Fayette and Coweta counties may not be experiencing growth as rapidly as some metro Atlanta areas. Yet Fayette since 2010 has a population increase of 4.7 percent while Coweta has grown by 10.4 percent.

Estimates for 2016 by the U.S. Census Bureau has Coweta County topping 140,000 residents, showing the county with a population of 140,256. Fayette for 2016 has an estimated population of 111,627.

Fayette’s population grew rapidly during the 1970s-2000s, but those increases came to a virtual halt as the effects of the Great Recession took hold. Fayette’s population in 2010 was 106,567.

Coweta in 2010 had a population of 127,317. By 2016, the estimate was 140,526 residents.

Coweta County Communications Manager Tom Corker said the 2016 estimate translates into a 1.6 percent increase in population between 2015-2016.

In terms of land mass, Coweta is a much larger county of 446 square miles. Fayette, by comparison totals 199 square miles. That said, the great bulk of Coweta’s population resides in the eastern half of the county.