September 26, 2005
Report & Analysis · Data · Other Poll Releases
Georgians overall are more likely to say that population growth has benefited the state (44 percent) more than it has harmed it (34 percent), according to a recent Peach State Poll. Those who have arrived in the state since 1990 were more likely to characterize the growth positively (51 percent) than were those in the state before 1990 (41 percent).
Georgia’s population has grown over the past 15 years at a rate of about twice that of the nation’s growth. Although about 80 percent of the state’s population growth has come from Americans moving in from other states, 48 percent of the public believe that the growth is more from immigrants from other countries. Only 32 percent see the growth as due to movement from other states. Furthermore, when asked to guess what percentage of the population growth is the product of illegal immigration, the median response was 25 percent.
The Peach State Poll is a quarterly survey of public opinion conducted by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Other Peach State Poll results:
• In response to open-ended questions, the most commonly cited benefit of population growth focused around the impact on the state’s economy resulting from a greater demand for goods and services (34 percent). The most commonly cited harm to the state resulting from population growth was the contribution to traffic and urban sprawl (28 percent).
• Eighty-two percent of respondents said that the migration of Georgians from Mexico and Latin America has changed the state’s culture. While 30 percent characterize that cultural impact as positive, 29 percent see the change to the culture as negative. Another 23 percent see the change as neither good nor bad.
• Women perceive illegal immigration as a larger source of the population growth than do men. The median response to the question of what percentage of the growth is from illegal immigration is 20 percent for men and 30 percent for women.
These data were taken from a Peach State Poll survey conducted between July 25 and August 5, 2005. The poll included 803 telephone interviews of randomly selected adults in Georgia. For a sample of this size, the margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/-3.5 percent.
The Carl Vinson Institute of Government, a public service and outreach unit of the University of Georgia, has as part of its mission to provide policymakers with systematic, objective research to inform policy decisions. In accordance with that mission, the Peach State Poll aims to give voice to the public on important policy matters and issues pertaining to political, social and economic life in Georgia.
