Georgia suburbs and exurbs see population gains

Georgia's population grew by 1.7% between 2020-2022, per new U.S. Census Bureau data, Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.

The big picture: The past few years have been especially turbulent for population trends, with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting birth and death rates, interstate and international migration, and more.

Zoom in: Suburban and exurban counties in the state's metro areas saw some of the biggest growth, with Long County, which is southwest of Savannah, posting nearly 13% gains.

• Gwinnett and Fulton grew by 1.81% and 0.5%. DeKalb's population shrank just slightly.

Zoom out: Idaho, Montana and Florida saw the highest population growth among U.S. states between 2020-2022, while New York, Illinois and Louisiana suffered the most shrinkage.

• Idaho's population grew by nearly 4.9%, while that of Montana and Florida grew by 3.3% and 3.0%, respectively. Utah and South Carolina came in just a hair under 3%.

The intrigue: Some of the fastest growing areas — we're looking at you, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico — are also some of the most vulnerable to the ongoing effects of climate change, like drought and a dwindling water supply.

The bottom line: It'll take a few more years for the effects of the pandemic to fully shake out, but there's never been a more fascinating time to look at data like this.