Fulton County Leads Region’s Growth Surge, Adds 17,200 People in Past Year, According to ARC’s 2018 Population Estimates

Fulton County added 17,200 new residents in the past year, tops in the 10-county Atlanta region, according to population estimates released today by the Atlanta Regional Commission. The growth brings the county’s total population to 1,020,000.

“Fulton County is a leader for our region in many ways, including population growth,” said Chairman Robb Pitts. “With more than a million residents, Fulton County has a greater population than six U.S. States and represents 10% of the population of Georgia.”

Long the largest county in metro Atlanta, Fulton is the only county with a population over 1 million. Fulton’s growth has gathered strength in recent years. The county grew by 17,100 people between April 2016 and April 2017 and added 15,300 the previous year. Fulton has added more than 99,000 people since 2010. 

Overall, the 10-county Atlanta region added 75,800 people in the past year, the second-largest increase since the Great Recession ended in 2010. The region’s growth was down slightly from a year earlier, when population increased by 78,300. The Atlanta region is now home to 4,555,900 people, more than that of 25 states.

Jobs growth fueled the region’s population boom. The 29-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA), as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, added more than 41,000 jobs between April 2017 and April 2018, ranking 9^th in the nation.

“The Atlanta region had strong growth over the last few years as we emerged from the Great Recession,” said Mike Carnathan, manager of ARC’s Research & Analytics Group. “People are moving here because jobs are plentiful and because metro Atlanta offers a great quality of life.”

Each of the Atlanta region’s 10 core counties experienced population growth during the past year. Gwinnett County, the second-largest county in the region, added 16,700, and DeKalb County added 10,630.

The city of Atlanta, which lost population between 1970 and 2000, is growing again amid a boom in multifamily housing. The city added over 10,000 residents in the past year, compared to 9,700 the year before, and has grown by 9% since 2010.

“ARC’s annual population estimates are a great tool to help local governments plan for the future and focus the region’s attention on key issues critical to our quality of life, like housing affordability and transportation,” said Kerry Armstrong, ARC Board Chair.

For more details about ARC’s population estimates, check out ARC’s latestRegional Snapshot.

Metro Atlanta Growth Since 2010

	2010	2017	2018	Change 2017-2018	Average Annual Change 2010-2018
Atlanta Region	4,107,750	4,480,100	4,555,900	75,800	56,019
Cherokee	214,346	247,400	254,500	7,100	5,019
Clayton	259,424	275,300	279,400	4,100	2,497
Cobb	688,078	750,300	758,300	8,000	8,778
DeKalb	691,893	733,900	744,530	10,630	6,580
Douglas	132,403	140,900	142,800	1,900	1,300
Fayette	106,567	114,000	116,200	2,200	1,204
Fulton	920,581	1,002,800	1,020,370	17,570	12,474
Gwinnett	805,321	894,000	910,700	16,700	13,172
Henry	203,922	229,000	234,800	5,800	3,860
Rockdale	85,215	92,500	94,300	1,800	1,136
City of Atlanta	420,003	449,500	459,600	10,100	4,950