GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County is growing at a much faster rate than anywhere else in metro Atlanta.
Channel 2′s Matt Johnson has learned that in the last three years, nearly 20,000 people have moved to Gwinnett County.
In 2020, the county’s population was 958,005. By July 1, 2022, the population had grown to 975,353.
Gwinnett County has been growing faster than most places for a while, but now it is growing faster than any other county in metro Atlanta. It also has the most growth and diversity in metro Atlanta since 2020.
Alex Medina told Johnson that he and his family moved to Gwinnett County in 2020 from the Seattle area to get more bang for his buck when it came to buying a house.
“We were tired of the big city feel and wanted more of like a hometown feel,” he said. “[We] love it. It’s just a great place to be.”
Medina says he came to the Dacula area for the schools, home values and low crime. As a realtor, he says he knows that a lot of people want to do what he did.
“I do have buyers coming in from like Jersey, from the west coast, from California,” he said.
Mike Carnathan with Atlanta Regional Commission studies populations in metro Atlanta.
He says he expects more multi-family homes or apartments and duplexes in Gwinnett County to keep up with the growth.
“When counties get to be a certain size, and they begin to run out of land to build single-family homes on, the next option is to begin to go vertical,” Carnathan explained.
Northside Gwinnett Hospital is already building a 17-floor patient tower in response to Gwinnett County’s growing population.
The former Gwinnett Place Mall is undergoing a 20-year plan to become a major live, work and play destination.
Medina says he’s glad he ended up in Gwinnett County at the right time.
“All my kids are so happy. My wife is happy,” Medina said.
The Atlanta Regional Commission is working on projections long term for the county, but it shouldn’t be long until there are 1,000,000 people in Gwinnett County alone.