Forsyth County went from 99% white to 1 in 7 residents Indian American
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In 1990 the census counted Forsyth County, Georgia, north of Atlanta, as 98.6% non-Hispanic white. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey now counts 37,371 Indian American residents there, 14.0% of the county, a share only one large county in the country tops.
That county is Middlesex County, New Jersey, home to Edison, at 16.9%. Forsyth ranks second among the counties with at least 100,000 people, ahead of places long known for their Indian American communities.
| # | County | Indian American share | Indian American residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesex County, NJ | 16.9% | 147,082 |
| 2 | Forsyth County, GA | 14.0% | 37,371 |
| 3 | Somerset County, NJ | 11.1% | 38,835 |
| 4 | Loudoun County, VA | 11.0% | 47,553 |
| 5 | Santa Clara County, CA | 10.6% | 202,022 |
| 6 | Collin County, TX | 10.0% | 116,049 |
The growth is recent. The five-year survey ending in 2020 counted 24,211 Indian American residents in Forsyth. Four years later the count was 37,371, an increase of 13,160, or 54%. Across the whole country the Indian American population grew 12% over the same stretch, from 4.14 million to 4.63 million, and it makes up about 1.4% of all Americans. In Georgia the share is 1.6%. Forsyth's is about ten times the national figure.
Indian Americans are most of the county's Asian population. The Asian share of Forsyth went from 0.1% in 1990 to 19.6% in the latest survey, or about 52,400 people, and roughly 7 in 10 of them are Indian American.
How the county's makeup changed
| # | Group | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White, non-Hispanic | 98.6% | 92.3% | 80.3% | 63.4% | 61.8% |
| 2 | Asian | 0.1% | 0.8% | 6.2% | 18.0% | 19.6% |
| 3 | Hispanic | 0.8% | 5.6% | 9.4% | 10.0% | 10.1% |
| 4 | Black | under 0.1% | 0.4% | 2.4% | 4.2% | 4.2% |
The county grew at the same time. Forsyth had 44,083 residents in 1990 and an estimated 282,805 in 2025, more than six times as many. The biggest jump in the Asian share came between 2010 and 2020, when it nearly tripled.
The near-total absence of Black residents in 1990 traces back to 1912. After racial violence in the county that year, an estimated 98% of its Black residents left. Seventy-eight years later, the 1990 census counted Black residents at under 0.1% of the county.
Forsyth is also the wealthiest county in Georgia. Its median household income is $143,784, the highest of the state's 159 counties. In 1990 the median household earned $36,642, which works out to about $87,900 in 2024 dollars, so the typical household now earns about 64% more after inflation. The share of adults with a bachelor's degree went from 15.6% to 57.1% over the same period, and 22.9% of residents were born outside the United States, up from 12.8% in 2010.
Forsyth had the largest increase on the CensusEasy diversity score of any large county in the country between 2000 and 2024, according to a CensusEasy study of 613 counties. Gwinnett County, its neighbor to the southeast, went through a similar shift earlier and is now among the most diverse large counties in the country.
Full rankings are on the counties with the highest Indian American share and largest Indian American populations pages, and the Indian Americans page covers where the community lives nationwide. The cities with the highest shares are in a separate ranking.
Loudoun County, Virginia, ranks fourth among large counties, with 47,553 Indian American residents, or 11.0% of its population.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2016-2020 and 2020-2024, table B02015 (Asian alone by selected groups) and B03002 (race and Hispanic origin).
- U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 Census Summary Tape File 3A, 2000 Census, and Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
- Wikipedia, 1912 racial conflict in Forsyth County, Georgia.
- Inflation adjustment uses the BLS Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), 1990 and 2024 annual averages.
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What percent of Forsyth County, Georgia is Indian American?
About 14.0%, or 37,371 people, according to the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey. That is the second-highest share of any US county with at least 100,000 residents, behind Middlesex County, New Jersey at 16.9%.
How white was Forsyth County in 1990?
The 1990 census counted Forsyth County as 98.6% non-Hispanic white, with Asian residents at 0.1% and Black residents under 0.1%. By the 2020-2024 survey the white share had fallen to 61.8% and the Asian share had risen to 19.6%.
Is Forsyth County the richest county in Georgia?
Yes, by median household income. Forsyth's median of $143,784 in the 2020-2024 American Community Survey is the highest of Georgia's 159 counties, ahead of Oconee County at $121,217 and Fayette County at $111,978.
