Forsyth County moves to the top of the 2015 TIGC Power Ratings
With the publication Wednesday of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s 2015 County Health Rankings, we can indeed report that, as expected, Forsyth County has slipped past perennial leader Oconee County and claimed 1st place in the 2015 Trouble in God’s Country Power Ratings.
Forsyth County, located in northern Metro Atlanta, for the second year in a row claimed 1st place in the RWJ Health Outcomes rankings and added that to its 1st place economic ranking based on the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ job tax credit rankings. That gives Forsyth a perfect Power Rating of 1.0, the first time that’s been achieved in the six years we’ve been compiling this data. (The TIGC Power Rating is calculated by adding the economic and health outcomes rankings and dividing the sum by 2.)
Oconee County slipped to 2nd place in the overall Power Ratings. It had held 1st place for the first five years on the strength of the top economic ranking and a strong showing in the health category as well. Over the past couple of years, however, its health outcomes ranking had slipped a notch or two, and this year it fell to 2nd place in the economic rankings as well. Its overall Power Rating slipped to 3.5.
Rounding out the top five counties were Fayette, Columbia and Cherokee counties.
Jefferson County landed at the bottom of the heap in this year’s Power Ratings. It ranked 156th for economics and 148th for health outcomes. The other counties in the bottom five were Taliaferro, Crisp, Atkinson and Warren.
To view a complete list of counties, sorted by their Power Rating, and providing their economic and health rankings, click here.
Top 10 Counties Based on Power Rating
| County | Economic Ranking | Health Outcome | Power Rating |
| Forsyth | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Oconee | 2 | 5 | 3.5 |
| Fayette | 6 | 3 | 4.5 |
| Columbia | 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Cherokee | 5 | 6 | 5.5 |
| Cobb | 8 | 4 | 6 |
| Harris | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| Gwinnett | 12 | 2 | 7 |
| Coweta | 15 | 9 | 12 |
| Houston | 17 | 12 | 14.5 |
Bottom 10 Counties Based on Power Rating
| County | Economic Ranking | Health Outcome | Power Rating |
| Hancock | 159 | 133 | 146 |
| Burke | 150 | 143 | 146.5 |
| Clay | 141 | 152 | 146.5 |
| Wilcox | 153 | 140 | 146.5 |
| Jenkins | 148 | 147 | 147.5 |
| Warren | 139 | 157 | 148 |
| Atkinson | 157 | 144 | 150.5 |
| Crisp | 146 | 155 | 150.5 |
| Taliaferro | 144 | 158 | 151 |
| Jefferson | 156 | 148 | 152 |
To zoom in on the 2015 Georgia Economic Rankings Map, click here.
To zoom in on the 2015 Health Outcomes Map, click here.
To zoom in on the 2015 Power Ratings Map, click here.
Copyright © 2015 Trouble in God’s Country
