PERRY, Ga. — According to US Census data, Houston County moved up to become Georgia's 14th largest county. Perry helped fuel the rise -- it's the fastest-growing area of Central Georgia's fastest-growing county. Perry's population rose nearly 50% in the past decade -- that's more than 6,700 new residents. Warner Robins grew by more than 13,000 people -- a 20% increase. Centerville increased by 15% with over 1,000 more people.
Business owners in downtown say they've definitely seen that boom. Michelle Rhoades owns Mossy Creek Natural. She says more people coming in brings an economic impact.
Rhoades moved to Perry in 2006. She says the school system and quality of life are some factors that have kept her family here.
“When we came downtown, remember that a lot of the storefronts had not been remodeled -- a lot of them were empty, and they were for rent because it was like right around that downturn of the economy, so there's a huge difference between what was then and what is now,” said Rhoades.
In downtown, she opened her store in 2015. Since then, she says her revenue has doubled.
“So the foot traffic has increased, the infrastructure as far as the people that are in place to keep the events going, the exposure that we're getting as far as downtown as a whole, everything is contributing to our sales down here,” said Rhoades.
Perry's Economic Development Administrator Ashley Hardin says affordable housing, city events, and parks and recreation play a role in the growth. She says there are some target areas developers want to build on.
“So with that, we're gonna see additional growth and just more people that want to locate here we're gonna see new construction, in several areas all over Perry, both Courtney Hodges Sam Nunn. This location as well [Perry Parkway],” said Hardin.
She says Perry’s centralized location and the Georgia National Fairgrounds makes it an ideal hotspot.
“You can pretty much be at the beach or in the mountains and three hours, so we're excited about that. The new hotel coming to the convention center will provide an opportunity for conferences in the middle of the state, that will bring people from all over,” said Hardin.
Rhoades says she doesn't plan on leaving.
“They're on the path of creating this community to where you don't have to leave to go anywhere. It's just awesome to be able to walk downtown for the people that live in Perry, and they can go to an event or go to a restaurant and walk back home,” said Rhoades.
Rhoades and Hardin say Perry has become a "live-work-play" community and they hope to continue growing.