The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released its 2020 report on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by County, and Cobb County ranked second in the state, behind only Fulton County.
Gwinnett County had the third-largest GDP, followed by fourth-place Dekalb and fifth-place Chatham.
The BEA defines GDP as follows:
Gross domestic product (GDP) by county is the value of goods and services produced by the county’s economy less
the value of goods and services used up in production. GDP by county is the substate counterpart of the nation’s
GDP, the Bureau’s featured and most comprehensive measure of U.S. economic activity.
Cobb County’s overall GDP was $48,514,523,000 during the 2020 reporting period, down from $50,373,128,000 in 2019. a one-year drop of 3.7 percent.
This drop was in keeping with the trend for the 141 counties in the U.S. with populations of 500,000 or more. GDP increased in nine counties and decreased in 132.
Impact of COVID-19 on county-level GDP
The report acknowledged the probable impact of COVID-19 on the figures, but stated the following:
The 2020 estimates of local area GDP were impacted by the response to the spread of COVID-19, as governments issued and lifted “stay-at-home” orders and government pandemic assistance payments were distributed to households and businesses. The full economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be quantified in the local area GDP estimates, because the impacts are generally embedded in source data and cannot be separately identified. For more information, see Federal Recovery Programs and BEA Statistics.
The following figures for GDP in counties in Georgia are in thousands of “chained dollars.” Chained dollars are a means of adjusting for inflation so that apples-to-apples comparisons are made when comparing GDP over time.
Boston University’s Global Development Policy website defines chained dollars as follows:
Chained-dollar measures of real GDP and GDP growth are based on the use of index numbers. The ratio of two values of GDP in adjacent years, measured at a common set of prices, can be used as a quantity index to measure production in one year relative to another.
Numbers in columns 2-5 in thousands of dollars.
| County | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020 Rank in state | 2018 percent change | 2019 percent change | 2020 percent change |
| Appling | 1,437,273 | 1,383,965 | 1,388,942 | 1,521,770 | 44 | -3.7 | 0.4 | 9.6 |
| Atkinson | 208,815 | 210,451 | 219,752 | 217,106 | 126 | 0.8 | 4.4 | -1.2 |
| Bacon | 329,599 | 323,019 | 339,090 | 349,207 | 107 | -2.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 |
| Baker | 64,302 | 64,412 | 73,676 | 71,567 | 154 | 0.2 | 14.4 | -2.9 |
| Baldwin | 1,183,560 | 1,174,201 | 1,227,563 | 1,156,519 | 54 | -0.8 | 4.5 | -5.8 |
| Banks | 399,841 | 419,464 | 395,898 | 352,612 | 106 | 4.9 | -5.6 | -10.9 |
| Barrow | 1,856,979 | 1,969,504 | 2,011,714 | 2,024,624 | 37 | 6.1 | 2.1 | 0.6 |
| Bartow | 4,454,461 | 4,506,843 | 4,529,467 | 4,424,931 | 19 | 1.2 | 0.5 | -2.3 |
| Ben Hill | 460,170 | 460,827 | 464,846 | 464,145 | 95 | 0.1 | 0.9 | -0.2 |
| Berrien | 347,844 | 345,838 | 365,401 | 336,630 | 110 | -0.6 | 5.7 | -7.9 |
| Bibb | 7,498,495 | 7,640,986 | 7,565,865 | 7,305,106 | 11 | 1.9 | -1.0 | -3.4 |
| Bleckley | 217,524 | 212,654 | 218,073 | 213,883 | 128 | -2.2 | 2.5 | -1.9 |
| Brantley | 219,121 | 224,791 | 223,503 | 218,296 | 125 | 2.6 | -0.6 | -2.3 |
| Brooks | 304,231 | 295,490 | 372,427 | 422,365 | 98 | -2.9 | 26.0 | 13.4 |
| Bryan | 881,089 | 907,522 | 931,778 | 935,816 | 60 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 0.4 |
| Bulloch | 2,142,199 | 2,148,559 | 2,230,248 | 2,181,129 | 35 | 0.3 | 3.8 | -2.2 |
| Burke | 2,479,441 | 2,502,329 | 2,770,976 | 2,925,520 | 31 | 0.9 | 10.7 | 5.6 |
| Butts | 563,077 | 573,731 | 606,238 | 618,046 | 81 | 1.9 | 5.7 | 1.9 |
| Calhoun | 116,277 | 107,428 | 116,646 | 123,269 | 143 | -7.6 | 8.6 | 5.7 |
| Camden | 1,815,759 | 1,706,146 | 1,681,147 | 1,646,245 | 42 | -6.0 | -1.5 | -2.1 |
| Candler | 228,308 | 230,926 | 242,307 | 247,958 | 122 | 1.1 | 4.9 | 2.3 |
| Carroll | 4,035,264 | 4,287,421 | 4,379,895 | 4,400,168 | 21 | 6.2 | 2.2 | 0.5 |
| Catoosa | 1,303,059 | 1,325,094 | 1,369,792 | 1,339,864 | 48 | 1.7 | 3.4 | -2.2 |
| Charlton | 183,147 | 173,760 | 188,145 | 190,996 | 133 | -5.1 | 8.3 | 1.5 |
| Chatham | 16,428,911 | 16,437,050 | 16,972,627 | 15,642,840 | 5 | 0.0 | 3.3 | -7.8 |
| Chattahoochee | 1,518,856 | 1,448,459 | 1,461,834 | 1,482,800 | 45 | -4.6 | 0.9 | 1.4 |
| Chattooga | 570,075 | 556,996 | 521,470 | 455,798 | 97 | -2.3 | -6.4 | -12.6 |
| Cherokee | 6,823,417 | 6,945,639 | 7,328,211 | 7,195,518 | 12 | 1.8 | 5.5 | -1.8 |
| Clarke | 6,896,415 | 7,020,361 | 6,953,967 | 6,641,583 | 13 | 1.8 | -0.9 | -4.5 |
| Clay | 73,804 | 76,373 | 83,827 | 91,665 | 153 | 3.5 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| Clayton | 16,332,087 | 16,906,216 | 17,042,400 | 12,905,048 | 6 | 3.5 | 0.8 | -24.3 |
| Clinch | 231,163 | 217,221 | 227,836 | 251,935 | 121 | -6.0 | 4.9 | 10.6 |
| Cobb | 47,659,687 | 49,147,970 | 50,373,128 | 48,514,523 | 2 | 3.1 | 2.5 | -3.7 |
| Coffee | 1,364,712 | 1,372,368 | 1,417,286 | 1,344,193 | 47 | 0.6 | 3.3 | -5.2 |
| Colquitt | 1,267,188 | 1,309,815 | 1,332,075 | 1,337,602 | 49 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 0.4 |
| Columbia | 3,521,769 | 3,705,448 | 3,761,838 | 3,695,253 | 24 | 5.2 | 1.5 | -1.8 |
| Cook | 320,645 | 338,481 | 340,272 | 341,195 | 109 | 5.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Coweta | 3,977,627 | 4,141,214 | 4,439,799 | 4,420,137 | 20 | 4.1 | 7.2 | -0.4 |
| Crawford | 156,335 | 155,410 | 145,580 | 143,192 | 138 | -0.6 | -6.3 | -1.6 |
| Crisp | 757,745 | 751,452 | 808,578 | 761,697 | 71 | -0.8 | 7.6 | -5.8 |
| Dade | 344,383 | 368,728 | 381,863 | 365,935 | 104 | 7.1 | 3.6 | -4.2 |
| Dawson | 775,582 | 788,216 | 819,918 | 783,732 | 67 | 1.6 | 4.0 | -4.4 |
| Decatur | 716,644 | 712,310 | 734,452 | 744,779 | 73 | -0.6 | 3.1 | 1.4 |
| DeKalb | 35,904,535 | 37,234,455 | 37,502,746 | 36,347,742 | 4 | 3.7 | 0.7 | -3.1 |
| Dodge | 400,074 | 374,436 | 400,451 | 378,259 | 102 | -6.4 | 6.9 | -5.5 |
| Dooly | 382,896 | 367,046 | 383,901 | 344,372 | 108 | -4.1 | 4.6 | -10.3 |
| Dougherty | 3,983,044 | 3,985,846 | 4,053,082 | 3,924,765 | 23 | 0.1 | 1.7 | -3.2 |
| Douglas | 4,007,390 | 4,152,162 | 4,299,267 | 4,118,159 | 22 | 3.6 | 3.5 | -4.2 |
| Early | 447,554 | 437,427 | 434,379 | 462,425 | 96 | -2.3 | -0.7 | 6.5 |
| Echols | 50,558 | 37,242 | 39,643 | 40,620 | 156 | -26.3 | 6.4 | 2.5 |
| Effingham | 1,719,764 | 1,759,227 | 1,737,909 | 1,904,352 | 38 | 2.3 | -1.2 | 9.6 |
| Elbert | 577,096 | 577,992 | 567,768 | 574,295 | 85 | 0.2 | -1.8 | 1.1 |
| Emanuel | 636,768 | 582,886 | 616,873 | 607,102 | 83 | -8.5 | 5.8 | -1.6 |
| Evans | 354,509 | 356,208 | 342,318 | 326,637 | 111 | 0.5 | -3.9 | -4.6 |
| Fannin | 640,151 | 672,790 | 686,539 | 647,971 | 79 | 5.1 | 2.0 | -5.6 |
| Fayette | 4,450,291 | 4,665,254 | 4,840,047 | 4,690,393 | 17 | 4.8 | 3.7 | -3.1 |
| Floyd | 3,760,011 | 3,720,155 | 3,676,108 | 3,488,556 | 26 | -1.1 | -1.2 | -5.1 |
| Forsyth | 9,155,547 | 9,116,770 | 9,491,142 | 9,300,037 | 10 | -0.4 | 4.1 | -2.0 |
| Franklin | 884,049 | 914,117 | 858,799 | 773,326 | 70 | 3.4 | -6.1 | -10.0 |
| Fulton | 150,557,257 | 158,070,326 | 168,439,892 | 161,378,980 | 1 | 5.0 | 6.6 | -4.2 |
| Gilmer | 835,315 | 856,032 | 832,482 | 784,987 | 65 | 2.5 | -2.8 | -5.7 |
| Glascock | 31,381 | 28,950 | 30,275 | 29,249 | 158 | -7.7 | 4.6 | -3.4 |
| Glynn | 3,531,868 | 3,618,902 | 3,559,558 | 3,398,503 | 27 | 2.5 | -1.6 | -4.5 |
| Gordon | 2,105,470 | 2,090,919 | 2,165,968 | 2,079,131 | 36 | -0.7 | 3.6 | -4.0 |
| Grady | 574,507 | 582,630 | 585,465 | 575,820 | 84 | 1.4 | 0.5 | -1.6 |
| Greene | 633,018 | 681,720 | 684,403 | 650,595 | 78 | 7.7 | 0.4 | -4.9 |
| Gwinnett | 43,777,498 | 44,581,618 | 45,850,475 | 44,429,717 | 3 | 1.8 | 2.8 | -3.1 |
| Habersham | 1,341,758 | 1,393,852 | 1,381,218 | 1,322,340 | 50 | 3.9 | -0.9 | -4.3 |
| Hall | 9,351,889 | 9,773,913 | 10,114,487 | 9,941,138 | 8 | 4.5 | 3.5 | -1.7 |
| Hancock | 144,568 | 143,603 | 144,556 | 142,844 | 139 | -0.7 | 0.7 | -1.2 |
| Haralson | 725,837 | 740,496 | 746,267 | 730,944 | 75 | 2.0 | 0.8 | -2.1 |
| Harris | 474,706 | 489,151 | 492,674 | 467,952 | 94 | 3.0 | 0.7 | -5.0 |
| Hart | 769,585 | 846,654 | 823,944 | 751,310 | 72 | 10.0 | -2.7 | -8.8 |
| Heard | 1,259,030 | 1,074,705 | 1,142,905 | 1,127,251 | 55 | -14.6 | 6.3 | -1.4 |
| Henry | 5,535,416 | 5,803,664 | 6,229,082 | 6,087,470 | 15 | 4.8 | 7.3 | -2.3 |
| Houston | 6,078,191 | 6,169,178 | 6,383,219 | 6,280,378 | 14 | 1.5 | 3.5 | -1.6 |
| Irwin | 168,307 | 173,238 | 184,395 | 191,233 | 132 | 2.9 | 6.4 | 3.7 |
| Jackson | 2,743,801 | 2,863,701 | 2,927,747 | 2,990,715 | 30 | 4.4 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| Jasper | 256,052 | 246,357 | 260,282 | 258,766 | 120 | -3.8 | 5.7 | -0.6 |
| Jeff Davis | 342,707 | 345,778 | 380,305 | 373,385 | 103 | 0.9 | 10.0 | -1.8 |
| Jefferson | 498,481 | 462,423 | 503,011 | 488,853 | 92 | -7.2 | 8.8 | -2.8 |
| Jenkins | 141,112 | 132,252 | 148,758 | 150,813 | 137 | -6.3 | 12.5 | 1.4 |
| Johnson | 112,683 | 114,915 | 113,589 | 107,387 | 147 | 2.0 | -1.2 | -5.5 |
| Jones | 417,058 | 381,758 | 410,910 | 399,190 | 99 | -8.5 | 7.6 | -2.9 |
| Lamar | 374,744 | 363,526 | 377,920 | 391,488 | 100 | -3.0 | 4.0 | 3.6 |
| Lanier | 115,791 | 111,375 | 113,123 | 113,603 | 145 | -3.8 | 1.6 | 0.4 |
| Laurens | 1,559,140 | 1,586,728 | 1,589,735 | 1,559,013 | 43 | 1.8 | 0.2 | -1.9 |
| Lee | 605,862 | 599,415 | 653,586 | 671,208 | 77 | -1.1 | 9.0 | 2.7 |
| Liberty | 3,248,976 | 3,280,329 | 3,320,174 | 3,276,351 | 28 | 1.0 | 1.2 | -1.3 |
| Lincoln | 115,642 | 112,323 | 114,721 | 113,359 | 146 | -2.9 | 2.1 | -1.2 |
| Long | 162,043 | 163,315 | 159,866 | 155,138 | 136 | 0.8 | -2.1 | -3.0 |
| Lowndes | 4,364,739 | 4,453,864 | 4,566,913 | 4,470,317 | 18 | 2.0 | 2.5 | -2.1 |
| Lumpkin | 720,320 | 719,046 | 780,950 | 775,062 | 69 | -0.2 | 8.6 | -0.8 |
| McDuffie | 564,685 | 558,823 | 596,053 | 611,029 | 82 | -1.0 | 6.7 | 2.5 |
| McIntosh | 235,520 | 234,343 | 229,273 | 216,947 | 127 | -0.5 | -2.2 | -5.4 |
| Macon | 460,231 | 425,572 | 400,970 | 358,204 | 105 | -7.5 | -5.8 | -10.7 |
| Madison | 509,847 | 537,558 | 496,115 | 474,342 | 93 | 5.4 | -7.7 | -4.4 |
| Marion | 105,327 | 104,956 | 101,177 | 96,630 | 149 | -0.4 | -3.6 | -4.5 |
| Meriwether | 553,267 | 540,014 | 529,702 | 519,883 | 88 | -2.4 | -1.9 | -1.9 |
| Miller | 163,463 | 176,408 | 184,504 | 195,949 | 129 | 7.9 | 4.6 | 6.2 |
| Mitchell | 706,983 | 679,682 | 715,053 | 742,907 | 74 | -3.9 | 5.2 | 3.9 |
| Monroe | 1,523,380 | 1,567,907 | 1,446,063 | 1,102,190 | 56 | 2.9 | -7.8 | -23.8 |
| Montgomery | 147,312 | 142,414 | 145,873 | 142,417 | 140 | -3.3 | 2.4 | -2.4 |
| Morgan | 691,322 | 727,667 | 810,863 | 784,291 | 66 | 5.3 | 11.4 | -3.3 |
| Murray | 1,217,820 | 1,142,798 | 1,156,410 | 1,167,629 | 53 | -6.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| Muscogee | 9,283,140 | 9,300,859 | 9,493,232 | 9,360,230 | 9 | 0.2 | 2.1 | -1.4 |
| Newton | 2,548,160 | 2,647,301 | 2,738,094 | 2,677,863 | 33 | 3.9 | 3.4 | -2.2 |
| Oconee | 1,196,281 | 1,279,124 | 1,468,909 | 1,407,127 | 46 | 6.9 | 14.8 | -4.2 |
| Oglethorpe | 327,555 | 342,760 | 304,455 | 272,941 | 116 | 4.6 | -11.2 | -10.4 |
| Paulding | 2,490,476 | 2,615,108 | 2,786,800 | 2,818,150 | 32 | 5.0 | 6.6 | 1.1 |
| Peach | 790,354 | 794,396 | 828,988 | 825,687 | 64 | 0.5 | 4.4 | -0.4 |
| Pickens | 918,855 | 933,273 | 935,180 | 884,161 | 61 | 1.6 | 0.2 | -5.5 |
| Pierce | 376,093 | 362,651 | 369,452 | 378,570 | 101 | -3.6 | 1.9 | 2.5 |
| Pike | 289,374 | 278,465 | 308,537 | 310,544 | 114 | -3.8 | 10.8 | 0.7 |
| Polk | 1,078,852 | 1,078,616 | 1,134,358 | 1,037,230 | 57 | 0.0 | 5.2 | -8.6 |
| Pulaski | 282,643 | 280,810 | 275,877 | 264,518 | 118 | -0.6 | -1.8 | -4.1 |
| Putnam | 475,511 | 470,259 | 501,792 | 494,219 | 91 | -1.1 | 6.7 | -1.5 |
| Quitman | 37,051 | 37,776 | 34,348 | 33,921 | 157 | 2.0 | -9.1 | -1.2 |
| Rabun | 482,491 | 471,876 | 513,912 | 514,736 | 89 | -2.2 | 8.9 | 0.2 |
| Randolph | 157,739 | 156,885 | 160,868 | 162,397 | 135 | -0.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Richmond | 10,984,419 | 10,981,769 | 11,020,630 | 10,721,090 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.4 | -2.7 |
| Rockdale | 3,449,966 | 3,511,568 | 3,501,839 | 3,513,706 | 25 | 1.8 | -0.3 | 0.3 |
| Schley | 97,659 | 103,443 | 103,602 | 100,456 | 148 | 5.9 | 0.2 | -3.0 |
| Screven | 298,041 | 293,027 | 286,099 | 273,259 | 115 | -1.7 | -2.4 | -4.5 |
| Seminole | 255,971 | 256,105 | 273,878 | 264,287 | 119 | 0.1 | 6.9 | -3.5 |
| Spalding | 1,848,686 | 1,845,440 | 1,892,917 | 1,846,823 | 40 | -0.2 | 2.6 | -2.4 |
| Stephens | 827,273 | 834,604 | 846,678 | 830,995 | 63 | 0.9 | 1.4 | -1.9 |
| Stewart | 105,371 | 112,974 | 123,197 | 122,188 | 144 | 7.2 | 9.0 | -0.8 |
| Sumter | 976,433 | 958,932 | 975,824 | 950,445 | 59 | -1.8 | 1.8 | -2.6 |
| Talbot | 115,677 | 128,810 | 121,887 | 95,452 | 150 | 11.4 | -5.4 | -21.7 |
| Taliaferro | 28,460 | 28,761 | 30,791 | 26,602 | 159 | 1.1 | 7.1 | -13.6 |
| Tattnall | 637,133 | 646,532 | 571,927 | 567,829 | 86 | 1.5 | -11.5 | -0.7 |
| Taylor | 193,321 | 189,634 | 196,947 | 184,546 | 134 | -1.9 | 3.9 | -6.3 |
| Telfair | 300,112 | 288,628 | 262,524 | 246,532 | 124 | -3.8 | -9.0 | -6.1 |
| Terrell | 212,161 | 191,802 | 198,468 | 195,020 | 130 | -9.6 | 3.5 | -1.7 |
| Thomas | 1,881,321 | 1,912,359 | 1,931,847 | 1,864,574 | 39 | 1.6 | 1.0 | -3.5 |
| Tift | 1,631,260 | 1,677,764 | 1,727,482 | 1,736,477 | 41 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 0.5 |
| Toombs | 871,203 | 866,246 | 855,369 | 865,736 | 62 | -0.6 | -1.3 | 1.2 |
| Towns | 320,840 | 319,053 | 341,877 | 321,399 | 112 | -0.6 | 7.2 | -6.0 |
| Treutlen | 96,755 | 91,640 | 91,749 | 93,802 | 152 | -5.3 | 0.1 | 2.2 |
| Troup | 3,153,677 | 3,147,398 | 3,268,726 | 3,148,141 | 29 | -0.2 | 3.9 | -3.7 |
| Turner | 190,296 | 178,864 | 199,373 | 193,233 | 131 | -6.0 | 11.5 | -3.1 |
| Twiggs | 233,895 | 251,226 | 253,458 | 247,873 | 123 | 7.4 | 0.9 | -2.2 |
| Union | 681,844 | 680,187 | 699,329 | 724,744 | 76 | -0.2 | 2.8 | 3.6 |
| Upson | 613,872 | 615,655 | 640,543 | 621,029 | 80 | 0.3 | 4.0 | -3.0 |
| Walker | 1,356,260 | 1,341,872 | 1,319,659 | 1,294,813 | 51 | -1.1 | -1.7 | -1.9 |
| Walton | 2,250,011 | 2,271,977 | 2,399,415 | 2,368,026 | 34 | 1.0 | 5.6 | -1.3 |
| Ware | 1,303,474 | 1,297,874 | 1,276,616 | 1,217,441 | 52 | -0.4 | -1.6 | -4.6 |
| Warren | 125,961 | 139,004 | 145,322 | 141,782 | 141 | 10.4 | 4.5 | -2.4 |
| Washington | 555,386 | 543,234 | 559,579 | 537,637 | 87 | -2.2 | 3.0 | -3.9 |
| Wayne | 758,068 | 767,733 | 910,312 | 951,650 | 58 | 1.3 | 18.6 | 4.5 |
| Webster | 51,453 | 46,445 | 52,402 | 52,351 | 155 | -9.7 | 12.8 | -0.1 |
| Wheeler | 95,080 | 95,297 | 92,679 | 94,003 | 151 | 0.2 | -2.7 | 1.4 |
| White | 772,850 | 760,753 | 806,939 | 775,210 | 68 | -1.6 | 6.1 | -3.9 |
| Whitfield | 5,271,919 | 5,270,687 | 5,309,240 | 5,122,435 | 16 | 0.0 | 0.7 | -3.5 |
| Wilcox | 149,724 | 141,284 | 145,360 | 140,313 | 142 | -5.6 | 2.9 | -3.5 |
| Wilkes | 333,697 | 342,507 | 306,113 | 269,409 | 117 | 2.6 | -10.6 | -12.0 |
| Wilkinson | 510,066 | 512,090 | 562,317 | 504,743 | 90 | 0.4 | 9.8 | -10.2 |
| Worth | 314,099 | 318,222 | 332,702 | 316,674 | 113 | 1.3 | 4.6 | -4.8 |