Forecast: Coweta population to reach 225k by 2050 | News

Coweta County is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 51 percent between 2024 and 2050, well above the regional average growth rate of 30 percent.

The population growth will be driven by the economy, according to the ARC.

On Feb. 14, the ARC Board adopted a major update to the MTP, which allocates $168 billion through 2050 for transportation projects across the Atlanta region, including Coweta.

Diversity will drive the region’s growth. Virtually all the net growth will come from racial and ethnic minority groups. For example, Hispanic and Latino residents are forecast to account for 21 percent of the region’s population in 2050, compared to 12 percent today.

The region’s population of older adults will grow at a fast rate: In 2050, nearly 12 percent of the region’s population, or more than 900,000 people, will be aged 75 or older. That compares to a share of less than 5 percent today.

Growth will remain strong, but slower than previously forecast. The new 2050 population forecast is about 700,000 below what was forecast in the previous series adopted in 2020.

Driving the slower growth are declining fertility rates and a drop in “in-migration” – that is, people moving to metro Atlanta from other parts of the country or from abroad. Both of these trends accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fastest growth will occur in outer counties. The fastest-growing counties in the 21-county region through 2050 are forecast to be Forsyth (79 percent), Barrow (71 percent), Paulding (60 percent), and Cherokee (53 percent).

There should be strong growth in the…