DeKalb County is projected to grow along with the metro Atlanta region, adding 156,000 residents in the next 25 years, according to a forecast from the Atlanta Regional Commission.
By 2040, the ARC estimates that DeKalb will have a population of more than 874,000 people, an increase of about 22 percent.
The entire 20-county metro Atlanta area will boom, according to the ARC, with 2.5 million new residents bringing the region's population to more than 8 million.
DeKalb businesses will also expand, adding more than 108,000 jobs, led by growth in construction, education and health care, according to the ARC.
In addition, the county will become more diverse, in large part because of an increasing Hispanic population, the ARC said.
DeKalb is currently about 53 percent black, 29 percent white, 11 percent Hispanic and 8 percent other races. The ARC estimates show that in 2040, the county will be 45 percent black, 23 percent Hispanic, 20 percent white and 12 percent other races.
The ARC’s figures are part of the Atlanta Region’s Plan, a road map for infrastructure and other critical investments for the next quarter-century.
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