2012 county & metro area estimates released today

[old timey villain]

Growth in Metro Atlanta has definitely slowed a bit compared to the breakneck pace before the recession, but it appears to be bouncing back. People still seem to want to move here and lots of businesses are relocating and adding jobs, so hopefully it's the start of a return to form for my city. I think Atlanta is well positioned for future growth, as no single employment sector is dominant and our quality of life and cost of living is favorable- for now.

Interestingly, the exurbs are slowly being choked off because of dramatically slower growth while the urban core is growing faster than it has in decades, so good news there. One more cool thing is that a lot of the state's growth is coming from minority births. I think Georgia's fast growth will continue for a few more decades in addition to North Carolina's. I look forward to the day when presidential contenders will criss cross these two large, diverse states in the hopes of winning two valuable electoral prizes.

[old timey villain]

Where is the population growth in Fulton County taking place? Atlanta or the conservative suburbs?

Unfortunately I can't locate any recent city or census tract population numbers, but I'm guessing that most of Fulton's growth is occurring inside I-285



North Fulton is probably doing better than other suburbs but the growth up there has slowed a bit. South Fulton actually had a massive housing boom in the middle of the last decade but it got hit HARD when the bubble burst. OTOH, Atlanta has really been filling in with apartments and new homes so it's doing well. Sadly, a lot of poorer AA's are being pushed out by wealthier whites, and I'm really not sure how that will affect the overall county vote.