Georgia has 11.3 million residents, but you would never guess how unevenly they are spread across the state. Fulton County has more than one million people. Taliaferro County has fewer than 2,000. Around Atlanta, entire communities have expanded rapidly, with new homes, shopping centers and schools following. Farther south, some counties have barely grown at all.
The exact population is 11,302,748, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Almost 100,000 people were added in the preceding year. Only Texas, Florida and North Carolina gained more residents.
Several places are growing at a remarkable pace. Jackson County, northeast of Atlanta, added nearly 5,000 people in one year. Dawson County has grown by almost one-third since 2020. Gwinnett has crossed the one-million mark.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s neighbor North Carolina is getting close to overtaking it in population, a development that seemed much less likely a decade ago.
Population of Georgia Over Years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8,186,453 |
| 2010 | 9,687,653 |
| 2020 | 10,711,908 |
| 2024 | 11,204,208 |
| 2025 | 11,302,748 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Figures for 2000, 2010 and 2020 are decennial census counts. Figures for 2024 and 2025 come from the Census Vintage 2025 series.
Georgia had 8.2 million residents at the beginning of the century. In just 25 years, another 3.1 million people have joined the state’s population.
The pace has not always been the same. Between 2000 and 2010, Georgia gained about 1.5 million people. Growth slowed during the following decade, when the increase was closer to one million.
Since 2020, the state has continued adding residents, but growth across individual counties has been anything but uniform.
Atlanta Has Half a Million Residents, but Millions Live Around It
Atlanta is Georgia’s largest city, with about 529,000 residents. The city itself is only a small part of the much larger Atlanta metropolitan area.
Someone living in Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth or Lawrenceville is outside Atlanta’s city limits, even though their job, shopping trips and daily commute may keep them connected to the city.
That geography helps explain why Atlanta feels considerably larger than its official city population.
For years, residential development has spread along major routes leading north, northeast and northwest. Communities that once sat well outside the main suburban area have gained thousands of homes.
The growth extends into counties such as Cherokee, Forsyth, Paulding and Jackson. You can see their locations on our Georgia map with counties and cities.
Atlanta remains the economic center for many of these communities, but the places gaining residents are increasingly far from the original city.
Gwinnett County Now Has More Than One Million People
Gwinnett has reached 1,018,099 residents, becoming Georgia’s second county with a population exceeding one million.
Back in 2010, it had 805,321 people. The county has gained more than 212,000 residents in 15 years.
Gwinnett includes Lawrenceville, Duluth, Norcross, Suwanee and other communities northeast of Atlanta. Its large residential neighborhoods, commercial centers and diverse population make it one of Georgia’s most important suburban counties.
Yet Fulton remains the largest county, with 1,098,791 people.
Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb together have 3.68 million residents. Nearly one in three Georgians lives in one of those four counties.
Chatham County, which includes Savannah, is the first county on the list outside metropolitan Atlanta. Its population of 311,855 puts it well ahead of many other regional centers in Georgia.
Jackson County Is One of Fastest-Growing Counties in the US
Video: Local News from WJHG talking about the increase in tourism, that is following the population increase in the county.
Jackson County had 75,907 residents in the 2020 Census. By July 2025, its population had climbed to 99,265.
During the last year alone, Jackson added 4,963 people, a 5.3% increase. That placed it fourth among American counties with at least 20,000 residents in the Census Bureau’s national growth ranking.
The county is located along Interstate 85, northeast of Atlanta. Jefferson, Commerce and Braselton are among its communities.
A county nearing 100,000 residents needs more than additional houses. New residential neighborhoods bring children into local schools, additional vehicles onto county roads and more demand for water and sewer infrastructure.
Jackson is not the only Georgia county growing unusually fast. The Census Bureau’s March 2026 county report also placed Long and Dawson counties among the fastest-growing in the country.
Dawson County Has Grown by 32% Since 2020
Dawson County, north of Atlanta, had 26,797 residents at the start of the decade. It now has 35,365.
An increase of more than 8,500 people might appear modest compared with the numbers in Fulton or Gwinnett. For Dawson, though, that represents 32% population growth in a little over five years.
The county includes Dawsonville and sits near Lake Lanier and the North Georgia mountains. Its population has increased even as many other rural counties have remained relatively small.
Long County Has Gained Thousands of Residents
Long County, near Georgia’s southeastern coast, grew from 16,150 residents in the 2020 estimates base to 21,557 in 2025.
That represents a gain of more than 5,400 people, or about one-third of its earlier population.
The county is close to Fort Stewart, with its population connected to the wider Hinesville area. Long’s expansion is another example of population growth taking place far outside the Atlanta region.
Georgia Has Counties With Fewer Residents Than a Small Town
Georgia has 159 counties, more than any state except Texas. Some have hundreds of thousands of residents, while others have fewer than 5,000.
Taliaferro County is the smallest, with about 1,700 people. A single large high school in metropolitan Atlanta can have more students than Taliaferro has residents.
Quitman, Webster, Baker and Clay are also among Georgia’s least-populated counties.
Their small populations create real financial challenges. Local governments still have roads to maintain and emergency services to provide, but fewer residents share the cost through local taxes.
Healthcare is another issue. A rural county with a population of 3,000 cannot support the same number of doctors, medical facilities or pharmacies as a county with 300,000 people.
Residents may have to travel to nearby counties for specialist appointments, larger supermarkets and other services that are available much closer to home in metropolitan Atlanta.
A statewide increase of almost 100,000 people does not mean every Georgia county gained residents. Several counties have seen population declines or little growth, especially in rural parts of the state.
Are People Moving to Georgia From Other States?
Yes. Georgia gained 27,333 people through moves between U.S. states during the year ending July 2025. More people moved into Georgia from elsewhere in the country than moved out.
However, domestic migration was not the largest source of the state’s recent population increase.
International migration added 42,579 residents. Births exceeded deaths by another 28,631.
| Source of Growth | July 2024 to July 2025 |
|---|---|
| International Migration | +42,579 |
| Natural Increase (Births Minus Deaths) | +28,631 |
| Domestic Migration | +27,333 |
| Census Residual Adjustment | -3 |
| Total Increase | +98,540 |
Source: NCH Stats state population and migration data, using Census Bureau Vintage 2025 figures.
International migration contributed 43% of Georgia’s population increase during the year. Domestic migration contributed 28%, and births exceeding deaths provided another 29%.
So the idea that Georgia’s growth comes entirely from Americans leaving expensive states misses a large part of what is happening.
The state continues attracting people from other countries, while also recording more births than deaths.
How Old Are Georgia’s Residents?
Georgia has more children than seniors. Around 22% of residents are under 18, and nearly 17% are 65 or older.
The balance has consequences for communities. Counties attracting young families need schools, childcare and recreation facilities. Places with larger elderly populations depend more heavily on accessible medical care, transportation and services for older adults.
Georgia also has a slight female majority. Women make up about 52% of residents, with men representing the remaining 48%.
Statewide averages do not describe every county. A community near a military installation or college campus can have a very different age structure from a retirement destination or an established suburb.
Who Lives in Georgia?
Georgia has one of the largest Black populations in the United States. Black or African American residents make up about 32% of the state’s population, compared with roughly 57% who identify as White alone.
Asian residents represent about 5%, and the state also has established and growing Hispanic communities.
Hispanic origin is recorded separately from race in Census data, so residents identifying as Hispanic can also identify as White, Black or another race.
Demographics vary significantly between communities. Gwinnett, for example, has a particularly diverse population. In other counties, a much larger proportion of residents belongs to a single racial or ethnic group.
Georgia’s racial composition also has a long history. The state has been home to a large Black population for generations, and Atlanta has played an important role in Black business, education, culture and civil rights history.
Georgia Is Growing, but North Carolina Is Catching Up
Georgia remains the eighth-most-populous state, but North Carolina has narrowed the gap.
Georgia had 11,302,748 residents in July 2025. North Carolina had 11,197,968, leaving a gap of just 104,780 people.
One year earlier, Georgia’s lead was 152,147.
North Carolina added 145,907 people in the most recent year, compared with Georgia’s 98,540, according to the Census Bureau’s 2026 population release.
If North Carolina continues gaining residents faster, it could eventually move ahead of Georgia in the national ranking. The date cannot be established from a single year of growth, especially because annual migration rates can change.
Both states remain major population centers in the Southeast, with large metropolitan areas and expanding suburban communities.
What Will Population of Georgia Look Like in the Coming Years?
For now, Georgia has two very visible demographic realities.
In the Atlanta region, growth has spread far outside the city itself. Counties such as Jackson and Dawson have added residents at rates that place them among the national leaders.
Along the coast, Savannah and surrounding communities are part of another important population center, supported by trade, manufacturing and regional employment.
Elsewhere, hundreds of miles from Atlanta, small counties continue operating with populations of just a few thousand people.
Georgia added 98,540 residents in one year, but those people did not spread evenly across its 159 counties. Some communities gained thousands, bringing demand for homes, roads and schools. Others have far fewer residents to support the services they already have.
The next Census population release will establish how much Georgia grew during 2026. For residents, the more immediate changes are already visible in the places where new neighborhoods are being built and in counties where businesses, schools and medical services depend on a much smaller population.
