Demographics of Atlanta
Atlanta is the largest city in the state of Georgia. 2010 census results varied dramatically with previous Census Bureau estimates, counting 420,003 residents,[1], versus the 2009 estimate of 540,921.[2] Atlanta is the core city of the ninth most populous United States metropolitan area at 5,268,860 (est. 2010),[3] with a combined statistical area of 5,626,400.[4] Atlanta ranks as the 40th-largest in the United States, and the sixth-largest city in the southeastern region.
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[edit] History
Atlanta's population grew steadily during the first 100 years of the city's existence, and peaked in 1970 at around 496,000. However, from 1970 to 2000, the city lost over 100,000 residents, a decrease of around 16 percent. During the same time, the metro area gained over three million people, cutting the city's share of the metro population in half, from over 25 percent in 1970 to around 12 percent in 2000.[5] However, the city's population bottomed out in 1990 at around 394,000, and it has been increasing every year since then, reaching 420,003 residents in 2010.
[edit] 2010 Census
| Historical populations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census | City[6] | Region[7] | ||
| 1850 | 2,572 | N/A | ||
| 1860 | 9,554 | N/A | ||
| 1870 | 21,789 | N/A | ||
| 1880 | 37,409 | N/A | ||
| 1890 | 65,533 | N/A | ||
| 1900 | 89,872 | 419,375 | ||
| 1910 | 154,839 | 522,442 | ||
| 1920 | 200,616 | 622,283 | ||
| 1930 | 270,366 | 715,391 | ||
| 1940 | 302,288 | 820,579 | ||
| 1950 | 331,314 | 997,666 | ||
| 1960 | 487,455 | 1,312,474 | ||
| 1970 | 496,973 | 1,763,626 | ||
| 1980 | 425,022 | 2,233,324 | ||
| 1990 | 394,017 | 2,959,950 | ||
| 2000 | 416,474 | 4,112,198 | ||
| 2010 | 420,003 | 5,729,304 | ||
| *Estimates[8][9][4] Region: Combined Statistical Area (CSA) |
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[edit] Income
In 2009, the median income for a household in the city was $47,464 and the median income for a family was $59,711. About 21.8% of the population and 17.2% of families lived below the poverty line.[10]
[edit] Race and ethnicity
The 2010 and 2000 composition of Atlanta by race, ethnicity and foreign-born status was:[11][12][13][14]
| Race, ethnicity, or foreign-born status |
Pop. 2010 | % of total 2010 | Pop. 2000 | % of total 2000 | absolute change 2000-2010 |
% change 2000-2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 226,894 | 54.0% | 255,689 | 61.4% | -31,678 | -12.3% |
| White | 161,115 | 38.4% | 138,352 | 33.2% | 22,763 | 16.5% |
| White non-Hispanic | 152,377 | 36.3% | 130,222 | 31.3% | 22,155 | 17.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 13,188 | 3.1% | 8,219 | 1.9% | 4,969 | 60.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino of any race | 21,815 | 5.2% | 18,720 | 4.5% | 3,095 | 16.5% |
| Foreign-born | 33,621[15] | 8.0%[16] | 27,352 | 6.6% | 6,269 | 22.9% |
Atlanta is, as of 2010, the nation's 4th largest black-majority city and has long been known as a "black mecca" for its role as a center of black wealth, political power, education, and culture including film and music.[17]
The city of Atlanta is seeing a unique and drastic demographic increase in its white population, and at a pace that outstrips the rest of the nation. The proportion of whites in the city's population, according to Brookings Institution, grew faster between 2000 and 2006 than that of any other U.S. city. By 2010, Atlanta's white population had increased by 22,763 people. The white percentage increased from 31% in 2000, to 35% in 2006, to 38% in 2010, more than double the increase between 1990 and 2000. During the same time, the city's black poulation decreased by 31,678 people, shrinking from 61.4% of the city's population in 2000 to 54.0% in 2010. The demographic changes are due to an influx of whites into gentrifying intown neighborhoods, such as East Atlanta and the Old Fourth Ward, coupled with a movement of blacks into adjacent suburbs, such as Clayton County.[18][19][19][20]
Since the 1990s, the number of Latin American immigrants in Metro Atlanta has greatly increased, with the Hispanic population of the region nearly doubling from 247,477 in 2000 to 477,891 in 2010.[21][22] In Atlanta, the Hispanic population increased by 16.5% from 2000 to 2010.[23] These immigrant communities have altered the economic, demographic, cultural, and religious landscape of the city.[24]
[edit] Race and ethnicity by neighborhood
2010 census figures for Atlanta's 25 neighborhood planning units reveal several key facts about Atlanta's neighborhoods:
- 60% of the city's area consists of overwhelmingly black neighborhoods: together, Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast Atlanta are 92% black
- there are some areas that are predominantly white, notably Buckhead and Northeast Atlanta (NPUs F and N) which are on average 80% white
- most of the fastest growing areas are central: Downtown (25.9%), Midtown, West Midtown, close-in east side neighborhoods (NPU N) (18.4%)
- the Ben Hill area at the southwest Perimeter is also growing quickly (up 5,452 people, 45.8%)
- population loss in areas of Northwest Atlanta (avg. -24.1%) and Southeast Atlanta (-20.5%), as well as some parts of Southwest Atlanta
Source: City of Atlanta 2010 Census Summary Reports (by NPU)
Note: racial and ethnic groups are listed in the order established by the national census, not by their ranking within Atlanta
| NPU | Major neighborhoods | 2010 pop. | 2000 pop. | Growth % | White | Black | Asian | All other | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown/Midtown | |||||||||
| M | Downtown, Old Fourth Ward, Sweet Auburn, Castleberry Hill | 26,886 | 21,359 | 25.9% | 34.1% | 56.1% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.8% |
| E | Midtown, Georgia Tech, Atlantic Station, Loring Heights, Brookwood Hills | 42,121 | 34,461 | 22.2% | 65.4% | 17.4% | 12.6% | 4.6% | 4.9% |
| Buckhead | |||||||||
| A | Paces, Margaret Mitchell, Mt. Paran/Northside, Chastain Park | 11,687 | 11,300 | 3.4% | 91.7% | 3.2% | 3.5% | 1.7% | 2.3% |
| B | Buckhead Village, North Buckhead, Lindbergh, Pine Hills, Peachtree Heights, Garden Hills | 47,292 | 38,645 | 22.4% | 75.5% | 12.3% | 5.3% | 6.8% | 9.5% |
| C | Collier Hills, Peachtree Battle, Arden/Habersham, SW Buckhead (W of Northside, S of Wesley) | 18,122 | 16,199 | 11.9% | 83.5% | 8.4% | 3.2% | 4.9% | 6.0% |
| Northwest | |||||||||
| G | West Highlands, Carey Park | 8,381 | 11,632 | -27.9% | 3.3% | 94.2% | 0.5% | 2.1% | 1.9% |
| J | Grove Park, Center Hill | 12,533 | 17,085 | -26.6% | 1.9% | 96.4% | 0.1% | 1.7% | 1.3% |
| K | Bankhead, Washington Park, Mozley Park, Hunter Hills | 9,399 | 11,997 | -21.7% | 9.1% | 88.5% | 0.4% | 2.0% | 1.9% |
| L | English Avenue, Vine City, (The Bluff) | 6,148 | 7,316 | -16.0% | 6.1% | 89.1% | 1.0% | 3.8% | 2.8% |
| Border Buckhead/West Midtown/Northwest | |||||||||
| D | Whittier Mill Village, Riverside, Bolton, Underwood Hills, Huff Rd in W Midtown, Berkeley Park | 10,690 | 8,690 | 23.0% | 59.2% | 23.9% | 4.5% | 12.4% | 15.7% |
| Northeast / East | |||||||||
| F | Virginia-Highland, Morningside/Lenox Park | 23,641 | 20,890 | 13.2% | 79.6% | 10.0% | 3.3% | 7.2% | 9.7% |
| N | Inman Park, Candler Park, Poncey-Highland, Reynoldstown, Cabbagetown, Lake Claire | 17,389 | 14,688 | 18.4% | 79.9% | 13.2% | 2.7% | 4.2% | 4.2% |
| O | Edgewood, Kirkwood, East Lake | 13,886 | 14,724 | -5.7% | 36.9% | 58.7% | 1.4% | 3.0% | 2.5% |
| W | Grant Park, East Atlanta, Ormewood Park, Benteen Park | 19,233 | 20,054 | -4.1% | 54.8% | 38.0% | 1.7% | 5.5% | 6.5% |
| Southwest | |||||||||
| H | Adamsville, areas S of I-20, W of I-285, N of Cascade Rd | 14,049 | 17,274 | -18.7% | 2.1% | 92.3% | 0.2% | 5.4% | 6.2% |
| I | Collier Heights, Peyton Forest, Cascade Heights | 20,741 | 21,500 | -3.5% | 2.2% | 94.1% | 0.1% | 3.6% | 4.2% |
| P | Ben Hill, (SW Atlanta W of I-285) | 17,363 | 11,911 | 45.8% | 1.9% | 95.0% | 0.6% | 2.5% | 1.9% |
| Q | Midwest Cascade, Regency Trace | 1,770 | 1,024 | 72.9% | 1.5% | 96.5% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.6% |
| R | Adams Park, Campbellton Road, Greenbriar | 16,452 | 16,679 | -1.4% | 1.4% | 96.8% | 0.1% | 1.6% | 1.4% |
| S | Oakland City, Venetian Hills, Cascade Avenue/Road, Fort McPherson | 10,204 | 12,396 | -17.7% | 4.0% | 93.8% | 0.2% | 2.0% | 1.2% |
| T | West End, Westview, Atlanta University Center, Ashview Heights | 16,280 | 20,095 | -19.0% | 2.3% | 94.5% | 0.4% | 2.9% | 2.3% |
| V | Capitol Gateway, Summerhill, Peoplestown, Mechanicsville, Pittsburgh, Adair Park | 14,198 | 15,825 | -10.3% | 6.3% | 89.3% | 1.3% | 3.1% | 2.5% |
| X | Metropolitan Parkway (Atlanta) corridor: Capitol View, Sylvan Hills, Perkerson | 12,398 | 14,999 | -17.3% | 10.5% | 83.2% | 0.7% | 5.6% | 5.8% |
| Southeast | |||||||||
| Y | South Atlanta, Lakewood Heights, Chosewood Park | 11,111 | 12,472 | -10.9% | 14.3% | 80.6% | 0.4% | 4.7% | 9.2% |
| Z | Thomasville Heights, Glenrose Park, Southern Jonesboro Rd Corridor | 18,050 | 24,210 | -25.4% | 3.1% | 92.8% | 0.4% | 3.7% | 4.2% |
[edit] Major shifts from 2000 to 2010
Rise in white population:
- In NPU W (East Atlanta, Grant Park, Ormewood Park, Benteen Park), the black population went from 57.6% to 38.0%, and the white proportion rose from 36.5% to 54.8%
- In NPU O (Edgewood, Kirkwood, East Lake area), the black population went from 86.2% to 58.7%, and the white proportion rose from 11.3% to 36.9%.
- In NPU L (English Avenue, Vine City), the black proportion of the population went down from 97.5% to 89.1%, while the white proportion rose from 1.3% to 6.1%. Note that there many infill residential units were added in the King Plow Arts Center area, which falls under English Avenue but which in character is an extension of the Marietta Street Artery and West Midtown.
- In NPU D, stretching from West Midtown along the border of Buckhead and northwestern Atlanta, westward towards the river, the white proportion rose from 49.3% to 59.2% with the black proportion droping from 36.5% to 23.9%
Increasing black population:
- In NPU X (Metropolitan Parkway corridor), the black proportion of the population rose from 59.5% to 83.2%, while the White, Asian and Hispanic proportion dropped about three percentage points each.
- NPU B (central Buckhead) became more diverse, with the white proportion dropping from 82.8% to 75.5%, the black proportion rising from 5.9% to 12.3%, and the Asian proportion from 3.1% to 5.3%
[edit] Sexual orientation and marital status
The city of Atlanta also has one of the highest LGBT populations per capita. It ranks 3rd of all major cities, behind San Francisco and slightly behind Seattle, with 12.8% of the city's total population recognizing themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.[25][26] According to the 2000 United States Census (revised in 2004), Atlanta has the twelfth highest proportion of single-person households nationwide among cities of 100,000 or more residents, which was at 38.5%.[27]
[edit] Daytime population
According to a 2000 daytime population estimate by the Census Bureau,[28] over 250,000 more people commuted to Atlanta on any given workday, boosting the city's estimated daytime population to 676,431. This is an increase of 62.4% over Atlanta's resident population, making it the largest gain in daytime population in the country among cities with fewer than 500,000 residents.
[edit] Timeline
1850 - 2,572
- City limits a circle with radius of 1 mile (3.14 square miles)
1860 - 9,554
- 1866 city limits enlarged to 1.5 miles (7 square miles) [29]
1870 - 21,789
1880 - 37,409
- had eclipsed Savannah to become Georgia's largest city
- 1889 saw annexation of Inman Park
1890 - 65,533
- 1895 city limits enlarged to 1.75 miles (9.6 square miles)
- 1896 saw annexation of West End (11 square miles)
1900 - 89,872, including 2500 persons of foreign birth and 35,900 of African descent.
- 1909 (January) Copenhill area annexed
1910 - 154,839 (metro 522,442)
1920 - 200,616 (metro 622,283)
1930 - 270,688 (metro 715,391)
1940 - 302,288 (metro 820,579)
1950 - 331,314 (metro 997,666)
- 1952 saw annexation of Buckhead, Adam's Park, Cascade & Lakewood adding 100,000 people (130 square miles)
1960 - 487,455 (metro 1,312,474)
1970 - 496,973 (metro 1,763,626)
1980 - 425,022 (metro 2,233,324)
1990 - 394,017 (metro 2,959,950)
2000 - 416,474 (metro 4,112,198)
2010 - 420,003 (metro 5,268,860)
[edit] Political implications
Atlanta's changing demographics have had effects on its political system. In the 2009 mayoral race, Mary Norwood lost by just 714 votes (out of over 84,000 cast) to Kasim Reed. Norwood, who is white, would have become the city's first non-black mayor since 1974. This comes amid the fact that in recent years, an influx of whites, Asians and Hispanics into Atlanta has shifted the demographics in what was once a city guaranteed to elect a black mayor. In fact, the percentage of blacks dropped to 54 percent in 2010 from 61 percent in 2000. This demographic change and its possible historic affect on Atlanta's city government was a factor that, among others, helped draw supporters of both candidates to the polls.[30]
[edit] Projections
Atlanta is projected to have a population of around 590,000 people by 2030. However, this projection assumes Atlanta garners only seven percent of the metro's growth during that period. If the city was to capture ten percent of metro Atlanta's growth, it would reach a population of 660,000 people by 2030.[5]
[edit] See also
 |
Atlanta portal |
[edit] References
- ^ US Census Bureau
- ^ "Table 4 - Colorado through Idaho". Fbi.gov. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/08aprelim/table_4co-id.html. Retrieved 2010-04-05.[dead link]
- ^ Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010, U.S. Census Bureau, 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Combined statistical area population and estimated components of change: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007" (Comma-separated values). United States Census Bureau. July 10, 2008. http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/metro_general/2007/CSA-EST2007-alldata.csv. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
- ^ a b www.atlantada.com/media/Aconversationaboutgrowth_002.pdf
- ^ Gibson, Campbell (June 1998). "POPULATION OF THE 100 LARGEST CITIES AND OTHER URBAN PLACES IN THE UNITED STATES: 1790 TO 1990". Population Division, U.S. Bureau of the Census. http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027.html. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ "CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING: DECENIAL CENSUS". U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2000. http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/index.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn97.html
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2008 Population" (Comma-separated values). United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2008-01.csv. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ Atlanta city, Georgia - Selected Economic Characteristics: 2006-2008
- ^ DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000; Data Set: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data; Geographic Area: Atlanta city, Georgia, US Census Bureau
- ^ Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010" (Select Atlanta (city), Georgia), US Census Bureau
- ^ City of Atlanta Quick Facts, US Census Bureau
- ^ "Living Cities" study, Brookings Institution
- ^ Census Bureau estimate, "SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates" for Atlanta city, US Census Bureau
- ^ 2005-2009 data from US Census Bureau
- ^
- "A CHAMPION FOR ATLANTA: Maynard Jackson: 'Black mecca' burgeoned under leader", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 29, 2003
- "the city that calls itself America's ' Black Mecca'" in "Atlanta Is Less Than Festive on Eve of Another 'Freaknik'", Washington Post, Apr 18, 1996
- "The Black Mecca leads the nation in numbers of African American millionaires; at the same time, it leads the nation in the percentage of its children in poverty" in The Black metropolis in the twenty-first century: race, power, and politics by Robert Doyle Bullard
- "the city that earned a national reputation as America's 'black mecca'" in In search of Black America: discovering the African-American dream by David J. Dent
- "the cornerstone upon which today's 'Black Mecca' was built" in The New South's Capital Likes to Contradict Itself by William Jelani Cobb, July 13, 2008, Washington Post
- "And, they said, don't forget Atlanta's reputation as a black mecca" in "Georgia second in nation for black-owned businesses", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 5, 2010
- "Atlanta is New Mecca for Blacks", Ebony, September 1997
- "Atlanta's allure as the black mecca" in "Atlanta contest shows battered black electorate", MSNBC, December 4, 2009
- " the Southern capital regarded as the nation's black mecca" in "Race, attacks expected in Atlanta mayor runoff" (Associated Press article) in Marietta Daily Journal, November 5, 2009
- "Is Atlanta the new black mecca?", Ebony, March 2002
- "Atlanta, black mecca of the South", Ebony, August 1971
- "Money talks: Atlanta has the highest percentage of middle-class blacks of any city in the nation", Atlanta magazine, March 2003
- “Atlanta is a city that is known a the black mecca" in "Upcoming city elections will show how Atlanta is undergoing profound changes", '"Saporta Report, October 2009
- "Some people call Atlanta the Black Mecca" in "Atlanta: The City of the Next Generation", Black Enterprise, May 1987
- "That stockpile of black brain power has made Atlanta the nation's mecca for blacks, especially buppies looking for Afro-American affluence and political clout." in "Bond vs. Lewis - it's Atlanta's loss that only one of the two can win ", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 16, 1986
- "Is it this that has made Atlanta the mecca of the black middle class?" in America behind the color line: dialogues with African Americans by Henry Louis Gates
- "Atlanta emerges as a center of black entertainment", New York Times, November 26, 2011
- ^ A census speeds Atlanta toward racially neutral ground | Political Insider
- ^ a b Wheatley, Thomas (March 21, 2011). "Thomas Wheatley, "Atlanta's census numbers reveal dip in black population – and lots of people who mysteriously vanished", Creative Loafing, March 21, 2011". Clatl.com. http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2011/03/21/atlantas-census-numbers-reveal-dip-in-black-population-and-lots-of-people-who-mysteriously-vanished. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ^ Gurwitt, Rob (July 1, 2008). "Governing Magazine: Atlanta and the Urban Future, July 2008". Governing.com. http://www.governing.com/articles/0807atlanta.htm. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ Jeffry Scott, "Hispanic population doubles across metro area", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 17, 2011
- ^ *Mary Odem, "Global Lives, Local Struggles: Latin American Immigrants in Atlanta" Southern Spaces 2006
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedsocchar; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text - ^ "Atlanta city, GA; Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA Metro Area: ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2009". American Community Survey. United States Census Bureau. 2009. http://www.factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-context=adp&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_DP5&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-tree_id=309&-redoLog=true&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=31200US120601304000&-format=&-_lang=en. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ "12.9% in Seattle are gay or bisexual, second only to S.F., study says". The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/zoom/html/2003432941.html.
- ^ Gary J. Gates Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Community SurveyPDF (2.07 MiB). The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, UCLA School of Law October, 2006
- ^ http://www.census.gov/statab/ccdb/cit3060r.txt
- ^ "Estimated Daytime Population". U.S. Census Bureau. December 6, 2005. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/daytime/daytimepop.html. Retrieved 2006-04-02.
- ^ Garrett, Franklin, Atlanta and Its Environs, 1954, Vol.I, p.703
- ^ Brown, Robbie (December 10, 2009). "Atlanta Mayor Recount Goes to Reed". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/us/10atlanta.html.
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