Gwinnett Second Largest County in Georgia

Updated 12:25 p.m., March 18, 2011.

Gwinnett County is Georgia’s second most populated county, according to figures released Thursday (March 17) by the U.S. Census Bureau. Gwinnett’s population grew to 805,321 in 2010, an increase of 36.9 percent from its 2000 population of 588,488, according to the bureau. That’s more than 216,800 folks who have moved into Gwinnett over the past 10 years.  Gwinnett was fourth largest in the 2000 census.

Suwanee's population was reported  as 15,355. The city's top ethnic breakdown: white, 10,356 (67.4%); Asian, 2,761 (17.9%); African-American, 1,655 (10.7%); Hispanic, 1,025 (6.6%).

That represents a 75 percent percent population growth. In 2000, Suwanee was at 8,725.

Fulton, the most heavily populated county in Georgia, increased by 12.8 percent from 816,006 in 2000 to 920,581 in 2010. Gwinnett was followed by DeKalb County with an increase of 3.9 percent to 691,893 in 2010, Cobb County with an increase of 13.2 percent to 688,078, and Chatham County with an increase of 14.3 percent to 265,128.

The fastest-growing county in the state, a distinction once held by Gwinnett County, appeared to be neighboring Forsyth County with a 78.4 percent increase in population from 98,407 in 2000 to 175,511 in 2010, followed by Paulding County (74.3 percent increase), Henry County (70.9 percent increase), nearby Cherokee County from 141,903 in 2000 to 214,346 in 2010 (51.1 percent), and Douglas County (43.6). 

Georgia’s population went up from 8,186,453 in 2000 to 9,687,653 in 2010, an increase of about 1,501,200 residents or 18.3 percent. Atlanta’s 2000 population was recorded at 420,003 in 2010 compared to 416,474 in 2000, an increase of only 0.8 percent.           

 Georgia gains a Congressional seat as a result of the 2010 Census, bringing the total of U.S. representatives for the state to 14. 

Race figures reported for Georgia were white, 5,787,440 in 2010 or 59.7 percent of the state’s population and 5,327,281 in 2000 or 65.1 percent; black or African-American, 2,950,435 in 2010 (30.5 percent) and 2,349,542 in 2000 (28.7 percent); American Indian and Alaska native, 32,151 in 2010  (0.3 percent) and 21,737 in 2000 (0.3 percent); Asian, 314,467 in 2010 (3.2 percent) and 173,170 in 2000 (2.1 percent); Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 6,799 for 2010 (0.1 percent) and 4,246 in 2000 (0.1) percent; and some other race, 388,872 for 2010 (4 percent) and 196,289 in 2000 (2.4 percent). Respondents indicating an ethnicity of two or more races totaled 207,489 in 2010 (2.1 percent) and 114,188 in 2000 (1.4 percent).

Census respondents identifying themselves as Hispanic or Latino nearly doubled in Georgia from 435,227 in 2000 (5.3 percent of the total population) to 853,689 in 2010 (8.8 percent.)

The numbers for different races living in Gwinnett County for 2010 were white, 429,563; black or African-American, 190,167; American Indian and Alaska Native, 4,038; Asian, 85,292; Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 477; Some other race, 70,492; two or more races, 25,292. The total number of Hispanics or Latinos in Gwinnett County was reported as 162,035 for 2010.

The 2010 race figures for Duluth were white, 12,949 for 2010 compared to 15,186 for 2000; black or African-American, 5,378 for 2010 and 5,623 fo 2000; American Indian and Alaska Native, 111 in 2010 and 73 for 2000; Asian, 5,920 in 2010 and 2,851 in 2000; Native Hawaiaan and other Pacific Islander, 16 in 2010 and 9 for 2000; Some other race, 1,395 in 2010 and 847 in 2000; Two or more races, 831 in 2010 and 533 in 2000. Duluth residents identifying themselves as Hispanic or Latino in 2010 totaled 3,732 compared to 2,002 in 2010.

Additional Georgia 2010 Census data is available via FTP download athttp://www2.census.gov/census_2010/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/.

Within 24 hours after release, the data will be posted on the Census Bureau's new American FactFinder site http://factfinder2.census.gov. There is a tutorial on the site.

(Steve Burns of Suwanee Patch contributed to this article.)