The 11-county Atlanta region added 62,700 residents between April 2023 and April 2024, bringing the total population to 5.2 million, according to 2024 population estimates released today by the Atlanta Regional Commission. The ARC Board is expected to vote on the estimates at its next meeting, on Aug. 28.

The 11-county region’s growth slowed a bit compared to 2022-23, when the region added 66,730 people. This reflects a slowdown in housing permit activity and a slight moderation in jobs growth. High housing prices have also acted as a brake on population growth.

The fastest rate of growth in the past year occurred in the City of Atlanta (2.1%), which added 10,800 people, followed by Cherokee County (1.9%), which added 5,400 people, and Henry County (1.8%), which added 4,750.

Each of metro Atlanta’s 11 counties saw population increases in the past year. Fulton County, including the City of Atlanta, added 17,400 residents, the largest numeric increase in the region, followed by Gwinnett (14,900), Cobb (6,700) and Cherokee (5,400). Gwinnett’s population topped 1 million for the first time and now totals 1,012,112.

Douglas County’s showed a sizable year-over-year increase, growing a rate of 1.6%, compared to 0.9% in 2022-23. Douglas added 2,400 residents in the past year and now has a population of 153,000.

“People from around the country are choosing metro Atlanta because of our great quality of life and our dynamic, diverse economy,” said ARC Board Chair Andre Dickens, who also serves as Mayor of the City of Atlanta. “Of course, our continued growth is not guaranteed. We must continue to invest in our region’s infrastructure to ensure a successful future.”

The region’s growth is being driven by the economy. Metro Atlanta’s job employment base has increased 6.4% since the pandemic began in early 2020. That’s the seventh highest in the nation among selected peer metros, trailing Austin, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Orlando, Houston, and Miami.

In 2023, 28,595 residential building permits were issued in the 11-county region, a decrease of 21%, or nearly 7,500 permits, compared to 2022. Current building permit activity remains lower than pre-Great Recession permit levels and fell below the 1980-2023 average annual level of 33,430.

The City of Atlanta once again led the region in number of building permits issued, with 7,621 – 85% of which were for multifamily housing units. Gwinnett had the second-most permits issued at 5,423, followed by Cobb at 2,956 and DeKalb at 2,276.

For more information, visit https://33n.atlantaregional.com/population/regional-snapshot-2024-population-estimates-slowing-but-growing.

NOTE: Under state law, ARC is required to estimate the population for the 11 ARC counties and the City of Atlanta each year for the purpose of collecting dues from its member jurisdictions.

ARC’s population estimates for major jurisdictions are developed using a combination of data sources including building permit data, a demographic accounting equation generated by Carl Vinson Institute of the University of Georgia, school enrollment trends, occupancy rates and more. The base for each successive year’s estimates is the previous year’s estimate, with the starting point for the decade’s intracanal estimates the decennial Census count.