Census data shows much slower growth

Just three years after being named by the Census Bureau as one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, Jackson County didn’t even break the top 100 in a list released on Thursday. In 2009, Census data estimates put Jackson County at 25th in the U.S. among the fastest-growing populations between 2007 and 2008.

But the county — nor most of the other counties considered as suburbs of Atlanta — broke the top 100 list for fastest-growing counties in the U.S. from 2010 to 2011, according to the Census. The exceptions were Forsyth County (ranked 33rd), Fulton County (ranked 53rd) and Gwinnett County (ranked 99th).

Jackson County’s population grew from an estimated 60,751 residents in 2010 to 61,257 residents in 2011 — which is a 0.8 percent increase.