About GeorgiaGO
Getting Started
a snapshot of the state 1
| 8.3 Million |
the population. 51% female and 49% male. During the decade of the 1990s, Georgia was the 6th fastest growing state on a percentage basis and the 4th fastest growing state on a numeric basis. |
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| 27% | percentage of the population under 18. 9% are 18-24 year olds. |
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| 29% |
Georgia has the 4th
highest percentage of African- Americans of any state.
percentage of the population who is African-American. Georgia
has the 5th largest number (2.2 million in 2000) and the 4th highest
percentage of African-Americans of any state (vs. US at 13%). Georgia has
historically had a large number and percentage of African-Americans, and
this population is continuing to increase due to four reasons: (1) more
African-Americans chose to stay in the state and are not leaving as in
previous decades (2) African-American women have higher birth rates than
white women (3) African-Americans who previously left the state are
returning to retire (4) African-Americans are moving from other states
because of the economy. Additionally, African-Americans are very
concentrated in Georgia: 53% live in seven counties: Fulton, DeKalb, Bibb,
Muscogee, Chatham, Richmond, and Cobb. Projections indicate that
African-Americans will number almost 3,000,000 in 2020, representing close
to 25% of the total population. |
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| 6% |
51% of Hispanics live in
four counties in Georgia percentage of the population who is
Hispanic. This number could be significantly larger (some estimates
double) because the census only records individuals who were counted by
census enumerators. 51% of the Hispanic population lives in four
metropolitan Atlanta counties (Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Cobb).
Suburban counties around major cities attract Hispanics because of
construction labor needs. In addition to these areas, agriculture’s
persistent need for seasonal workers attracts and retains large numbers of
Hispanics in rural areas. For example, central and northeast Georgia’s
orchard crops attract large numbers of Hispanics as do poultry processing
plants in Hall County and carpet manufacturers in Whitfield County.
Military counties such as Chattahoochee and Liberty also attract
Hispanics. |
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| $42,433 | median household income. $47,832 for whites, $30,998 for African-Americans. |
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| 5.4% | difference in unemployment rates between high school non-graduates (8.5% unemployment) and college graduates (3.1% unemployment)2 |
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| 2nd |
Georgia’s number of counties
is second only to Texas Georgia’s rank in number of counties.
Georgia has 159 and Texas leads the nation with 245 counties.
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| 40% |
Georgia’s 12th grade class
is 40% smaller than the 9th grade class four years earlier
The percentage decrease in the size of the 12th grade class
compared to the 9th grade class four years earlier.4 |
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| 32 | The number of students out of 100 who enter 9th grade and are likely to graduate from high school four years later and enroll in college within a year.5 |
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| $1.3 Million |
The additional income that can be earned over a lifetime if a bachelor’s degree is obtained vs. dropping out of high school6 |
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| $17.6 Billion |
The direct economic impact
of high school non-completion in Georgia is $17.6 B annually
The direct economic impact of high school noncompletion.7 |
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| 84 | The number of counties in Georgia where more than 30% of the adult population does not have a high school education.8 |
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| 24% | The percentage of the population 25 years and older who has a bachelor’s degree or higher.9 |
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| 45.3% | The percentage of public high school students who are minorities, 10th highest in the nation.10 |
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| 57.7% | College enrollment rate of recent high school graduates. Mississippi’s rate is 62.5%11 |
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| 32% | The projected growth rate between 1998 and 2008 for 147 occupations in Georgia that require a bachelor’s degree or higher, representing over 263,000 jobs12 |
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| 52% | The growth rate in the jobs requiring at least an associates degree between 1992 and 2000, while jobs requiring a high school education increased by 5%.13 |
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| 1 |
"Availability of skilled
labor" ranked #1 in corporate survey as a factor for moving a company to
an area The rank of a corporate survey in 2000, 2001, and
2002 of “availability of skilled labor” as a factor determining whether a
company would move to an area.14
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