Efforts by the Fayette County Commission and other local governments to maintain a firm hand on growth have been successful, according to a new study.

New estimates by the Atlanta Regional Commission shows Fayette County has the second slowest population growth rate in the metropolitan Atlanta area.

The ARC pegs Fayette’s population at 105,400 on April 1, 2007. Since the 1990 Census, Fayette has added 14,137 residents, which is the second lowest number in the region. Only Rockdale County, which added 13,289 residents, grew more slowly in the 10-county region.

Fayette’s biggest growth decade was the 1980s, where the county added an average of 3,376 residents per year. In the 1990s, the county was adding an additional 2,846 residents per year, but by 2000, the growth had slowed to 2,047 residents a year. Last year, the county only grew by 1,700 residents.

The county with the most growth in the region since 2000 is Gwinnett, which added 151,752, which is just over 21,000 new residents a year. Closer to home, Henry County added just over 66,000 residents, or more than 9,000 residents per year.

One of the interesting population statistics released in the report shows the trend of residents moving into the city of Atlanta. In the last year, more than 12,000 people have moved into the city. Atlanta’s population now stands at an estimated 464,200, which is the most for the city since the 1970s.