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Atlanta Among Nation’s Fastest-Growing Metro Areas

March 30th, 2016

The capital of the Peach State is among the fastest-growing metro areas in the nation.

Between 2013 and 2015 the population of metro Atlanta grew by more than 255,000 people, according to the Brookings Institution, which studied data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

This goes along with the Atlanta Regional Commission’s (ARC) prediction that says the area will gain about 2.5 million people between now and 2040.

“One of the main drivers of population growth is jobs,” said Mike Carnathan, with the ARC, “and so what that is showing you is that the economy continues to improve. In fact, Atlanta was one of the leaders in job growth over the past year as well.”

But it’s not just jobs bringing people to the metro Atlanta area.

“I was talking to some national business recruiting magazine back in February and you know I looked out the window and it was 70 degrees,” Carnathan said. “And she was like ‘Oh, OK I get it now. That’s why people are going to metro Atlanta.’”

According to the Brookings report, Cherokee and Forsyth counties are some of the fastest-growing counties in the nation.

And the growth trend continues: Brookings says metro Atlanta welcomed nearly 100,000 more residents last year. That’s the biggest population bump in the region since 2008.