How Augusta’s growth compares to other metropolitan areas

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Augusta is the 69th fastest-growing metro area in the South, according to newly released Census Bureau figures.

The numbers show a growth rate of 2.82% between 2020 and 2023.

The Augusta metro area consists of Richmond, Columbia, Burke, McDuffie and Lincoln counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina, with a total population of a little over 629,000.

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The Census Bureau defines the South as Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

Coming in ahead of Augusta in growth in the two-state region are:

Myrtle Beach, S.C: 12.36%
Hinesville, Ga.: 8.85%
Spartanburg, S.C.: 7.51%
Hilton Head Island, S.C.: 7.17%
Gainesville, Ga.: 6.78%
Charleston, S.C.: 5.72%
Savannah, Ga.: 4.84%
Greenville, S.C: 4.8%
Warner Robins, Ga: 4.36%
Marietta, Ga. 3.73%
Columbia, S.C.: 3.39%
Atlanta, Ga.: 3.05%
Athens, Ga.: 2.94%

At the bottom of the list is Lake Charles, La., with a loss of 5.6%.

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The national picture

Counties in the U.S. South continued to grow last year, as those in the Northeast and Midwest lost population. Atlanta jumped two spots over Washington and Philadelphia to become the sixth most populous metro area. And Harris County, home to Houston, grew by more people than any U.S. county primarily due to births outpacing deaths.,

These are some of the findings from the 2023 population estimates the U.S. Census Bureau recently released Thursday.

The estimates show where people migrated to, if they moved domestically or from abroad, and where births outpaced deaths or vice versa.