The horrific shootings that recently took place in metro Atlanta followed a wave of violence nationwide in the past year that targeted Asian Americans.
The shootings also brought a national spotlight to our region’s Asian community. Now, let’s go beyond the headlines and take a closer look at this dynamic, fast-growing part of the Atlanta region.
The data experts at the Atlanta Regional Commission and Neighborhood Nexus dug into the numbers in a recent post on the 33n blog. Here are some highlights:
Asian Population Booming
The number of residents in the 10-county Atlanta region has more than doubled in the past two decades, rising from 131,000 in 2000 to 301,000 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census. About one of every 14 residents in the region, or nearly 7%, is of Asian descent, compared to about 4% in 2000.
And the state’s Asian population is heavily concentrated in metro Atlanta. About 73% of Georgia’s Asian population lives in the 10-county Atlanta region. Here’s a look at the five counties in metro Atlanta with the largest Asian populations:
| County | Asian Population (2019) | Asian Population (2000) |
| Gwinnett | 106,374 | 42,360 |
| Fulton | 73,129 | 24,823 |
| DeKalb | 45,447 | 26,718 |
| Cobb | 40,271 | 18,587 |
| Clayton | 14,592 | 10,629 |
| 10-county total | 300,940 | 130,982 |
Concentration in Northeast Suburbs
While Asian residents are spread across the region, areas of highest density are in the northeast suburbs, including North DeKalb, Gwinnett, North Fulton and South Forsyth counties. In several Census tracts, more than half the residents are of Asian descent.
Check out this map from Neighborhood Nexus. The darker blues are the areas of highest concentration of Asian residents.
Asian Population is Diverse
What exactly do we mean by Asian? It’s a huge land mass made up of many nationalities and ethnicities. According the American Community Survey from the U.S. Census, Asian residents in metro Atlanta identify more than 20 countries of origin. This includes longtime Americans and recent arrivals.
Asian Indians make more than a third of the region’s total Asian population, followed by Vietnamese, Chinese (mainland) and Korean.
| Nation of origin | % of Atlanta region’s Asian population |
| Asian Indian | 34% |
| Vietnam | 15% |
| China (mainland) | 14.5% |
| Korea | 14% |
| Philippines | 4% |
| Pakistan | 3.5% |
| Japan | 2% |
Hop on Neighborhood Nexus to Take a Deeper Dive
Did you know that more than 63,000 people in Gwinnett County speak an Asian language at home? Or that more than 3,100 Asian residents in DeKalb County work at home?
Use Neighborhood Nexus to take a deeper dive into the data to learn even more about this diverse, dynamic part of metro Atlanta community.
What’s Next ATL, produced by the Atlanta Regional Commission, is a community resource that explores how metro Atlanta is growing and changing, and how the region is addressing its most pressing challenges.
