Just three years after being named by the Census Bureau as one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, Jackson County didn’t even break the top 100 in a list released on Thursday.
In 2009, Census data estimates put Jackson County at 25th in the U.S. among the fastest-growing populations between 2007 and 2008. Neighboring Barrow County was placed at 18th on the list.
But neither county — nor most of the other counties considered as suburbs of Atlanta — broke the top 100 list for fastest-growing counties in the U.S. from 2010 to 2011, according to the Census. The exceptions were Forsyth County (ranked 33rd), Fulton County (ranked 53rd) and Gwinnett County (ranked 99th).
The Census names its fastest-growing counties based on the percentage of population change during a specified time.
So, tiny Charlton County — which includes a large portion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge — was named the fastest-growing county in the U.S from 2010 to 2011. That county grew by 10.3 percent — from 12,171 residents in 2010 to an estimated 13,422 residents in 2011, according to the Census.
Jackson County’s population grew from an estimated 60,751 residents in 2010 to 61,257 residents in 2011 — which is a 0.8 percent increase.
Barrow County grew by an estimated 0.3 percent — from 69,724 residents in 2010 to 69,912 in 2011, according to the Census.
By comparison, Hall County grew by an estimated 1.6 percent during that same time, while Oconee County increased its population by 1.0 percent and Clarke County grew by 0.5 percent.
However, Banks County’s population dropped by 0.8 percent — from 18,407 residents in 2010 to an estimated 18,251 residents in 2011, according to data. Madison County’s population also fell by an estimated 0.9 percent — from 28,177 residents in 2010 to 27,921 in 2011.
The population estimates are the first sets of data to be published since the official 2010 Census population counts were released a year ago. The previous ranking of population growth for counties was last released in 2009 — when the data looked at estimates from 2007 to 2008.
In 2008, the Census ranked Jackson County 10th in the nation for population growth from 2006-2007. During that same time, Barrow County was ranked 12th in the nation for population growth.
In the coming months, the Census Bureau will release the 2011 population estimates of cities, among other data.
