As Atlanta grows, some Georgia cities continue to shrink, data shows

In recent years, the South has been one of the fastest growing regions of the country and a report published last week found Atlanta to be one of the cities with the most growth.

However, as large urban areas become more concentrated, other cities in Georgia and across the South are shrinking.

According to a new report published in Business Insider, several Southern cities have seen large parts of their population move away in the last decade, that includes places like Albany and Hinesville.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the report looked at the places in the South with most negative net migration between 2010 and 2018.

Net migration is measured as the number of people who move into a metro area from another part of the country or world minus the number of people who left the area.

Meaning these cities had more people move out than moved in.

Data from Georgia, according to the report:

- Hinesville: 10.6% of the metro area’s population (8,248 people) has moved since 2010.

- Albany: 6.1% of the area’s population has moved since 2010, which means a loss of 9,674 people since 2010.

- Bibb County: 3.1% of the area’s population moved left since 2010. It’s down 7,291 people since 2010.

Pine Bluff, Arkansas, saw the greatest loss from migration among the Southern cities on the list. That metro area saw 11.3% of its population move away since the start of the decade.