Gwinnett County is the most ethnically diverse county in Georgia,[5][6][7] with significant populations ofBlack,Hispanic, andAsian residents. As of the2020 Census, no ethnicity constitutes more than a third of its population.[8]
In 1813,Fort Daniel was created during theWar of 1812 in territory that would become Gwinnett County.[9] The county was created in 1818 by an act of theGeorgia General Assembly, Gwinnett County was formed from parts ofJackson County (formerly part ofFranklin County) and from lands gained through the cession ofCreek Indian lands. Named forButton Gwinnett, one of the signatories of theDeclaration of Independence, the first county election was held at the home of Elisha Winn, and the first Superior Court was held in his barn. The county seat was later placed at Lawrenceville.[10]
In 1831, a group of white men were tried and found guilty in Lawrenceville for violating Georgia law by living in the Cherokee Nation without a valid passport from the Governor. Two of the men appealed to the US Supreme Court inWorcester v. Georgia, which resulted in a ruling stating that only the federal government had jurisdiction over native lands, a decision which still stands.[11]
In 1861, all three of Gwinnett County's representatives at theGeorgia Constitutional Convention (1861) inMilledgeville voted against secession. Towards the end of the war, Union troops foraged in Gwinnett County as part of theAtlanta campaign.[11]TheFreedmen's Bureau was active in Gwinnett County duringReconstruction. In 1871, the courthouse in Lawrenceville was burned by theKu Klux Klan in an attempt to avoid prosecution for their crimes, which included the shooting of a Black election manager inNorcross.[12]
Early in the county's history, gold mining was a minor industry. The Gwinnett Manufacturing Company, a cotton textile factory, operated in Lawrenceville in the 1850s through 1865, when it burned. TheBona Allen Company inBuford, Georgia produced saddles, harnesses and other leather goods from 1873 to 1981.[11]
The northeastern part of Gwinnett County was removed in 1914 to form a part of the newBarrow County.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 437 square miles (1,130 km2), of which 430 square miles (1,100 km2) is land and 6.4 square miles (17 km2) (1.5%) is water.[13] The county is located in the upperPiedmont region of the state.
Gwinnett County is often cited as one of the counties in the US that has demographically changed the most rapidly. As recently as1990, over 90% of Gwinnett County's population waswhite. By 2007, the county was projected to bemajority-minority.[26][27]
Gwinnett County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2020 census, there were 957,062 people, 316,708 households, and 230,960 families residing in the county.[29]
The median age was 36.0 years. 25.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.3 males age 18 and over. 99.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.5% lived in rural areas.[30]
Of the 316,708 households, 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[29]
There were 330,569 housing units, of which 4.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.3% were owner-occupied and 34.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.0%.[29]
In 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $63,219 and the median income for a family was $70,767. Males had a median income of $48,671 versus $39,540 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,901. About 8.7% of families and 11.0% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.[32]
Gwinnett County police car in 2021Gwinnett County police car in 2003
Under Georgia's "home rule" provision, county governments have free rein to legislate on all matters within the county, provided that such legislation does not conflict with state or federal law, or state or federal Constitutions.
Gwinnett County, Georgia is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners, which exercises both legislative and executive authority within the county. The Chair of the Board is elected county-wide and serves full-time. The four other commissioners are elected from single-member districts and serve part-time positions. The board hires a county administrator who oversees daily operations of the county's twelve executive departments. Gwinnett County has a police department that operates under the authority of the Board of Commissioners. Some of the local Gwinnett city budgets have recently come under increasing scrutiny of the General Funds allocated to police services. Cities such as Duluth have allocated as much as forty percent of their city budgets, reaching some of the highest levels in the nation.[43] Solutions to high spending being discussed include additional “investment in mental health, housing, youth development and living wages would stabilize communities and prove more effective than policing.”[44]
In addition to the Board of Commissioners, county residents also elect persons to the following positions: Sheriff, District Attorney, Probate Court Judge, Clerk of State/Superior Court, Tax Commissioner, State Court Solicitor, Chief Magistrate Judge (who appoints other Magistrate Court judges), Chief Superior Court Judge and Superior Court Judges, and Chief State Court Judge and State Court Judges.
Gwinnett County has the largest public school system in the state of Georgia.[45] Members of the Board of Education are elected from special election districts in the county.
For most of the time from1964 to2012, the county was a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. The only Democrat to carry the county in this period was former Georgia governorJimmy Carter in1976, who carried Gwinnett County during his sweep of every county in the state. However, the Republican edge narrowed, and then eventually was eliminated, in the 2010s as the county, as well as the rest of theAtlanta metro area, became larger and more diverse. In2016,Hillary Clinton became the first Democrat to win Gwinnett County in 40 years and the first non-Georgian Democrat to do so sinceJohn F. Kennedy in1960, doing so by 5.9 points. This was due to changing demographics with white college-educated voters, as well as awhite flight out of the county. In2018,Stacey Abrams became the first Democrat to win Gwinnett County in a gubernatorial election since1986 whenJoe Frank Harris swept every county statewide. The Democratic trend became even more apparent in2020, whenJoe Biden won the county by 18.2 points, the best showing for a non-Georgian Democrat since Kennedy's 73.50%.
Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation operates and maintains parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, golf courses and recreation centers in the county. The department also runs recreational and educational programs.[51] The parks system has won many awards such as the gold medal in 2008 from American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration and National Recreation and Park Association. They were also finalists in 1999, 2006, and 2014.[52] The system has also been cited to useSTEM byNRPA.[53]
Gwinnett County Public Schools operates the public schools for residents in Gwinnett County, with the exception of residents inside the Buford city limits, which are served by theBuford City School District.[54] There are 143 schools in the Gwinnett Public Schools district—21 high schools, 29 middle schools, 80 elementary schools and 13 specialty schools, making it the largest school district in Georgia.
Acharter school,International Charter Academy of Georgia, that has a bilingual English and Japanese education program, is inPeachtree Corners.Another charter school, New Life Academy of Excellence, that has a bilingual English and Chinese education program, is near Peachtree Corners.
In 2015, Peachtree Corners conducted a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) survey which indicated public desire for more multi-use trails. Beginning in 2016, Peachtree Corners has been in the process of constructing 11.5 miles of multi-use trails within the city limits.[64]
In 2016, Suwanee unveiled the first Bike Share program in Gwinnett County.[66]
