The population of Hall County increased by 1.7 percent in the year ending last July 1, according to estimates recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Census Bureau now puts the number of people living in Hall County at 196,637, compared to 193,257 on July 1, 2015, an increase of 3,380. When the latest official Census count was released April 1, 2010, the county's population stood at 179,684.
Elsewhere in northeast Georgia, the new population estimate for Forsyth County is 221,009 - an increase of 8,884 since July, 2015. The population of Forsyth following the 2010 Census was 175,511. Meanwhile, Gwinnett County has topped the 900,000 mark for the first time. As of July 1, 2016, the Census Bureau lists the population of Gwinnett at 907,135 - compared to 892,926 a year earlier. At the time of the 2010 Census, Gwinnett's population was 805,305, meaning the county is estimated to have added 102,000 residents since then.
The only northeast Georgia counties the Census Bureau says realized a decrease in population between July 2015 and July 2016 were Banks, Elbert, Oconee and Oglethorpe.
Click here for a look at population estimates for every county in Georgia and the country.
Meanwile, Maricopa County, Ariz., (the Phoenix area) has replaced Harris County, Texas, (Houston area) as the county with the nation's highest annual population growth, and Chicago led all major cities declining population.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
