Georgia's exurban counties see population boom
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Georgia counties bordering or just outside large metro areas are the fastest-growing in the state, census bureau data shows.
Why it matters: The latest numbers show which parts of Georgia are booming and which parts are struggling to keep residents.
- Rural counties in central and south Georgia, particularly in the state's Black Belt region, saw notable drops.
Fastest growth: The fastest-growing counties in Georgia are Bryan (30.1%), Jackson (22.6%), Dawson (20.3%), Forsyth (18.3%) and Oconee (15.6%), according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019-2023 five-year American Community Survey.
- The survey compared five-year average populations from 2014-2018 and 2019-2023.
- Bryan County, which is just west of Savannah, saw the sixth-biggest percentage change among counties in the country.
Shrinking population: Counties with the biggest declines were Telfair (-24.5%), McIntosh (-20.8%), Dooly (-20.7%), Stewart (-17.6%) and Chattahoochee (-14.7%), all located throughout the east-to-west-running portion of lower Georgia commonly referred to as the state's Black Belt.
- The Black Belt, a crescent-shaped band that runs through 11 states across the South, originally got its name because of its dark, fertile soil, according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
- It's unclear exactly what's causing the drop, though it's documented that declining rural populations in Georgia have been attributed to people leaving those areas for job opportunities in cities.
Metro Atlanta: The five counties that make up metro Atlanta's core — Clayton (7.2%), Cobb (3.2%), DeKalb (2.5%), Fulton (4.6%) and Gwinnett (7.2%) — continue to see growth, but at a slower pace compared to exurban counties like Forsyth (13.5%), Cherokee (13.5%) and Barrow (13.1%).
- Other exurban counties like Henry (10.9%) and Paulding (11.8%), both of which border the core Atlanta region, also saw considerable growth.
Flashback: The Atlanta Regional Commission estimated that the population for the 11-county region surpassed 5.2 million last year.
- Atlanta was among the fastest-growing cities with more than 250,000 residents in 2023.
The big picture: Three counties in Texas — Kaufman (+35.2), Comal (29.2%) and Hays (+25.6%) — were the fastest-growing in the country with more than 100,000 people.
- Although Americans sometimes relocate domestically in search of better jobs, lower costs and so on, international migration is the main driver behind population growth at the national level.
- Migration "accounted for 84% of the nation's 3.3 million increase in population between 2023 and 2024," the Census Bureau said in a recent write-up of separate data.
- "This reflects a continued trend of rising international migration, with a net increase of 1.7 million in 2022 and 2.3 million in 2023."
What we're watching: If the number of new housing units will keep up with the population growth, particularly in the Atlanta region where there's a a shortage of about 102,000 homes.