recession earlier this decade,” ARC Research Chief Mike Alexander said. “We rebounded then and we certainly expect to rebound this time.”

Despite the slowdown in the rest of the region, growth in the city of Atlanta remains robust with its largest single-year population gain in almost 40 years, up 13,100 people, according to the release. The city’s annual growth also marks the first time in at least four decades that the city added more new residents than Gwinnett County.

After losing almost 80,000 residents between 1970 and 2000, the city of Atlanta is rapidly growing. Between 2000 and 2005, the city of Atlanta added more than 25,000 new residents, or 5,125 people each year. During the last three years, however, the city added about 12,000 new residents each year.

The press release also shows that Fulton County again led the region in population growth last year, adding 17,900 new residents. The city of Atlanta accounted for 73 percent of Fulton’s overall growth during the past year. Fulton remains the region’s largest county with an estimated population of 951,500.

The 10-county Atlanta region is now home to 4,099,600 people, which is larger than the population of 24 states.

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