VOLUME 65, NUMBER 1
•
THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
•
FIRST QUARTER 2005
Still growing...growing...growing
Beata D. Kochut
Ian Armit
In 2000 the Office of Management and Budget announced
new guidelines for defining metropolitan areas. At the center
of the new definitions is the concept of the Core Based
Statistical Area (CBSA), defined as a county or
group of counties associated with an urban core
of at least 10,000 population by a “high degree
of social and economic integration, as measured
through commuting ties.” An employment
interchange between the urban area and a
surrounding county has to reach at least 25
percent for the county to be classified as a part of the Core
Based Statistical Area.
The definitions divide the CBSA into two groups, based
on the size of the urban core: Metropolitan Areas are centered
around a core of at least 50,000 inhabitants, whereas
Micropolitan Areas are centered around clusters of at least
10,000 population. Core Based Statistical Areas can be
grouped together, based on economic ties, into Combined
Statistical Areas (two or more Core Based Statistical Areas
with employment interchange of at least 15 percent).
Overview
According to the most recent Metropolitan Statistical
Area definitions, 70 counties in Georgia have qualified as
parts of the 15 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and 28 counties
qualified as parts of the 22 Micropolitan Statistical Areas.
The number of MSAs in Georgia almost doubled between
1990 and 2000, fromeight metro areas in 1990 to 15 in 2000.
The number of metropolitan counties climbed from 42 in the
1990s to 70 in 2000. In 2003, over 90 percent of Georgia’s
population lived in Core Based Statistical Areas
(over 80 percent, or 6,973,801 people in metro,
and over 10 percent or 871,784 people in micro
areas), and only 9.7 percent (839,130) lived in
non- Core Based Statistical Areas.
Core Based Statistical Areas are most
concentrated across the northern stretch of the
state, especially in the northwestern quarter, where most of
the counties are classified as parts of either metropolitan or
micropolitan areas. The Chattanooga and Atlanta Combined
Statistical Areas span across state borders, and, together with
the Dalton and Rome metro areas sandwiched between them,
form an uninterrupted string of metropolitan area counties
stretching from Athens and Gainesville into Tennessee and
Alabama.
In eastern Georgia, the Augusta MSA is separated from
the contiguous metro areas of Savannah, Fort Stewart, and
Brunswick by just one rural county. The five-county Savannah
and Hinesville-Fort Stewart MSAs noware classified as a
Combined Statistical Area, in place of just three counties
(Bryan, Chatham and Effingham) that were classified as
metro counties in 1990. Directly south, and adjacent to the
Savannah-Hinesville-Fort Stewart Combined Statistical Area,
three more counties have qualified as metro counties, and
now constitute the Brunswick Metropolitan Area.
2
West from Brunswick, the string of micropolitan
statistical areas of Jesup, Waycross, Douglas, Fitzgerald,
Tifton, Moultrie, and Thomasville roughly follows the South
Georgia Parkway and connects to the new Valdosta
Metropolitan Area in the center of the state’s southern edge,
and to the Albany MSA. Most of these micropolitan areas
experienced a population increase of at least 13 percent in the
last decade. The Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area
connects the Albany and Columbus MSAs, which, in turn
touches the southern edge of the Atlanta MSA; and only one
rural county separates it from the Macon-Warner RobinsFort Valley Combined Statistical Area to the east.
Although metropolitan area designation is related to the
urban-rural classification, the two are not equivalent. In fact,
metropolitan counties clustered around urban areas may
themselves be rural, or suburban with large rural areas.
Moreover, many metropolitan areas contain relatively small
urban clusters and much larger rural areas that are bound to
the urban core by commuting patterns. Metropolitan county
designation may point both to the economic vitality of the
urban core, but also to the lack of employment opportunities
in the county itself.
GEORGIA BUSINESS AND
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
First Quarter 2005
Volume 65, number 1
SELIG CENTER FOR
ECONOMIC GROWTH
P. George Benson
Dean
Jeffrey M. Humphreys
Director
Lorena M. Akioka
Editor
Beata D. Kochut
Research Coordinator
Ian Armit
Information Analyst
GEORGIA BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
(ISSN 0297-3857) is published quarterly by the Simon S.
Selig, Jr. Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of
Business, The University of Georgia, as a service to the
business and academic communities. Signed articles reflect
the author’s opinion but not necessarily those of the Selig
Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business , or
The University of Georgia. This publication is sent free of
charge upon request.
Manuscripts and letters to the Editor should be sent directly
to us. Postmaster send address changes to: Selig Center
for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-6269.
Periodicals postage paid at Athens, Georgia
As metropolitan area designations tie together
demographic and economic patterns, they reveal the outlines
of fast growing areas, which derive their economic vitality
from a significant degree of integration with urban cores.
With at least 25 percent of employment interchange with a
core county, and a generally accepted multiplier effect of 2
to 3 jobs created by any one job in the metropolitan county,
over 50 percent of income in metropolitan counties stems
from the integration with surrounding areas.
Population
Georgia’s metropolitan areas, Atlanta is, by
A mong
far, the most populous and the most densely populated.
The 28-county metro area had 4,610,032 inhabitants
in 2003, and registered a 7.7 percent increase from 2000.
Georgia’s portion of the Augusta MSA is the second largest
metropolitan area in the state, with the 2003 population of
340,048 (growth of 2.1 percent). Savannah’s, Columbus’s,
and Macon’s populations ranged from 304,325 to 226,022
(Savannah’s growth at 3.8 percent, Columbus at 2.4 percent,
and Macon at 1.6 percent). Athens, Albany, Gainesville,
Chattanooga, Dalton, Valdosta, and Warner Robins ranged
from 172,232 (Athens) to 120,434 (Warner Robins). But the
sharpest growth among the state’s metropolitan areas occurred
in the single-county MSA of Gainesville, which increased its
population by 10.8 percent in the last two years. Warner
Robins and Dalton also grew quickly: jumping by 8.2 and 5.3
percent, respectively, the second and third fastest population
growth among the state’s MSAs. Athens increased by 3.3
percent while Albany, and Valdosta grew by 2.1 percent
each. Brunswick, Rome, and Hinesville-Fort Stewart all
have populations under 100,000. Brunswick and Rome
increased their populations by 3.3 and 2.8 percent,
respectively, while the number of people in the HinesvilleFort Stewart MSA dropped by 2.8 percent.
Among the metropolitan counties, Henry and Newton in
the southeast, and Forsyth, Cherokee, Pickens, and Paulding
in the north and northwest of the Atlanta MSA saw the fastest
population growth, ranging from 23.3 percent in Henry
County to 15.1 percent in Pickens County. Barrow and
Dawson were also growing fast, with 14.9 percent and 14.1
percent increase, respectively. Chattahoochee County
(Columbus MSA) and Lee County (Albany MSA) belonged
to the fastest growing MSA counties in the state, with the
2000-2003 rate of growth of 29 percent and 14.1 percent,
respectively. In contrast to the fast growing Lee County,
however, Albany’s Terrell, Worth, and Dougherty counties
lost population between 2000 and 2003.
Although population in Georgia was historically
characterized as mostly white, with a large black minority,
the ethnic composition of the state’s population is undergoing
significant changes. Most notably, Georgia, and its
continued on page 7
Georgia Business and Economic Conditions
3
Georgia's Metropolitan Statistical Areas (2000 definition)
New MSA counties (2000 Census) (29)
Existing MSA counties (40)
0
20
40
60
277
Ì
Î
Í
Miles
Î
Í
ÌÌ
Î
Í
Î
Í
Ì
85
124
24N
24
Ì
Î
Í
Ì
Î
Í
85F
585
TOWNS
Dalton
CATOOSA
DADE
Chattanooga
FANNIN
RABUN
UNION
WHITFIELD MURRAY
185
Ì
Î
Í
WALKER
59
Ì
Î
Í
77
Ì
Î
Í
GILMER
75
Ì
Î
Í
WHITE HABERSHAM
LUMPKIN
385
Ì
Î
Í
STEPHENS
GORDON
CHATTOOGA
PICKENS
FLOYD
DAWSON
575
Ì
Î
Í
Rome
Î Í
Í
Ì
85
Ì
Î
FORSYTH
26
Ì
Î
Í
JACKSON
POLK
MADISON
ELBERT
26N
126
Ì
Î
Í
Î
Í
Ì
Athens
BARROW
GWINNETT
COBB
HART
985
Atlanta
PAULDING
FRANKLIN
BANKS
HALL
CHEROKEE
BARTOW
Gainesville
CLARKE
OGLETHORPE
OCONEE
HARALSON
FULTON
DEKALB
Ì
Î
Í
Î
Í
Ì
285
675
DOUGLAS
20
Ì
Î
Í
CARROLL
20
Ì
Î
Í
ROCKDALE
20
Ì
Î
Í
MORGAN
NEWTON
CLAYTON
GREENE
TALIAFERRO
COLUMBIA
MCDUFFIE
HENRY
FAYETTE
520
Ì
Î
Í
WARREN
RICHMOND
COWETA
HEARD
85
Ì
Î
Í
185
Î
Í
Ì
HANCOCK
LAMAR
75
BALDWIN
Macon
Î
Í
Ì
WASHINGTON
475
BIBB
WILKINSON
JOHNSON
16
Ì
Î
Í
TWIGGS
PEACH
TAYLOR
95
Ì
Î
Í
JENKINS
SCREVEN
CRAWFORD
TALBOT
Columbus
BURKE
JEFFERSON
JONES
MONROE
UPSON
HARRIS
Augusta
GLASCOCK
Î
Í
Ì
PIKE
MERIWETHER
PUTNAM
JASPER
BUTTS
SPALDING
TROUP
LINCOLN
WILKES
WALTON
EMANUEL
MUSCOGEE
HOUSTON
MACON
CHATTAHOOCHEEMARION
Warner-Robins
SCHLEY
BLECKLEY
WEBSTER
TREUTLEN
CANDLER
BULLOCH
PULASKI
MONTGOMERY
TOOMBS
WHEELER
DODGE
DOOLY
STEWART
LAURENS
EVANS
EFFINGHAM
Savannah
TATTNALL
SUMTER
BRYAN
WILCOX
TELFAIR
CRISP
Hinesville-Fort Stewart
QUITMAN
RANDOLPH
TERRELL
BEN HILL
DOUGHERTY
CALHOUN
LONG
APPLING
TURNER
Albany
CLAY
LIBERTY
JEFF DAVIS
LEE
IRWIN
WORTH
COFFEE
BACON
WAYNE
MCINTOSH
TIFT
PIERCE
BAKER
EARLY
BERRIEN
MITCHELL
MILLER
GLYNN
COLQUITT
BRANTLEY
COOK
WARE
LANIER
SEMINOLE
DECATUR
95
Ì
Î
Í
CAMDEN
CLINCH
GRADY
THOMAS
BROOKS
LOWNDES
Valdosta
10
Ì
Î
Í
Brunswick
ATKINSON
GEORGIA
CHARLTON
Î
Í
Ì
75
ECHOLS
Î
Í
Ì
First Quarter 2005
16
516
Ì
Î
Í
Î
Í
Ì
CHATHAM
4
Table 1
Georgia’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Population by Race
and Hispanic Origin, 2003, July Estimates
Albany
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
79,351
79,288
416
1,181
30
838
159,099
2,005
161,104
Athens-Clarke County
Percent of Total
49.3
49.2
0.3
0.7
0.0
0.5
98.8
1.2
100.0
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
3,025,383
1,346,977
13,926
169,377
2,399
51,970
4,257,021
353,011
4,610,032
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
72,126
22,620
246
503
20
780
93,714
2,581
96,295
76.8
19.8
0.2
2.2
0.0
0.9
94.4
5.6
100.0
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
Brunswick
2003
132,231
34,167
389
3,768
65
1,612
162,668
9,564
172,232
Augusta-Richmond County
Percent of Total
65.6
29.2
0.3
3.7
0.1
1.1
92.3
7.7
100.0
Percent of Total
Percent of Total
195,678
131,890
990
6,367
369
4,754
332,620
7,428
340,048
57.5
38.8
0.3
1.9
0.1
1.4
97.8
2.2
100.0
Chattanooga
Percent of Total
74.9
23.5
0.3
0.5
0.0
0.8
97.3
2.7
100.0
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
131,181
3,104
438
807
8
1,041
135,134
1,445
136,579
Percent of Total
96.0
2.3
0.3
0.6
0.0
0.8
98.9
1.1
100.0
(continued)
Georgia Business and Economic Conditions
5
Table 1 (Continued)
Georgia’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Population by Race
and Hispanic Origin, 2003, July Estimates
Columbus
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
134,279
94,809
1,051
3,774
520
3,663
229,078
9,018
238,096
Dalton
Percent of Total
56.4
39.8
0.4
1.6
0.2
1.5
96.2
3.8
100.0
Gainesville
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
141,008
10,746
588
2,182
543
1,034
120,775
35,326
156,101
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
126,699
95,174
505
2,274
19
1,351
223,019
3,003
226,022
95.0
2.8
0.4
0.8
0.1
0.8
80.0
20.0
100.0
Hinesville-Fort Stewart
Percent of Total
90.3
6.9
0.4
1.4
0.3
0.7
77.4
22.6
100.0
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
Macon
2003
120,961
3,528
544
1,072
111
1,063
101,803
25,476
127,279
Percent of Total
38,642
26,882
472
1,327
336
2,046
65,239
4,466
69,705
Percent of Total
55.4
38.6
0.7
1.9
0.5
2.9
93.6
6.4
100.0
Rome
Percent of Total
56.1
42.1
0.2
1.0
0.0
0.6
98.7
1.3
100.0
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
78,898
12,344
303
966
180
677
87,324
6,044
93,368
Percent of Total
84.5
13.2
0.3
1.0
0.2
0.7
93.5
6.5
100.0
(continued)
First Quarter 2005
6
Table 1 (Continued)
Georgia’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Population by Race
and Hispanic Origin, 2003, July Estimates
Savannah
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
190,410
104,551
892
5,025
191
3,256
298,325
6,000
304,325
Valdosta
Percent of Total
62.6
34.4
0.3
1.7
0.1
1.1
98.0
2.0
100.0
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
Warner Robins
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
85,787
30,116
425
2,166
105
1,835
116,883
3,551
120,434
79,387
39,769
549
1,242
46
1,188
118,480
3,701
122,181
Percent of Total
65.0
32.5
0.4
1.0
0.0
1.0
97.0
3.0
100.0
Georgia
Percent of Total
71.2
25.0
0.4
1.8
0.1
1.5
97.1
2.9
100.0
2003
White
Black
American Indian
Asian
Native Hawaiian
Multiracial
Non Hispanic
Hispanic
Total
5,858,716
2,496,525
26,583
211,589
6,222
85,080
8,143,592
541,123
8,684,715
Percent of Total
67.5
28.7
0.3
2.4
0.1
1.0
93.8
6.2
100.0
Note: MSA totals compiled from county data by the Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business,
The University of Georgia, and include Georgia parts of MSAs only.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates.
Georgia Business and Economic Conditions
7
Table 2
Population of Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Areas, In Order
of Population Size, 2000, 2003
MSA
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta
Augusta-Richmond County
Savannah
Columbus
Macon
Athens-Clarke County
Albany
Gainesville
Chattanooga
Dalton
Valdosta
Warner Robins
Brunswick
Rome
Hinesville-Fort Stewart
2000
4,281,967
332,947
293,314
232,464
222,407
166,767
157,743
140,875
129,970
120,899
119,659
111,309
93,259
90,795
71,721
2003
2000-2003
Percent Change
4,610,032
340,048
304,325
238,096
226,022
172,232
161,104
156,101
136,579
127,279
122,181
120,434
96,295
93,368
69,705
7.7
2.1
3.8
2.4
1.6
3.3
2.1
10.8
5.1
5.3
2.1
8.2
3.3
2.8
-2.8
Note: MSA totals compiled from county data by the Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business,
The University of Georgia, and include Georgia parts of MSAs only.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Population Estimates.
metropolitan areas, has one of the largest and fastest growing
Hispanic populations in the country. In addition, while still
relatively small, the Asian population has become the third
largest population group in Georgia.
Albany, Columbus, Augusta, and Hinesville have the
largest black population among Georgia’s metropolitan areas,
ranging from 49.2 percent of total population in Albany to
38.6 percent in Hinesville. In the northwest metropolitan
counties, the black population makes up less than 3 percent
of the total in Chattanooga and Dalton, and 6.9 percent in
Gainesville. Dalton and Gainesville, however, have the
state’s largest percentages of Hispanic population (22.6
percent of the total in Gainesville and 20 percent in Dalton).
Atlanta and Athens, on the other hand, have the largest
concentration of Asians, almost 4 percent in Atlanta, and
over 2 percent in Athens.
Labor Force and Unemployment
labor force of 2,501,514 accounts for more
A tlanta’s
than half of the labor force in Georgia in 2003.
Georgia’s portion of the Augusta MSA has the
second largest labor force, (150,298) followed closely by
Savannah’s 149,022. The Savannah-Hinesville-Fort Stewart
First Quarter 2005
Combined Statistical Area, however, has a labor force of
173,574, second only to Atlanta. Columbus and Macon each
have a labor force of over 106,000. Both are centers of
combined statistical areas. Athens, Gainesville, Albany,
Chattanooga (Georgia portion only), and Dalton range from
86,841 (Athens) to 70,072 (Dalton), while Valdosta, Warner
Robins, Brunswick and Rome fall within the range of 60,695
to 48,176.
Unemployment rates fell in all of metropolitan areas in
Georgia in 2003. For the second consecutive year, Albany’s
5.1 percent unemployment was the highest among the state’s
metropolitan areas. Albany’s unemployment rate fell to 4.6
percent between January and September 2004. Augusta
followed Albany with a 5 percent unemployment rate in
2003, and a 4.8 percent average in 2004. On the other end of
the scale, Athens, Valdosta, and Warner Robins all had
unemployment rates of about 3 percent in 2003. In the first
nine months of 2004, these rates dropped to 2.8 percent in
Athens, 2.4 percent in Valdosta, and to 2.9 percent in Warner
Robins. Dalton, Gainesville, and Savannah all had 2003
unemployment rates below 4 percent (Dalton and Gainesville
at 3.5 percent each, and Savannah at 3.9 percent). Between
January and September of 2004, the average unemployment
rate in Dalton dropped to 2.8 percent, in Gainesville to 3
8
percent, and in Savannah to 3.5 percent. In the middle of the
scale, unemployment rates in Brunswick, Rome, and Macon
averaged from 4 to 4.4 percent in 2003. In 2004, Brunswick’s
unemployment dropped to 3.5 percent, Rome’s averaged 3.8
percent, and Macon’s 4.1 percent. Unemployment rates in
Columbus, Atlanta, and Hinesville fell just under 5 percent
in 2003 (Columbus stood at 4.8 percent, and Atlanta and
Hinesville at 4.9 percent each). In the first nine months of
2004, the average unemployment was down in all of these
areas (Columbus at 4.3 percent, Atlanta with 4.1 percent, and
Hinesville at 4.7 percent).
In 2003, 14 of Atlanta’s 28 metropolitan counties
registered unemployment rates at or below the state’s average
level, but unemployment levels in several metro Atlanta
counties averaged between 5.8 and 6.8 percent, a full
percentage point or more above the state average (the populous
Clayton and Fulton counties in the center of Atlanta, and
Meriwether and Lamar counties on the outskirts, among
them). The Georgia portion of the Augusta MSA also exceeded
the state’s average with an unemployment rate of 5 percent,
the second highest in the state.
Income and Earnings
surprisingly, metro Atlanta’s per capita personal
N otincome
(PCPI), or the portion of the area’s total
income averaged by one person, surpasses the state’s
average. Atlanta’s 2002 PCPI of $33,257 exceeds the average
PCPI of $30,563 in Georgia’s metropolitan areas, towers
over the state average of $28,821, and totally overshadows
the state’s non-metropolitan counties’ average of $21,781.
Among metropolitan areas, Savannah’s, Macon’s, and
Brunswick’s PCPI ($28,054, $27,635, and $27,409
respectively) fall slightly below the state’s average.
Columbus, Warner Robins, Augusta, Rome and Gainesville
fall within the $25,040-to-$25,899 range, while Dalton and
Athens registered PCPI of $24,609 and $24,171, respectively.
The 2003 PCPI in Valdosta, Albany, and Hinesville ranged
between $23,059 (Valdosta) and $17,919 (Hinesville), much
closer to—or actually below—the non-metro average of
$21,781.
On the other hand, smaller metropolitan areas saw their
per capita income increase between 2001 and 2002, with the
steepest gains registered in Valdosta and Albany (6.2 percent
and 4.4 percent increase, respectively), while Atlanta’s PCPI
actually decreased by 0.5 percent. Compared to other MSAs
in Georgia, the largest portion of personal income in Atlanta
comes from earnings, and far less is provided by government;
therefore, the area’s income responds quickly to the
employment market’s ups and downs. Relatively rapid
population growth, paired with relatively high unemployment,
also helps explain the drop in the area’s per capita income.
The situation is likely to improve, however, with metro
Atlanta’s unemployment rates falling from 5.3 percent in
2002 to 4.9 in 2003, and an average of 4.1 percent in the first
nine months of 2004. This is good news for Atlanta, which
comprises over a half of the state’s population and labor
force.
Atlanta’s earnings are remarkably evenly distributed
among several large sectors, with a relatively small
government sector providing 12 percent of earnings, and
professional and technical services, trade, manufacturing,
information, and financial services each providing between
7 and 11 percent. All of these sectors were especially
vulnerable during the post-2001 economic slowdown, and,
except for professional services and information, were still
losing jobs between August of 2003 and August 2004. The
number of jobs in health care, which provides 7 percent of
jobs in Atlanta, increased by 2.3 percent, however.
Albany, Athens, Macon, Rome, and Savannah are
characterized by a large portion of earnings provided by the
government, manufacturing, and health care sectors, with
Rome distinguished among this group by large portions of
earnings provided by manufacturing and health service sectors
(27 and 17 percent, respectively). Rome’s PCPI of $25,337
ranks eighth among the 15 Georgia’s MSAs, and its
unemployment level is below the state average.
Manufacturing wages per job also are relatively high here.
Compared to other MSAs, Rome derives the second largest
portion of its personal income from transfer payments, which
consist mainly of medical benefits (Medicare), income
maintenance payments (such as family assistance and food
stamps), general assistance benefits to low-income families,
unemployment insurance benefits, veterans’ benefits, and
other government and business payments to individuals and
nonprofit organizations.
The Athens MSA derives 33 percent of its earnings from
government employment (University of Georgia). Its
relatively low PCPI ranks eleventh among the metropolitan
areas, but the area enjoys consistently low unemployment—
3 percent average in 2003, and 2.8 percent in the first nine
months of 2004. Personal Income in Athens includes a
relatively large portion provided by dividends, interest, and
rent, which include payments by retirement plans, and other
investment and property income. The portion provided by
transfer payments is relatively low. Albany, on the other
hand, ranks thirteenth in per capita personal income,
consistently has the highest unemployment rates among
Georgia’s metropolitan areas, and derives over 20 percent of
income from transfer payments.
In contrast, Macon’s and Savannah’s PCPIs rank second
and third, respectively, among Georgia’s MSAs, and their
unemployment rates fall well below the state average. The
portions of earnings derived from manufacturing in Macon
and Savannah are the highest among the state’s MSAs, and
the dividends, interest, and rent portion of personal income
in Savannah is the second highest.
Warner Robins and Hinesville are notable because over
half of their metropolitan area’s earnings provided by
government—80 percent and 61 percent, respectively. In
continued on page 18
Georgia Business and Economic Conditions
9
Table 3
Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment
in Georgia’s Metropolitan Areas, 2003
MSA
County
Labor Force
Employment
Number
Unemployment
Rate
Rank*
Albany
Baker County
Dougherty County
Lee County
Terrell County
Worth County
MSA Total
1,707
43,724
13,786
4,093
9,722
73,032
1,629
41,262
13,373
3,809
9,231
69,304
78
2,462
413
284
491
3,728
4.6
5.6
3.0
6.9
5.1
5.1
32
13
63
3
25
1
Athens-Clarke County
Clarke County
Madison County
Oconee County
Oglethorpe County
MSA Total
51,327
14,045
14,554
6,915
86,841
49,758
13,535
14,275
6,646
84,214
1,569
510
279
269
2,627
3.1
3.6
1.9
3.9
3.0
61
48
70
46
14
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta
Barrow County
25,035
Bartow County
42,687
Butts County
9,800
Carroll County
47,846
Cherokee County
88,446
Clayton County
142,733
Cobb County
383,262
Coweta County
48,663
Dawson County
11,476
DeKalb County
392,478
Douglas County
54,380
Fayette County
50,721
Forsyth County
63,722
Fulton County
431,182
Gwinnett County
389,991
Haralson County
10,775
Heard County
5,242
Henry County
74,722
Jasper County
5,390
Lamar County
6,612
Meriwether County
9,360
Newton County
34,720
Paulding County
48,795
Pickens County
12,942
Pike County
8,195
Rockdale County
40,423
Spalding County
29,172
Walton County
32,744
MSA Total
2,501,514
23,754
40,341
9,348
45,313
84,963
134,182
367,306
46,414
11,133
370,709
51,785
49,163
61,549
406,260
374,072
10,210
4,949
71,571
5,094
6,193
8,722
32,736
46,804
12,399
7,812
38,573
27,219
31,372
2,379,946
1,281
2,346
452
2,533
3,483
8,551
15,956
2,249
343
21,769
2,595
1,558
2,173
24,922
15,919
565
293
3,151
296
419
638
1,984
1,991
543
383
1,850
1,953
1,372
121,568
5.1
5.5
4.6
5.3
3.9
6.0
4.2
4.6
3.0
5.5
4.8
3.1
3.4
5.8
4.1
5.2
5.6
4.2
5.5
6.3
6.8
5.7
4.1
4.2
4.7
4.6
6.7
4.2
4.9
24
16
30
21
45
9
40
29
64
15
27
58
53
11
43
22
14
37
17
7
4
12
44
38
28
31
6
39
4
(continued)
First Quarter 2005
10
Table 3 (Continued)
Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment
in Georgia’s Metropolitan Areas, 2003
MSA
County
Labor Force
Augusta-Richmond County
Burke County
9,463
Columbia County
46,609
McDuffie County
9,779
Richmond County
84,447
MSA Total
150,298
Employment
Number
Unemployment
Rate
8,484
45,276
9,119
79,877
142,756
979
1,333
660
4,570
7,542
10.3
2.9
6.7
5.4
5.0
1
66
5
18
2
Rank*
Brunswick
Brantley County
Glynn County
McIntosh County
MSA Total
7,167
36,657
5,079
48,903
6,746
35,358
4,856
46,960
421
1,299
223
1,943
5.9
3.5
4.4
4.0
10
49
34
8
Chattanooga
Catoosa County
Dade County
Walker County
MSA Total
30,250
7,940
32,209
70,399
29,463
7,660
31,099
68,222
787
280
1,110
2,177
2.6
3.5
3.4
3.1
68
50
52
12
Columbus
Chattahoochee County
2,307
Harris County
13,742
Marion County
2,859
Muscogee County
89,672
MSA Total
108,580
2,132
13,304
2,679
85,248
103,363
175
438
180
4,424
5,217
7.6
3.2
6.3
4.9
4.8
2
56
8
26
5
Dalton
Murray County
Whitfield County
MSA Total
19,028
51,044
70,072
18,222
49,391
67,613
806
1,653
2,459
4.2
3.2
3.5
36
55
11
Gainesville
Hall County
MSA Total
80,368
80,368
77,536
77,536
2,832
2,832
3.5
3.5
51
10
Hinesville-Fort Stewart
Liberty County
Long County
MSA Total
19,529
5,023
24,552
18,480
4,870
23,350
1,049
153
1,202
5.4
3.0
4.9
20
62
3
74,848
6,378
13,069
7,997
4,508
106,800
71,556
6,116
12,636
7,567
4,275
102,150
3,292
262
433
430
233
4,650
4.4
4.1
3.3
5.4
5.2
4.4
33
41
54
19
23
6
Macon
Bibb County
Crawford County
Jones County
Monroe County
Twiggs County
MSA Total
(continued)
Georgia Business and Economic Conditions
11
Table 3 (Continued)
Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment
in Georgia’s Metropolitan Areas, 2003
MSA
County
Rome
Floyd County
MSA Total
Labor Force
Employment
Number
Unemployment
Rate
Rank*
48,176
48,176
46,086
46,086
2,090
2,090
4.3
4.3
35
7
Savannah
Bryan County
Chatham County
Effingham County
MSA Total
12,207
115,990
20,825
149,022
11,825
111,252
20,066
143,143
382
4,738
759
5,879
3.1
4.1
3.6
3.9
57
42
47
9
Valdosta
Brooks County
Echols County
Lanier County
Lowndes County
MSA Total
7,800
1,905
3,690
47,300
60,695
7,576
1,858
3,588
45,853
58,875
224
47
102
1,447
1,820
2.9
2.5
2.8
3.1
3.0
65
69
67
60
15
Warner Robins
Houston County
MSA Total
58,123
58,123
56,340
56,340
1,783
1,783
3.1
3.1
59
13
4,414,014
4,206,823
207,191
4.7
Georgia
Note: MSA totals compiled from county data by the Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business,
The University of Georgia.
*Rank among the 78 counties, which are parts of metropolitan areas. MSA Total rank refers to the 15 Metropolitan
Statistical Areas in Georgia, Georgia Parts only.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003.
First Quarter 2005
12
Power Source Upgrade
The Multicultural Economy
Minority Buying Power in 2004
The enormous economic clout of the nation’s Hispanics,
African Americans, Asians, and Native Americans is detailed in the
latest edition of the popular and widely-quoted study of minority
buying power.
Developed by the Selig Center for Economic Growth, this
definitive data series for 1990-2004 and the projections for 2005
through 2009 are essential to business analysts, marketing specialists,
product developers, advertisers, and researchers. Data are available for
the U.S. and all fifty states; and county-level data are included for
Georgia and Florida.
Used by companies nationwide, the Minority Buying Power data
series is quoted in Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times
and USA TODAY.
왗 The data book-and-CD package also features
buying power data by expenditure category for
the total population, African Americans, and Hispanics.
Includes Data Book To order the $125 package, call 706-425-2961
and CD or visit www.selig.uga.edu
Want to Know More?
copy of The Multicultural Economy 2004 @$125
Georgia residents ADD your applicable county tax
tax rate
County
x purchase price
TOTAL
Name
Phone
Address
Email
State
City
AmEx
Check enclosed
ZIP
VISA
MasterCard
Payable to Selig Center, UGA
Card Number
Expiration Date
Name on Card
Mail or fax to: Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business
The University of Georgia P. O. Box 1764 Athens, GA 30603-1764
Phone (706) 425-2961
FAX (706) 425-2965
Georgia Business and Economic Conditions
13
Table 4
Per Capita Income in Georgia’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas,
2001-2002 with percent change and rankings
MSA
County
2001 PCPI
2002 PCPI
Percent change
from
previous year
2002
Rank*
Albany
Baker County
Dougherty County
Lee County
Terrell County
Worth County
MSA Total
19,431
22,583
21,429
19,750
20,986
21,892
21,273
23,500
22,158
20,973
22,186
22,862
9.5
4.1
3.4
6.2
5.7
4.4
57
37
51
58
50
13
Athens-Clarke County
Clarke County
Madison County
Oconee County
Oglethorpe County
MSA Total
21,840
23,882
29,869
22,900
23,513
22,860
23,762
30,263
22,624
24,171
4.7
-0.5
1.3
-1.2
2.8
42
34
10
45
11
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta
Barrow County
Bartow County
Butts County
Carroll County
Cherokee County
Clayton County
Cobb County
Coweta County
Dawson County
DeKalb County
Douglas County
Fayette County
Forsyth County
Fulton County
Gwinnett County
Haralson County
Heard County
Henry County
Jasper County
Lamar County
Meriwether County
Newton County
Paulding County
Pickens County
Pike County
Rockdale County
Spalding County
Walton County
MSA Total
24,266
25,786
22,477
22,307
31,410
21,482
36,830
27,272
27,557
33,485
26,277
37,396
35,101
46,599
31,070
21,789
18,859
27,685
23,307
22,246
20,224
23,406
23,997
28,034
23,744
28,458
23,346
24,688
33,439
23,501
25,860
22,270
22,339
30,450
21,585
36,357
26,932
27,106
34,118
26,085
37,553
33,108
47,478
30,138
22,320
19,117
26,658
23,226
23,347
20,764
22,749
23,207
27,743
23,615
28,903
24,126
24,502
33,257
-3.2
0.3
-0.9
0.1
-3.1
0.5
-1.3
-1.2
-1.6
1.9
-0.7
0.4
-5.7
1.9
-3.0
2.4
1.4
-3.7
-0.3
4.9
2.7
-2.8
-3.3
-1.0
-0.5
1.6
3.3
-0.8
-0.5
36
23
48
46
8
54
3
18
17
4
21
2
5
1
11
47
64
19
39
38
59
44
40
16
35
14
30
29
1
(continued)
First Quarter 2005
14
Table 4 (continued)
Per Capita Income in Georgia’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas,
2001-2002 with percent change and rankings
MSA
County
2001 PCPI
2002 PCPI
Percent change
from
previous year
2002
Rank*
Augusta-Richmond County
Burke County
Columbia County
McDuffie County
Richmond County
MSA Total
17,854
30,109
23,765
22,749
24,504
18,300
30,345
24,529
23,994
25,431
2.5
0.8
3.2
5.5
3.8
66
9
28
32
7
Brunswick
Brantley County
Glynn County
McIntosh County
MSA Total
18,437
29,506
18,286
26,440
19,114
30,459
19,599
27,409
3.7
3.2
7.2
3.7
65
7
63
4
Chattanooga
Catoosa County
Dade County
Walker County
MSA Total
22,975
20,995
21,414
22,012
23,086
21,463
22,201
22,487
0.5
2.2
3.7
2.2
41
55
49
14
Columbus
Chattahoochee County
Harris County
Marion County
Muscogee County
MSA Total
15,612
31,484
21,434
26,697
26,277
13,525
31,554
21,678
27,892
26,923
-13.4
0.2
1.1
4.5
2.5
70
6
52
15
5
Dalton
Murray County
Whitfield County
MSA Total
19,985
25,895
24,083
20,400
26,485
24,609
2.1
2.3
2.2
61
20
10
Gainesville
Hall County
MSA Total
25,007
25,007
25,040
25,040
0.1
0.1
27
9
Hinesville-Fort Stewart
Liberty County
Long County
MSA Total
17,709
15,732
17,416
18,210
16,265
17,919
2.8
3.4
2.9
67
69
15
(continued)
Georgia Business and Economic Conditions
15
Table 4 (continued)
Per Capita Income in Georgia’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas,
2001-2002 with percent change and rankings
MSA
County
2001 PCPI
2002 PCPI
Percent change
from
previous year
2002
Rank*
Macon
Bibb County
Crawford County
Jones County
Monroe County
Twiggs County
MSA Total
28,382
20,923
23,627
25,087
18,617
26,660
29,587
21,658
23,998
25,275
19,742
27,635
4.2
3.5
1.6
0.7
6.0
3.7
12
53
31
25
62
3
Rome
Floyd County
MSA Total
24,589
24,589
25,337
25,337
3.0
3.0
24
8
Savannah
Bryan County
Chatham County
Effingham County
MSA Total
25,171
28,383
22,882
27,389
25,235
29,274
22,802
28,054
0.3
3.1
-0.3
2.4
26
13
43
2
Valdosta
Brooks County
Echols County
Lanier County
Lowndes County
MSA Total
20,514
15,584
19,191
22,379
21,716
21,308
16,661
20,693
23,808
23,059
3.9
6.9
7.8
6.4
6.2
56
68
60
33
12
Warner Robins
Houston County
MSA Total
24,910
24,910
25,876
25,876
3.9
3.9
22
6
Georgia
28,555
28,821
0.9
Note: MSA totals compiled from county data by the Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business,
The University of Georgia.
*Rank among the 78 counties, which are parts of metropolitan areas. MSA Total rank refers to the 15 Metropolitan
Statistical Areas in Georgia, Georgia Parts only.
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Information System, 2004.
First Quarter 2005
16
Percent Distribution of Total Personal Income for Georgia's
MSAs, by Source, 2002
Albany
63.4
Athens
16.0
66.2
Atlanta
20.6
19.5
75.5
Augusta-Aiken
15.2
64.9
Brunswick
55.8
Chattanooga
17.0
65.2
18.5
14.8
17.6
17.6
17.2
Dalton
68.3
15.9
Gainesville
67.6
18.6
Hinesville
71.1
Macon
64.6
Rome
62.5
Savannah
64.4
Valdosta
63.3
9.3
18.1
25.7
67.6
Columbus
14.3
13.4
17.1
15.7
13.8
15.5
18.3
17.3
20.3
19.5
16.0
17.3
19.4
Warner Robins
71.1
15.7
13.2
Georgia
70.6
16.1
13.3
0.0%
Earnings
100.0%
Dividends, Interest, Rent
Transfer Payments
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Information
System, June, 2004; Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of
Georgia.
Georgia Business and Economic Conditions
17
Percent Distribution of Earnings by Major Industry Group, 2002
Albany
23.6
23.7
49.2
Athens
19.2
32.9
41.3
Atlanta
14.3
11.6
71.5
Augusta-Aiken
22.0
26.9
44.4
Brunswick
49.7
17.9
26.2
Chattanooga
22.1
16.3
60.0
Columbus
16.9
32.7
44.4
Dalton
44.8
42.5
9.4
Gainesville
35.2
52.4
12.4
Hinesville
5.4
12.5
79.8
Macon
20.5
57.1
14.3
Rome
33.0
14.3
52.3
Savannah
21.2
19.7
57.2
Valdosta
43.2
18.1
34.9
Warner Robins
28.5
9.2
61.2
Georgia
21.4
0%
Goods producing industries
63.0
Service producing industries
15.6
Government
Percentages may not add to 100% because of withheld sectoral detail and/or rounding.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, REIS, May, 2001; Selig Center for
Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia.
First Quarter 2005
100%
18
continued from page 8
addition to government, Warner Robins derives a relatively
large portion of its earnings from manufacturing (7 percent),
and professional and technical services (6 percent). While
the PCPI in Warner Robins ranks sixth among the MSAs,
Hinesville is dead last at $17,191, well below the state,
metro, and even non-metro area average. Earnings make up
the second and third highest portions of income in Hinesville
and Warner Robins, compared to other metropolitan areas in
the state. But, while unemployment in Warner Robins is
among the lowest in the state, it is relatively high in HinesvilleFort Stewart.
Manufacturing provides the largest portion of earnings
in Dalton and Gainesville (42 and 27 percent, respectively).
Manufacturing earnings per job are relatively low in both
areas, however. On the other hand, Dalton is right behind
Atlanta with the second highest portion of earnings derived
from the well-paid professional and technical services sector,
while Gainesville’s relatively large government and health
care sectors each provide 12 percent of the area’s earnings.
Gainesville and Dalton rank ninth and tenth, respectively, in
PCPI among the state’s 15 metropolitan areas. The
unemployment rate in both areas averaged a low 3.5 percent
in 2003, and declined to 2.8 percent in Dalton, and 3 percent
in Gainesville in the first nine months of 2004.
Columbus’s large government sector provides 33 percent
of earnings, and the manufacturing sector provides 13 percent,
which is relatively low among metropolitan areas in Georgia.
Finance and insurance provides 7 percent of earnings in this
MSA, one of the highest portions among the state’s MSAs,
and the percentage of earnings from the information sector
is—in relative size—second only to Atlanta’s. Columbus’s
professional and technical services sector provides 6 percent
of earnings, the third largest portion among metropolitan
statistical areas after Atlanta and Dalton. The area’s PCPI is
relatively high and ranks fifth in the state, but the 2003
average unemployment level of 4.8 percent slightly exceeds
the state average.
Like Columbus, Augusta’s government sector provides
a relatively large—27 percent—portion of earnings.
Manufacturing provides 14 percent of earnings, and
administrative and waste services comprise 12 percent of
earnings, by far the largest among MSAs. Augusta’s PCPI
ranks seventh among the states 15 metropolitan areas, the
lowest rank among the larger metro area. Augusta’s Columbia
County, however, has one of the state’s highest per capita
personal incomes. Conversely, this MSA has the second
highest unemployment rate among the state’s metropolitan
areas.
In Brunswick and Valdosta, a relatively large portion of
earnings is derived from government employment (26 percent
in Brunswick, and 35 percent in Valdosta), and the rest of
earnings comes from a diverse set of industries, with
manufacturing, health care, and retail trade providing around
10 percent of earnings each, and the smaller sectors supplying
the rest. Valdosta’s PCPI ranks relatively low among the
metropolitan areas in Georgia, with only three MSAs ranked
lower. A relatively low percentage of income in Valdosta
comes from earnings, and a relatively high portion is derived
from transfer payments. As is typical for an area with a large
government employment, Valdosta’s unemployment rate
averaged 3 percent in 2003, and 2.4 percent between January
and September of 2004, which is by far the lowest in the state.
Brunswick, the capital of the Golden Isles, derives 6
percent of earnings from the accommodations and food
services sector, the highest proportion among metropolitan
areas in Georgia. Brunswick has the fourth highest PCPI
among Georgia’s MSAs, and, compared to other areas,
derives by far the smallest portion of income from earnings.
The size of the dividends, interest, and rent portion of
income, however, is the highest in Brunswick, compared to
other metropolitan areas in the state. On the opposite side of
the picture, Brunswick’s transfer payments provide the fourth
largest portion of income compared to other Georgia MSAs.
The unemployment rate here is relatively low (an average of
4 percent in 2003, and 3.5 percent in the first three quarters
of 2004), but in Brantley County, it reached 5.9 percent in
2003. Accordingly, while the PCPI in Brantley and McIntosh
counties is below the state—and even non-metropolitan
area—average, per capita income in Glynn County is among
the highest in Georgia. Georgia Business and Economic Conditions