Cherokee Tribune
Ashley Fuller
May 1, 2008
County popular with metro-area movers
An attractive quality of life is pulling metro-area residents to Cherokee County at a high rate, according to a new report.
Cherokee ranked second in an Atlanta Regional Commission study of relocation patterns in the 20-county metro area for net residents moving in from other metro counties.
The report used data from the Internal Revenue Service from 2000 to 2005, the most recent period for which data is available.
According to the report, Cherokee saw 56,178 people move in to the county from other metro counties during that period and 32,378 people move out to other counties, a net of 23,800. Only Henry County saw a bigger net with about 30,000. Finishing behind Cherokee was Forsyth (23,785) and Paulding (20,564) counties.
DeKalb County lost the most population to other counties during the period. DeKalb saw a net loss of 80,558 people. Other counties that shed a large amount of residents during the period are Fulton (66,204), Cobb (38,991) and Clayton (10,047).
Cherokee’s new residents mainly hailed from Cobb County. More than 27,000 people moved slightly north from Cobb to Cherokee during the period. Fulton County lost 13,257 people to Cherokee.
In comparison, 14,115 people moved from Cherokee to Cobb and 5,092 people moved from Cherokee to Fulton.
Local leaders said the lifestyle available in Cherokee is what is drawing people into the county.
Wanda Roach of Canton, a Realtor with Century 21 Max Stancil Realty in Woodstock, said Cherokee has a list of positives going for it.
“Cherokee is a very attractive place to live. We have the mountains, a major lake and good recreation. The schools are great, and the taxes are still good,” she said.
She said Cherokee also offers more room to people who are living in heavily populated areas.
“People want more property. They are tired of the congestion,” she said, specifically mentioning the Yellow Creek community in northwest Cherokee as an area now popular among newcomers. “They like the rural atmosphere.”
County Commissioner Harry Johnston of Canton said while quality of life is a big draw, the county also is attractive because of the availability of housing.
“I think it’s because we have an abundant supply of homes available at competitive prices, compared with other metro Atlanta counties,” he said. “We have consistently had a very aggressive development program in Cherokee and a great many speculative subdivisions.”
Dennis Burnette of Canton, who serves as the county’s citizen representative on the ARC board, said people naturally come to adjoining counties when congestion increases.
“Atlanta is growing fast and we are getting the benefit of the overflow from Fulton and Cobb,” said Burnette, president and CEO of Cherokee Bank.
He said Cherokee also appeals to people looking for a second home.
“If people are looking to move up to a little bigger house, they can get more house for their money here than they can in Cobb,” he said.
Cherokee ranked eighth in the 20-county region in net migration from other states, with 9,677 people moving in from other states during the time period. The most new residents came from Florida, with 1,743 people moving north to Cherokee.
The county came in fourth in the region for the adjusted gross income among people who did not move in 2005 at $69,100. Forsyth County was first at $89,800.
Cherokee ranked third in the region for adjusted growth income among people moving in, with $54,700. Forsyth was first in that category as well at $82,800.
The adjusted gross income for people moving out of the county was just more than $50,000 in Cherokee. Forsyth again was first at $74,400.