A change in scenery was needed, so when Mr. McCalla's employer took over the contract at the Savannah River Site, the couple headed South.

They're not alone.

According to a U.S. Census Bureau report released today, Georgia ranks fifth in the nation in black population, with 2.3 million residents, and fourth in percentage, with 29.2 percent. America's black population is 36.4 million, or 12.9 percent.

New York has the most black residents - 3.2 million - and ranks 10th in percentage of total population.

Some of the growth in black population has been local.

The number of black residents in Richmond County increased by 19,752, or 13 percent, between 1990 and 2000. Simultaneously, the white population declined by 13,600, or 24.8 percent.

One reason the Peach State is deemed attractive for many blacks is because of its reputation for providing job opportunities, says former Augusta Mayor Ed McIntyre.

''I think that Georgia itself is one of the most progressive states in the nation,'' said Mr. McIntyre, adding that newcomers consider Georgia to be a location where the environment is healthy.

''The atmosphere is, if you come and work hard, you'll get ahead,'' said Mr. McIntyre, who was the city's first and only black mayor, serving from 1982 to 1984.

Eleven years after their move, the McCallas don't regret packing up their young family and making the trip down Interstate 77 South.

Before moving to Evans in February 1990, Mr. McCalla was an engineer with corporate Westinghouse in suburban Pittsburgh. After four years, he and his wife were ready to migrate South. A rise in crime, coupled with what they describe as cliquish neighborhood environs, made the McCallas amenable to relocation.

''It was really about our children,'' said Mrs. McCalla, formerly a TV station accountant who switched careers and earned a culinary arts degree from Augusta Technical College. ''Because we're both from urban communities (he's from Philadelphia; she's from Cincinnati), we knew firsthand that Augusta would be a good place for the kids,'' she said.

The McCallas have two children: Janean, 22, a senior at Clark-Atlanta University with an architectural major; and Clinton Jr., 18, a 2001 Evans High graduate set to attend Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, S.C., to study culinary arts.

The growth in black population in Richmond County, and the decrease in whites, also can be attributed to what is referred to as ''white flight'' - white residents leaving the cities for the suburbs, said Doug Bachtel, a demographer at the University of Georgia in Athens.

''In all the states' second-tier cities, you've got white flight,'' he said.

Dr. Bachtel said whites tend to leave because of ''real and perceived problems in school districts.''

He also said the large black population in Georgia is partly a result of its history, what with the state's role in the pre-Civil War slave trade and its agrarian economy.

''Georgia has historically had a high African-American population because of its location,'' he said. ''This is plantation-cotton country.''

Among the factors contributing to the growth:

Blacks are no longer leaving the state.

Blacks have higher birth rates than whites.

Blacks who left the state have returned to retire.

Georgia has more job opportunities than many states.

''Sixty percent of growth in the 1990s was people coming back in,'' Dr. Bachtel said.

The McCallas have no plans to leave Augusta.

Mr. McCalla is still with Westinghouse, and he and his wife opened a restaurant, Jackie M's Catering, in January.

Their specialty?

Authentic Philly cheese steaks served in the slower, warmer climes of the South.

''Overall, Augusta has a nice pace for us.''

Reach Timothy Cox at (706) 823-3340 or Rebecca Whitehead at (706) 823-3340.