Augusta finally has someone in Georgia it can stick its tongue out at when it comes to cities with population problems.
Columbus had the nation's largest population percentage decrease among cities with at least 100,000 from 2006 to 2007, according to U.S. Census data released today. Its population dropped by 2.5 percent, going from 191,840 to 187,046, with most of that attributed to changes in the military base population at Fort Benning.
Population growth in Richmond County, on the other hand, stayed virtually stagnant as it added only an estimated 31 residents from the survey period of July 1, 2006, to July 1, 2007. And it can thank its two smallest municipalities for that small uptick.
The consolidated city of Augusta-Richmond County actually lost an estimated 79 residents during the survey period, but that was offset by a combined population gain of 110 residents in Hephzibah and Blythe.
These two municipalities have been cushioning Richmond County's population fall since 2000. While the city of Augusta has lost 3,040 residents since the end of the 20th century, Hephzibah and Blythe have added 637 combined.
Robert Buchwitz, the chairman of the Hephzibah City Commission, said a number of new neighborhoods are springing up in the town and has prompted a moratorium on development while the group redraws its planning and development ordinance.
He added that the city of 4,434 is happy to keep the county's population numbers from looking too dismal.
"We're trying to carry Richmond County, little ol' Hephzibah," Mr. Buchwitz said. "You know we supplied the south end of Richmond County with water for a couple summers when they were running out. We're always glad to help."
Blythe Mayor Tom Cobb, whose city gained three residents from 2006 to 2007, said: "We're proud for our city, but we're not happy Augusta-Richmond County is going down."
The county's neighbors to the west and northeast, Columbia and Aiken counties, continued their slow, steady growth. Columbia County grew by 3.2 percent, while Aiken County showed a 1.4 percent growth during the survey period.
A closer look at the numbers show exactly where that growth is going.
In Columbia and Aiken, much of the population growth in the past seven years has been in the unincorporated areas outside the counties' cities and towns. Since 2000, Columbia County's population has increased by an estimated 19,812 residents, but only 1.4 percent of that total has been in Harlem and Grovetown.
In Aiken County, the city of Aiken saw the largest increase of residents from 2000 to 2007 with 3,881, but its unincorporated areas had the next largest at 3,279, surpassing that of the county's second-largest city, North Augusta.
Reach Mike Wynn at (706) 823-3218 or mike.wynn@augustachronicle.com.
TOTAL POPULATION (Including Blythe and Hephzibah)
2000 -- 199,775
2006 -- 197,341
2007 -- 197,372
CITY OF AUGUSTA- RICHMOND COUNTY (Excluding Blythe and Hephzibah)
2000 -- 195,182
2006 -- 192,221
2007 -- 192,142
BLYTHE
2000 -- 713
2006 -- 793
2007 -- 796
HEPHZIBAH
2000 -- 3,880
2006 -- 4,327
2007 -- 4,434
TOTAL POPULATION (Including Harlem and Grovetown)
2000 -- 89,288
2006 -- 105,655
2007 -- 109,100
UNINCORPORATED BALANCE OF COUNTY (Excluding Harlem and Grovetown)
2000 -- 81,385
2006 -- 95,829
2007 -- 98,457
GROVETOWN
2000 -- 6,089
2006 -- 8,045
2007 -- 8,744
HARLEM
2000 -- 1,814
2006 -- 1,781
2007 -- 1,899
NATIONAL NUMBERS
NEW ORLEANS --- New Orleans was the fastest-growing large city in the nation last year, but its population is still about half what it was before Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.
Between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, its population jumped 13.8 percent to 239,124.
MORE FINDINGS:
- Texas cities showed rapid growth: Houston added the most people, with 38,932 new residents; San Antonio, Fort Worth and Austin were among the top 10 in numerical increases.
- The consolidated metropolitan area of Nashville-Davidson County, Tenn., became the 25th largest city, with 590,807 residents. Washington, D.C., fell out of the top 25.
- Cleveland had the largest numerical decline in population over the latest year, losing 5,067 residents, followed by Columbus, Ga.; Baton Rouge, La.; Philadelphia and Baltimore.
- In 2007, New York remained the largest city with 8.3 million residents, followed by Los Angeles with 3.8 million and Chicago with 2.8 million.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Associated Press
TOTAL
2000 -- 142,552
2006 -- 150,220
2007 -- 152,307
UNINCORPORATED (Excluding the 10 cities and towns)
2000 -- 91,355
2006 -- 93,546
2007 -- 94,634
CITY OF AIKEN
2000 -- 25,337
2006 -- 28,670
2007 -- 29,218
BURNETTOWN
2000 -- 2,720
2006 -- 2,637
2007 -- 2,654
JACKSON
2000 -- 1,625
2006 -- 1,630
2007 -- 1,640
MONETTA (Part of the town is in Saluda County)
2000 -- 141
2006 -- 141
2006 -- 142
NEW ELLENTON
2000 -- 2,250
2006 -- 2,229
2007 -- 2,234
NORTH AUGUSTA
2000 -- 17,487
2006 -- 19,723
2007 -- 20,131
PERRY
2000 -- 237
2006 -- 237
2007 -- 238
SALLEY
2000 -- 410
2006 -- 410
2007 -- 412
WAGENER
2000 -- 863
2006 -- 868
2007 -- 873
WINDSOR
2000 -- 127
2006 -- 129
2007 -- 131
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Comments
Most of the drop for Columbus was due to the surge in Iraq. But Columbus will still likely surpass Augusta's population by the next census returning to its status of second largest city in Georgia. BRAC will be bringing about 35,000 new personnel to Fort Benning and the Columbus area, while Augusta's population stays stagnant.
When was Columbus the second largest city in Georgia?
Before 1996 when Augusta and Richmond County were 2 seperate entities, back then if I'm not mistaking Augusta only had a population of about 40,000-50,000 in the city limits before it consolidated with Richmond County.
Maybe the ones staying in Augusta are having illegitimate children faster than the smart ones moving out.
Tell me, why would someone that professes to hate the opposite race move directly in the middle of the people they hate the mosts? I certainly would not. They just end up ignoring each other because they don't seem to have anything in common, what kind of life is that?
Columbus will not bypass Augusta as the second largest city in GA anytime soon. The real number looked at is the MSA. Augusta has 500,000 while Columbus has 300,000.
I said they're building alot of upper middle class neighborhoods in the hephzibah area. I glad to see blythe adding residents too. Actually augusta msa is 530,000 while columbus is 290,000. But city populations columbus might pass because of all the new soldiers coming to columbus because of brac. Or not because most of them have already came to columbus. Reality with the statement who must stay in evans. Typical suburban snobbery. Why would i move out of richmond county if i like living there.
I hope to move out of Richmond County 30906 as soon as my children graduate, if more isn't done to support the police department's fight against crime in the area. There are too many unsolved cold cases. The number of solved RECENT cases gives me hope to stay, but the amount of continuing crime tugs me to go and to talk the rest of my family into leaving their Richmond County homes, too. I doubt my children are planning a future in Richmond County based on what they went through growing up here. We are thankful they had a good school to go to, but they weren't able to really enjoy the first two neighborhoods we lived in in 30906 because of crime, harassment and straying aggressive dogs. We have lived in a fairly nice neighborhood for the last 2 years, but it has a few pockets of decay, too, that are worrisome.
Columbus will pass Augusta in city population in 2010, and metro population everntually. Columbus is just exploding with jobs compared to Augusta. Auburn/Opelika, which is 20-25 miles west, is not in the Columbus MSA yet because it is its own metro. However, more and more people continue to move to southern Lee County, Alabama, which is right across the Chattahoochee from Columbus. Those people work in Columbus. Lee County has 130,000 people and is one of the fastest growing places in the south. Once that is included in Columbus' MSA, it will soon pass Augusta. Disgusta doesn't compare to what Columbus is becoming.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
