Fulton County Environmental Scan
Demographics
Population Growth
Fulton County retained its position as
Georgia's most populous county in 2020 with over 100,000 more residents
than second ranked Gwinnett. Gwinnett gained some ground on Fulton
over the past decade, growing by 152,000 (a 19% growth rate) since 2010
compared to 146,000 (a 16% growth rate) for Fulton. Cobb County became
the third most populous county in the state, just surpassing DeKalb
County by less than 2,000 residents.
The counties to the
north of Fulton experienced the greatest growth rates among
the metro counties, with Forsyth increasing in population by 43% since
2010, Cherokee growing by 24%, and Paulding by 18.5%.
Population Growth within Fulton County
Cities
All
cities in the county gained population with the exception of College
Park, for which the population remained essentially unchanged between
2010 and 2020. The greatest rates of growth were in the county's
extremities, both north and south. Union City in the south experienced
the greatest rate of growth with a remarkable 38% increase in the
decade. Nearby Fairburn was second with a growth of 27%, followed by
Milton in the north at 26%. Chattahoochee Hills, though still tiny
compared to most other Fulton cities, grew by 24%.
The
young city of South Fulton, included in the decennial census for the
first time, is virtually tied with Sandy Springs as the county's second
largest city with over 107,000 residents. Atlanta, though growing at a
considerable rate of nearly 19%, still fell just short of the half
million mark, a milestone some had expected it to reach 10 years earlier in
the 2010 census.
[Note:
The population counts for the cities include parts of cities outside of
Fulton County. Four cities have areas in neighboring counties: Atlanta
(DeKalb), College Park (Clayton), Palmetto (Coweta), Mountain Park
(Cherokee).]
Population Change within the County
Viewing population changes at the level of census tracts gives a more granular picture of growth patterns across the county and helps to reveal trends within the cities. The city of Atlanta, for example, saw overall growth in the last decade of nearly 19%; however, much of southwest Atlanta saw stagnant growth or an actual decline in population during the same period. On the other hand, Buckhead, Midtown, the southern most cities and many neighborhoods to the immediate south and east of downtown saw high growth rates.
Age Distribution
All age groups saw an increase in population in the last decade with the exception of children 5 and under for which the population remained essentially unchanged. Residents between ages 55 to 85 experienced the highest decrease in population from 2010 to 2019. Overall, the population under 55 grew by 11% but saw its share of the total population fall from 81% to 77%. The population 55 and older grew by 42% and saw its share of the total population grow from 19% to 23%.
Fulton County has a relatively young population typical of urban
counties. As of 2019 females and males between ages 25 to 29 still make
up the largest population segment. Females in Fulton County outnumber
males in all age groups 25 years and older while males are in the
majority in all younger age groups.
Racial Identity
The distribution of population by racial identity for Fulton County in 2020 is somewhat similar to
the the previous decade in 2010 with a few notable differences. There was a small decline in the proportion of residents identifying as Black alone (44% to 43%) and a more significant decline in residents identifying as White alone (45% to 39%). The decline in the proportions for White and Black residents may be largely explained by two factors: the growth in the share of the population identifying as Asian (6% to 8%) and, more importantly, the growth in the number of residents identifying as two or more races (2.2% to 7%).
Trends in the Racial Composition of the Commission Districts
The two charts below illustrate trends in racial identification
among residents of the six commission districts with the top chart
showing relative number of residents by racial group (as defined by the
Census Bureau) in 2010 and the bottom chart showing the same for 2020.
Two
significant trends are apparent. One is the growth of the Asian
population in the three northern districts. In District 1, the Asian
population grew from 16% of the population in 2010 to 22% in 2020. The
relative Asian population also grew considerably in Districts 2 and 3.
The southern districts saw little change in the proportion of Asian
residents.
The other trend is the growth of residents in
all six districts who identify as multi-racial (two or more races). The
trend was most pronounced in the three northern districts, in which
over 8% of residents identified as multi-racial in 2020, closely
mirroring the U.S. population, among which just over 10% identified as
multi-racial in 2020, up from 3% in 2010. This dramatic increase in
persons identifying as multi-racial is likely due in part to real
demographic change, but according to the Census Bureau, it is "largely
due to the improvements to the design of the two separate
questions for race and ethnicity, data processing, and coding, which
enabled a more thorough and accurate depiction of how people prefer to
self-identify."
One other trend at the district level
worth noting is the fall in the relative share of the population
identifying as White alone in the northern districts. This can in part
be explained by the growth of the Asian and, to a lesser extent, African
American populations in those districts; however, Districts 1 and 2
also experienced reductions in the absolute number of residents
identifying as White alone. Of the three northern districts, only
District 3 saw an absolute increase in residents identifying as White
alone even while experiencing a relative reduction from 76% to 66%.
Somewhat in contrast, to the south, Districts 4 and 5 saw relative
drops in residents identifying as African American alone. The African
American population in District 4 in particular fell from 68% to 59%
while the white population rose from 24% to 29%. Overall, five of the
six of the commission districts became more racially diverse between
2010 and 2020. Only District 6 ran counter to this trend, gaining in an
already sizable majority African American population.
Place of Birth
As of 2019, 136,000 Fulton County residents, or more than 1 out of 10, were non-natives born outside the United States. About half of those were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2019. The most common country of origin was India, the birth place of over 27,000 residents, or twice as many as in 2010. The second most common was Mexico, the birth place of 19,000 residents, down from over 27,000 in 2010. Chinese-born residents, increasing by nearly 80% since 2010, surpassed Koreans as the third largest group of non-natives born outside the United States.