The 11-county Metro Atlanta region added 64,400 this year, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Aug. 13 annual population report. The annual estimate counts residents who joined the region between April 2024 and April 2025.
The region’s total population now sits at 5.28 million people. Each of the 11 counties grew this year, with Fulton County leading with 18,800 residents. Gwinnett County also grew by 15,200 residents. The City of Atlanta added about 10,600 people, too.
“Metro Atlanta’s continued growth is a testament to our diverse and dynamic economy and great quality of life,” Atlanta Mayor and ARC Board Chair Andre Dickens said.
While Metro Atlanta’s growth has slowed down in recent years, the 2025 population growth is slightly more than the year before. In 2023-2024, 62,700 people came to the region. In 2024-2025, that number jumped to 64,400.
In the past five years, the population has grown by about 1.2 percent each year. In the 1980s and 1990s, that number was closer to 3 percent. But certain metro areas and suburbs are growing at a faster rate than others.
Forsyth County and Cherokee County each grew at a 2.4 percent rate this year. Forsyth County added 6,700 residents, bringing the population to almost 282,000 people. Cherokee County added 7,100 residents, rounding out a population of over 299,000 people.
The ARC said the region’s growth was driven by the economy. Metro Atlanta’s employment base grew by 8 percent since 2020, which is the seventh-highest rate among the nation’s metro areas.
“Businesses continue to choose Metro Atlanta as a place to grow and thrive, from global corporations to nimble start-ups,” ARC CEO Anna Roach said. “This keeps our economy moving and our population growing.”
But a lack of available units and pricey homes have served as a “brake” on the population growth. Building permits still aren’t being issued at the same rate as before the Great Recession, though they have climbed in recent years.
“We can’t take our growth for granted,” Dickens said. “As a region, we must continue to address challenges like housing affordability and transportation and make the investments today needed to ensure a better tomorrow.”
Atlanta is still on track to reach an estimated 7.9 million people across the region by 2050, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission. It will mark a 1.8 million increase from 2020, with forecasted growth particularly in outer areas like Forsyth County.
I’d go by what I see. Established people with money out, young people before children in. Cities having to build their own amenities because no one with options ever wants to go to Atlanta.
In fact I highly doubt half of those new folks stay past 35. Someday they may need to fold in the Nashville area as one of the counties to keep the numbers flowing. Good Luck.
Not at all the case— the city proper is flourishing and represents the fastest growing part of the metro— and money yes, plenty of folks with a lot of money are moving to the City—
They a day late and a dollar short inflation already hit the realestate market here, yall missed it now proceed further SOUTH