For October’s Regional Snapshot and in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th-October 15th), we have put together a profile on the Hispanic community in metro Atlanta! The highlights are:

  • Although metro Atlanta has a smaller share of Hispanics than the other largest U.S. metros, it has the 2nd highest rate of employed Hispanics over the age of 16 and the 4th largest percentage of Hispanics who are foreign born, thus considered to be “first generation.”
  • Metro Atlanta has a high share of first generation immigrants, which helps explain why, overall, Hispanics have lower educational attainment compared to the metro areas as a whole.
  • 67.7 percent of Hispanics over the age of 16 in metro Atlanta are employed, compared to only 61.6 percent of all 16 and older residents. The top job industries for Hispanics in this area are Natural Resources, Construction, and Maintenance Occupations (25.2%) AND Service Occupations (24.2%).
  • There has been a 323,000 increase in the Hispanic population between 2000 to 2015- a 120 percent increase in metro Atlanta!
  • Hall and Gwinnett counties have the largest shares of Hispanics at 28 percent and 20.8 percent respectively. These counties have also seen the largest change in Hispanic population between 2000 and 2010.

For a quick overview, check out our infographic and click here to get the full report.