Cobb County Growth Slows (Marietta, Smyrna: 2015, townhome, neighborhoods)

[hautemomma]

Any hypotheses on reasons for this?



Census: Population growth in Cobb’s cities is slowing

• Ricky Leroux

The populations of all of Cobb’s cities grew from 2016 to 2017, but with the exception of Kennesaw, they grew at a slower rate than previous years.


Kennesaw saw the largest percent increase from 2016 to 2017, jumping 1.1 percent from 33,967 to 34,344, followed by Acworth, which grew 0.7 percent from 22,530 to 22,698.


No other city grew by more 0.4 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to the census data.
from 2015 to 2016, Acworth, Marietta, Powder Springs and Smyrna all grew by more than 1.1 percent, while Ausell grew by about 0.8 percent and Kennesaw by about 0.7 percent.


With a 2017 population of 61,048, Marietta remains Cobb’s most populous city. Smyrna is close behind with a 2017 population of 56,685, followed by Kennesaw, Acworth, Powder Springs (15,052) and Austell (7,215), according to the new data.


The new population figures were released by the Census Bureau on Thursday and use a variety of data — housing unit growth, birth rates, death rates, migration data and more — to attempt to estimate the size of cities and counties as of July 1, 2017.


In March, the Census Bureau released estimates for counties that pegged Cobb County’s population at 755,754, up about 0.7 percent from the 2016 estimate of 750,477. The estimate marked the first time since 2010 that Cobb’s growth rate was less than 1 percent.


Over that same period, DeKalb County grew by 0.9, Fulton by 1.7, Gwinnett by 1.5, Paulding by 2.6 and Cherokee by 2.5, according to the Census Bureau.

[Gulch]

Any hypotheses on reasons for this?

County is getting built out, especially with a lot of the growth still being single-family homes.

[hautemomma]

I can see how that's the case. There are still many new subdivisions, townhome communities and 55+ neighborhoods going up though. But, yes, any land available for development is either being developed or just waiting for the right buyer/offer/developer.

[citidata18]

This isn't a surprise. As someone else said, the county's just about built out. So slower growth going forward is expected.

In fact, the ARC projects the fastest growing cities and counties (on a percentage basis) over the next couple of decades will be outer suburban / exurban (Coweta / Newnan, Henry / McDonough, Forsyth, Paulding, Cherokee / Canton, etc.)

[Moosehd]

County isn't built out. Plenty of land available in Cobb

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by Moosehd

County isn't built out. Plenty of land available in Cobb

I should have clarified and said the *desirable* parts of Cobb County have bern built out.

West Cobb, where much of that undeveloped land is, has a relatively poor road network and no interstate highway access, so I don't expect a ton of growth in that area.

[Forhall]

Growth rates generally slow as population increases. Percentage wise, the smallest counties will always grow fastest. Also some people are leaving Cobb to be a bit closer ITP

[primaltech]

I moved from Fulton to Cobb.

I don’t see most of the area of the county growing much because the SFH zoning won’t change much, but Cumberland and nearby areas will grow in residential for sure. And maybe Marietta will grow some.

I wonder if/when the county will reach 1 mil. And if it will always remain more dense than Fulton and Gwinnett.

[hautemomma]

There could be positives associated with slowed growth. Namely, it appears that Cobb is pretty full already. The everyday experience driving around and exploring different parts surely tells that story.

[cqholt]

Peak car