The bedroom communities in Sequatchie County, Tenn., and Catoosa County, Ga., led the region in the rate of population growth last year, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sequatchie County, the smallest county in the six-county Chattanooga metropolitan area, grew nearly 2.4 percent last year. Catoosa County in Georgia grew by nearly 2.2 percent from July 2006 to July 2007.
By comparison, Hamilton County, home of the city of Chattanooga, grew by a more modest 0.7 percent last year, census figures show.
“The American dream for many is still to move to the suburbs and have a single-family home with a yard, good schools and good quality of life,” University of Georgia demographer Doug Bachtel said today.
The new census report found that three of the nation’s 10 fastest growing counties — and 18 of the top 100 — were in Georgia last year. Most of those counties ring the city of Atlanta.
Despite the suburban population gains, 15 rural counties in Tennessee, including Polk and Grundy counties, lost population last year, according to the census bureau.
For complete coverage see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.
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