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30 Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce 2016 Economic Trends 10 Demographics: Population Dynamic population growth, a robust business climate, and a thriving artistic and cultural community come together to create the highest quality work and home environments in Savannah, one of the nation's loveliest and most historic port cities. Savannah's allure has been recognized nationally by Travel and Leisure as, "A World's Best City for United States & Canada (#3)", received the "Award of Excellence" from Corporate & Incentive Travel and was named one of the "World's Friendliest Cities (#16)" by Condé Nast Traveler. Growing Population Spurs Economic Growth Savannah's local market region extends in a 40-mile radius from its historic downtown. Commuters, shoppers, students, visitors, and others are economically and socially linked in a primary trade area that includes Liberty and Long counties in the Hinesville/Ft. Stewart MSA and portions of Beaufort and Jasper counties in South Carolina. Chatham County, with just over 283,000 residents is the fifth most populous county in Georgia and serves as the economic hub of the region. Furthermore, about 660,000 people now live, work, and shop in the Savannah Primary Trade Area, which from 2000 to 2014, added about 5,700 net new residents a year. Long County was the fastest growing County in 2014 (+2.8%), while Chatham County, added the most people (4,951). All counties experienced population growth in 2014. Chatham County continues to be the most densely populated county, with 654 persons per square mile. Long County and Jasper counties are the least densely populated counties with 43 and 41 persons per square mile respectively. Area 2000 2011 2012 2013 2014 2000- 2014 Average Annual Growth 2013-2014 Growth Land Area (square miles)/ Persons Per Sq. Mile Chatham 232,048 272,002 276,710 278,428 283,379 1.70% 1.78% 426/665 Effingham 37,535 52,673 53,337 54,488 55,423 3.67% 1.72% 478/116 Bryan 23,417 31,238 32,246 33,133 33,906 3.45% 2.33% 436/78 Savannah MSA 293,000 355,913 362,293 366,049 372,708 2.09% 1.82% 1,340/278 Liberty 61,610 65,115 65,391 64,057 65,198 0.45% 1.78% 490/133 Long 10,304 15,243 16,161 16,641 17,113 5.08% 2.84% 400/43 Savannah/ Hinesville/ Ft. Stewart CMSA 364,914 436,271 443,845 446,747 455,019 1.90% 1.85% 2,230/204 Beaufort (SC) 120,937 164,106 167,782 171,569 175,852 3.49% 2.50% 576/305 Jasper (SC) 20,678 25,418 25,973 26,710 27,170 2.42% 1.72% 655/41 Savannah Primary Trade Area 506,529 625,795 637,600 645,026 658,041 2.30% 2.02% 3,461/190 Savannah MSA, CMSA, and Primary Trade Area County Estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Annual Population Estimates retrieved 10/20/2015. NOTE: *The Census Bureau's population estimates are revised: numbers for previous years have been updated.