Fastest Growing Counties in Georgia (2026)

County
Rank
Change (2020) ↓
2026 Pop.
2020 Pop.
Long County139.15%22,62116,256
Dawson County235.93%36,78527,062
Jackson County335.78%104,22876,765
Jasper County423.18%18,07214,671
Barrow County522.02%102,57784,066
Banks County621.54%22,03418,129
Walton County718.53%115,11497,115
Bryan County817.75%53,04445,048
Monroe County916.02%32,56028,065
Effingham County1015.75%75,44365,180
Lamar County1114.49%21,24318,555
Paulding County1214.48%194,059169,516
Greene County1313.87%21,66919,030
Cherokee County1413.57%304,516268,142
Forsyth County1513.42%286,813252,877
Union County1613.31%28,11024,808
Bartow County1713.17%123,676109,283
Pickens County1813.17%37,74333,351
Franklin County1913.15%26,56223,476
Newton County2012.92%127,488112,902
Hall County2112.89%229,591203,382
Hart County2212.59%29,12925,872
Oglethorpe County2312.39%16,71214,869
Haralson County2412.22%33,72330,050
Henry County2511.58%269,872241,869
Camden County2611.46%61,22154,928
Glascock County2711.46%3,2302,898
Pike County2811.26%21,08218,948
Carroll County2911.04%132,579119,394
Habersham County3010.77%51,08046,112
McIntosh County3110.75%12,16110,981
Coweta County3210.6%162,302146,746
Bulloch County3310.49%88,30079,919
Houston County3410.47%181,524164,325
Morgan County3510.07%22,23620,202
Lanier County369.5%10,8599,917
Madison County379.27%33,07130,266
Gilmer County389.16%34,29731,420
Columbia County399.09%171,115156,860
Wayne County409.01%32,86030,145
Taliaferro County418.92%1,6971,558
Liberty County428.82%71,08965,330
Lumpkin County438.23%36,41033,640
Douglas County448.17%156,526144,698
Gordon County458.11%62,41457,730
Putnam County467.88%23,91022,163
Peach County477.78%30,24328,059
Oconee County487.76%45,26242,004
Harris County497.7%37,59534,907
Polk County507.68%46,22542,929
Cook County517.14%18,46917,238
Gwinnett County527.1%1,026,334958,317
Butts County536.84%27,29625,549
Towns County546.77%13,40212,552
White County556.71%29,99428,108
Heard County566.46%12,18411,445
Lincoln County576.45%8,1997,702
Chatham County586.44%314,105295,113
Brantley County596.27%19,17818,046
Rockdale County606.25%99,43093,582
Pierce County616.01%20,93519,749
Troup County625.88%73,46869,385
Appling County635.65%19,41518,376
Spalding County645.61%71,23967,456
Charlton County655.45%13,21012,527
Rabun County665.42%17,84416,926
Meriwether County675.19%21,68020,610
Berrien County685.17%19,08118,143
Fayette County695.07%125,561119,507
Wheeler County704.94%7,8157,447
Stephens County714.92%28,14826,827
Murray County724.55%41,81539,996
Bleckley County734.51%13,07912,515
Walker County744.46%70,77667,756
Glynn County754.34%88,14684,479
Colquitt County764.27%47,87045,908
Lowndes County774.15%123,349118,436
Cobb County784.1%797,811766,385
Whitfield County793.97%106,866102,790
Laurens County803.94%51,49749,543
Coffee County813.83%44,69643,048
Fulton County823.52%1,107,1141,069,457
Lee County833.39%34,33633,211
Pulaski County843.18%10,1869,872
Candler County853.17%11,38611,036
Fannin County863.17%26,25825,451
Jones County873.15%29,26128,368
Upson County883.06%28,59627,746
Floyd County893%101,55898,597
Evans County902.93%11,11010,794
Ware County912.86%37,27536,237
Schley County922.78%4,6634,537
Warren County932.76%5,3525,208
Marion County942.75%7,7367,529
Catoosa County952.74%69,89768,034
Tift County962.67%42,48741,382
Screven County972.53%14,42814,072
Johnson County982.42%9,4029,180
Jeff Davis County992.41%15,15714,800
Webster County1002.34%2,4072,352
Treutlen County1012.14%6,5356,398
Jenkins County1022%8,8338,660
Clinch County1031.95%6,8606,729
Toombs County1041.87%27,58627,080
Grady County1051.83%26,69226,213
Chattooga County1061.65%25,33924,927
Thomas County1071.55%46,49345,784
Elbert County1081.53%19,96619,666
DeKalb County1091.52%776,204764,585
Atkinson County1101.35%8,4198,307
Montgomery County1111.26%8,6738,565
Baldwin County1120.96%44,20543,786
Emanuel County1130.8%23,05822,876
Bibb County1140.44%157,752157,054
Crawford County1150.41%12,14212,093
Clarke County1160.39%129,092128,595
Taylor County1170.22%7,8377,820
Clay County1180.18%2,8352,830
Tattnall County1190.14%24,36224,328
Richmond County1200%206,574206,581
Ben Hill County121-0.01%17,16517,166
Decatur County122-0.12%29,40129,436
Bacon County123-0.23%11,08711,113
Wilkes County124-0.29%9,5269,554
McDuffie County125-0.33%21,53721,609
Dade County126-0.42%16,16516,233
Dooly County127-0.45%11,11611,166
Turner County128-0.51%8,9438,989
Clayton County129-0.55%297,709299,345
Seminole County130-0.58%9,0769,129
Burke County131-0.73%24,45124,632
Echols County132-0.91%3,6823,716
Hancock County133-0.93%8,6308,711
Wilcox County134-0.96%8,7038,787
Talbot County135-1.13%5,6645,729
Quitman County136-1.17%2,1992,225
Dodge County137-1.59%19,63119,949
Brooks County138-2.21%15,91216,271
Muscogee County139-2.29%202,270207,016
Wilkinson County140-2.58%8,6048,832
Miller County141-2.97%5,8175,995
Macon County142-3%11,65712,018
Dougherty County143-3.13%82,50485,173
Early County144-3.23%10,44410,793
Calhoun County145-3.37%5,3845,572
Sumter County146-3.46%28,49729,518
Randolph County147-3.52%6,1426,366
Washington County148-3.63%19,22419,949
Worth County149-3.77%19,93720,719
Baker County150-4.11%2,7312,848
Mitchell County151-5.01%20,58921,676
Crisp County152-5.13%19,03020,058
Jefferson County153-5.19%14,86315,677
Twiggs County154-6.17%7,5158,009
Terrell County155-6.6%8,5369,139
Irwin County156-7.89%8,8859,646
Telfair County157-9.49%11,26712,449
Chattahoochee County158-9.81%8,5399,468
Stewart County159-12.63%4,6265,295

Georgia Counties Growth Overview

Georgia's counties show varied growth patterns from 2020 to 2026. Long County leads with 5.66% annualized growth, followed by Dawson County (5.25%) and Jackson County (5.23%). The largest counties are Fulton County (1,107,114), Gwinnett County (1,026,334), and Cobb County (797,811). Of the 159 counties in Georgia, 119 are growing while 40 have experienced population decline. Overall, counties averaged 0.79% annualized growth, with total population growing by 1.01% annually.

Change (2020)

-0.05

-0.025

0

0.025

0.05

0.075

Sources

  1. US Census: 2025 Gazetteer Files
  2. City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2024

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