Norcross, Georgia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The city had a population of 8,410 in 2000. Census Estimates for 2005 show a population of 9,887.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Local companies
5 External links

[edit] History

Norcross was founded in 1866 by John Thrasher. Thrasher named the town after his good friend Jonathan Norcross, the fourth mayor of Atlanta. Thrasher himself had been an early settler of Whitehall, but left in 1842. The site of Whitehall is now in downtown Atlanta, just southwest of the city center.

The original settlers in the Norcross area lived in Pinckneyville, two miles north of Norcross, at the crossroads of Peachtree and Medlock Bridge. They later abandoned their settlement and joined Thrasher in Norcross when the railroad was built in 1870. As the first train stop going northeast out of Atlanta towards Washington, D.C., it became a resort town for the Atlanta elite. Made more attractive by its slightly cooler temperatures due to the higher elevation, vacation homes were built in what is now Historic Norcross.

In recent years, Norcross has become a powerhouse in basketball as Norcross High School, in 2006, won its first state basketball championship and first state title in over 70 years. Its national preseason ranking has been even as high as #2(USA Today); they made a national television appearance on December 7th, 2006 against also nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy (VA). The game appeared on ESPN2 in a prime-time 9pm slot. Norcross also has a highly regarded football team, including its undefeated regular season and #1 state ranking. It can be said that Norcross High School is now recognized as one of the top athletic schools in the nation for the 2006-2007 school year.

[edit] Geography

Norcross is located at 33°56′19″N, 84°12′31″W (33.938551, -84.208630)^GR1. It came into being because it was the first train station stop going northeast out of Atlanta, Georgia towards Washington, D.C.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.6 km² (4.1 mi²). 10.6 km² (4.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.24% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 8,410 people, 2,644 households, and 1,768 families residing in the city. The population density was 792.0/km² (2,050.4/mi²). There were 2,750 housing units at an average density of 259.0/km² (670.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 53.50% White, 20.82% African American, 0.54% Native American, 6.10% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 15.39% from other races, and 3.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 40.93% of the population.

There were 2,644 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 40.9% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 130.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 134.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,728, and the median income for a family was $42,893. Males had a median income of $26,485 versus $27,347 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,573. About 11.8% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 17.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Local companies

Rock-Tenn, a Fortune 1000 paper and packaging manufacturer
American Megatrends, BIOS and motherboard manufacturer
Digitrax, makers of Digital Command Control products and accessories for model railroaders.
Micromeritics, manufacturer of various small-particle analysis instruments.
Waffle House, a restaurant chain located mainly in the Southern United States.
Unisource, a major distributor of paper, packaging and facility supplies.
Institute of Industrial Engineers, a professional society for Industrial Engineers.
Salwa, a South Asian halal food manufacturer.
Reddy US Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Dr Reddy Laboratories, Pharmaceutical company.
Avalon International, Leader in payment processing software & solutions