The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency for the 10-county Atlanta area, including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties, as well as the City of Atlanta.
ARC also produces and collects data for a larger, 20-county area for air quality purposes. These include the 10 counties above, plus Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Coweta, Forsyth, Hall, Newton, Paulding, Spalding and Walton counties.
So, the Atlanta region is defined in many different ways. This map (PDF) may help clear things up.
New Report! Cities and Towns: 2010 Yearbook of Growth and Change ARC's newly released 2010 Cities and Towns report (PDF, 6.4 MB) uses 2010 Census data to examine city population growth, race and ethnicity changes and annexation trends in the 10-county Atlanta region.
ARC's 2009 Cities and Towns report (PDF, 8MB) details population, financial and employment trends for cities in the 10-county Atlanta region.
New! ARC's 2011 Population Estimates
ARC's recently-released popualtion estimates show the region added 34,550 new residents between April 1, 2010 and April 1, 2011. This growth is dramatically slower than what the Atlanta region is accustomed to as the anemic national economy continues to take its toll on the region's growth. Read the Regional Snapshot (PDF) for more information. Interested in more population data? Please go to the population and housing data page for more information, including recently-released data from the 2010 Census.
ARC’s 2009 Employment Estimates
Go to the employment data page to learn more about ARC's 2009 employment estimates. Not only do they include small-area estimates for the 20-county region by job type. Interested in just the data? Click the following link to download ARC's 2009 employment estimates:
- Data Tables (XLS) - for the 20-county area
ARC's Latest Forecasts for Population and Employment (to 2040)
ARC's newly-released population and employment forecasts show continued strong growth for the 20-county Atlanta region. What does ARC expect in the future? Find out on our new forecast page!
Archival Data: E6 Forecasts Done in 2006
Interested in more information about metro Atlanta? Try these Census profiles on the 28-County Metropolitan Statistical Area: (Source: 2008 American Community Survey, 1-year)