Over the summer, evidence mounted that young people accounted for a growing proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases, though older adults remain the highest-risk group for severe complications and death. The current growing concern is that the young, who tend to experience fewer and sometimes even imperceptible symptoms, might unknowingly spread it to higher-risk populations, including their own family members.

Multigenerational households, where young people live with relatives of over 65 years old, have heightened cause for concern, particularly since sustained indoor contact with an infected person increases the risk of contracting the virus. By 2018, there were 260,749 grandparents living with their grandchildren in Georgia. The county map below shows the percentage of households in which grandparents live with children younger than 18. As you explore the map, keep in mind that the pop-up windows show two distinct indicators: the number of grandparents who live with grandchildren and the percent of households in which families live with grandparents. They are related, but they come from two different sources, so the numbers should be treated distinctly.

From it, we can see:

  1. Statewide, Terrell County and Washington County have the highest percentage of multigenerational households, with 11.4 and 9.6 percent, respectively. If we’re looking at absolute values, however, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Fulton, Cobb and Clayton counties are the top-five for total number of grandparents living with grandchildren.
  2. In the Atlanta Metro Area, both Rockdale County and Clayton County have the highest percentage of multigenerational households, with 7.4 percent of total households in each of them. On the other hand, Fulton, Cobb, Cherokee, and Forsyth have the smallest percentage of grandparents living with children.

Content by Faustina Jones and Nikolai Elneser