Fayette County ( ) is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 119,194, an increase from 106,567 in 2010.US 2020 Census Bureau report, Fayette County, Georgia Fayette County was established in 1821. The county seat, Fayetteville, was established in 1823. Much of Fayette County is bordered on the east side by the Flint River.
Fayette County was organized in 1821 after the United States signed a treaty at Indian Springs, Georgia with the Creek people for cession of a large portion of their land. The county and its seat, Fayetteville, were both named in honor of the French aristocrat the Marquis de Lafayette, who aided General George Washington in the American Revolutionary War.
Since the late 20th century, Fayette County has been part of the Greater Atlanta Metropolitan Area. It is located south of Atlanta, which is based in Fulton County. Fayette County is minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. As a suburb of Atlanta, Fayette County has increased rapidly in population and development since the late 20th century, nearly doubling its population since 1990.
History Fayette County was created on May 15, 1821, from territory ceded to the United States by the Creek people, who had historically inhabited the area. It was named for the Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolutionary War.
In the years following World War II, the county developed suburban residential communities, with many workers commuting to Atlanta. Peachtree City was chartered in 1959. It was developed as the only planned community in the county and in the Southeast; it covers 16,000 acres.Carolyn Cary, "Fayette County", New Georgia Encyclopedia, 2006/2015
The county population has increased rapidly during the late twentieth century with the growth of Atlanta. It has also benefited from a reverse migration of African Americans to the South, as new residents are attracted to jobs and opportunities. Significant growth and development continues.
In 2002, Charles "Chuck" Floyd was appointed to the position of Chief Magistrate Judge of the county. In 2004 and 2008, he was elected to the position in his own right, thereby becoming the first African American ever elected to any office in the county.
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.5%) is water.
The Flint River passes through the county and provided the earliest route for transportation and shipping of commodity crops. The entirety of Fayette County is located in the Upper Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin).
Major highways State Route 54 State Route 74 State Route 85 State Route 92 State Route 138 State Route 279 State Route 314
Adjacent counties Fulton County – north Clayton County – east Spalding County – south Coweta County – west
Communities
Cities Fayetteville (county seat) Peachtree City (largest city)
Towns Brooks Tyrone Woolsey
Unincorporated communities Inman Starr's Mill
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Fayette County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)27,41056,95874,82072,20268,14494.38%91.26%81.98%67.75%57.17%Black or African American alone (NH)1,2613,33410,38321,11729,1664.34%5.34%11.38%19.82%24.47%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)23771732212120.08%0.12%0.19%0.21%0.18%Asian alone (NH)971,0392,1834,1066,3620.33%1.66%2.39%3.85%5.34%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census216144xx0.02%0.06%0.04%Other race alone (NH)28131332218480.10%0.02%0.15%0.21%0.71%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census9681,8794,938xx1.06%1.76%4.14%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2249942,5826,7609,4800.77%1.59%2.83%6.34%7.95%Total29,04362,41591,263106,567119,194 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
As of the 2020 census, the residents of Fayetteville are predominantly African American, while those of Peachtree City and Tyrone are predominantly white.
2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 119,194 people, 42,886 households, and 33,101 families residing in the county, and the median age was 44.0 years with 23.0% of residents under the age of 18 and 19.6% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males (88.8 for those 18 and over), and 81.9% of residents lived in urban areas while 18.1% lived in rural areas.
The racial makeup of the county was 58.5% White, 24.8% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 5.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.3% from some other race, and 7.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race made up 8.0% of the population.
Of the 42,886 households in the county, 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 45,202 housing units, of which 5.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 80.0% were owner-occupied and 20.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.9%.
2010 census In 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $82,216 and the median income for a family was $92,976. Males had a median income of $68,381 versus $46,140 for females. The per capita income for the county was $35,076. About 3.4% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
2000 census In 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $71,227, and the median income for a family was $78,853 (these figures had risen to $79,498 and $89,873 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $54,738 versus $33,333 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,464. About 2.00% of families and 2.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.80% of those under age 18 and 4.60% of those age 65 or over.
Government Board of Commissioners Fayette County is governed by a Board of Commissioners with five members. The 5th district, represented by Charles Oddo, is elected countywide. Republicans currently have a 4–1 majority.
+Current composition of the Fayette County Board of Commissioners District Name Affiliation First elected 1 Eric Maxwell Republican 2016 2 Lee Hearn Republican 2020 3 Edward Gibbons Republican 2018 4 Charles Rousseau Democratic 2015 5 Charles Oddo Republican 2012
Voting rights suit and settlement Until 2013, the county was divided into three "county commission districts." Three of the members of the board of commissioners were required to live inside one of the designated districts. The remaining two commissioners could live anywhere in the county. All members of the county commission were elected "at-large," which meant that each candidate had to attract the majority of votes across the county in order to win.ABS Staff, "Fayette County at-large election process violates the Voting Rights Act", Atlanta Black Star, May 22, 2013; accessed April 11, 2015 Since 1982, more than 100 cases of such at-large voting systems in Georgia have been replaced by single-member districts.
The five members of the school board were also elected at-large. In the early 21st century, Fayette County was one of only 20 school boards among 180 in the state of Georgia to maintain at-large voting to elect members of these boards. The practical effect was the exclusion of African Americans from these positions. The county has been majority-white and majority-Republican since the late 20th century. Neither Republican nor Democratic African-American candidates had any electoral success.
In 2011 the NAACP and several African-American county residents filed suit against the county and the board for the at-large voting system. In May 2013, the federal district court ordered the county and school board to change their systems of at-large voting, finding that it violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by diluting the voting power of the minority.Tammy Joyner, "Fayette County Voting Rights Timeline", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 13, 2016; accessed December 13, 2016 African Americans make up 20% of the county population but were unable to elect candidates of their choice, as every commission and school board seat required a majority of county voters. The county has a majority-white, majority-Republican population.
Under the federal ruling, five districts were established so that members of both the school board and county commission are elected from single-member districts. This broadened representation on the boards.Tammy Joyner, "Fayetteville’s first black mayor is ‘bridge builder’", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 7, 2015; accessed December 13, 2016 Voters of each district elect a commissioner living within its boundaries.
In 2014, Democrat Pota E. Coston was elected as the first black county commissioner in the 194-year history of the county. Leonard Presberg was first appointed and then elected in his own right as the first Jewish member of the school board."Fayette chooses ‘discriminatory’ at-large voting to replace Coston, Democrats charge" , The Citizen, July 13, 2015; accessed December 13, 2016
The county and school board both appealed the federal district court ruling. In January 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta remanded the case to the district court for a bench trial by the federal district judge, ruling that Judge Timothy Batten Sr. had made a technical error in granting summary judgment in the case. It did not overturn his ruling to establish the single-member district system. The bench trial by Judge Batten would give the county an opportunity to present additional evidence to support its case.Cal Beverly, "Fayette County wins district voting appeal", The Citizen, January 7, 2015; accessed December 13, 2016
After Coston died in office, the Fayette Board of Elections voted to use at-large voting in a special election to replace her. The NAACP returned to court as it opposed using the former system. Judge Batten ruled that the county had to use the single-member district system established by his earlier ruling. In September 2015 Democrat Charles Rousseau was elected from District 5 to succeed Coston, becoming the second African American elected to the county commission. In October 2015 the Fayette Chamber of Commerce and two prominent white leaders urged the county to settle the nearly five-year lawsuit and accept district voting. Judge Batten ordered the two sides into mediation and postponed the bench trial. In January 2016 the Fayette County School Board voted unanimously to settle the lawsuit and accept district voting for election of its members. The County Commission voted to settle by a 3–2 vote.
Together with the NAACP and black county plaintiffs, the county commission agreed in January 2016 to a system of electing four members from single-member districts and the fifth as an at-large member. A law implementing this change was signed by Governor Nathan Deal in March 2016.Tammy Joyner, "New law creates Fayette’s new voting system", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 4, 2016; accessed December 13, 2016
Politics