POPULATION PROJECTIONS
Here are the latest Atlanta Regional Commission projections for population in 2040, with counties ranked by projected total. Current rank is in parentheses. Change is from 2015.
1. (2) Gwinnett: 1,350,358, up 57.1%
2. (1) Fulton: 1,264,376, up 30.3%
3. (3) Cobb, 885,062, up 21.7%
4. (4) DeKalb, 874,424, up 21.7%
5. (8) Forsyth, 430,301, up 108.2%
6. (6) Cherokee, 392,411, up 68.2%
7. (7) Henry, 351,691, up 61.1%
8. (9) Hall, 328,058, up 63.5%
9. (5) Clayton, 327,552, up 22.7%
The metro Atlanta region will add 2.5 million people by 2040, according to projections by the Atlanta Regional Commission, becoming a more diverse place as the 20-county area booms to more than 8 million.
The ARC forecasts that Forsyth County, north of Atlanta, will be the region’s fastest growing county, doubling its population to 430,000 by 2040. Gwinnett will become the largest county by overall population, surpassing Fulton.
The region’s Hispanic population will surge by 1 million to 1.75 million, with the bulk of the growth coming in the core five counties of Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb and Clayton, the report said.
“The Atlanta region will remain a desirable place to live, thanks to our low cost of living and a strong, diversified economy that continues to create jobs,” Mike Alexander, director of ARC’s Center for Livable Communities, said in a news release.
“We’ll see growth in existing suburban areas as well as the region’s core, as more people choose to live near jobs or transit.”
Metro Atlanta’s population will also grow older as the number of residents over 65 will nearly triple to 1.6 million, the ARC said. Jobs will grow by 1 million, led by education, health care, retail, professional services and scientific jobs, the ARC said.
The population study feeds into the Atlanta Region’s Plan, a road map for infrastructure and other critical investments for the next quarter-century.
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