Suwanee, Georgia

Suwanee, like most towns in Georgia, started out as a Native American village. It was built on the Chattahoochee River, where societies flourished.[6] The city of Suwanee itself was established and officially recognized by the U.S. government in 1837 upon the erection of a post office. In 1871, the Georgia Air Line Railroad was built through Suwanee, and in 1880 the Rhodes House hotel was built to house passengers of the railroad.[6] This was instrumental in bringing people through the town and helped to generate trade and economic activity. In 1881, a fire burned down all of the buildings on Main Street except for one. From 1880 to 1920, the population saw almost no increase, shifting from 216 people to 241 over the course of 40 years.[6] As of 2015, the population of Suwanee was over 18,000[7]

Beginning in 1933 and ending in 1936, the now heavily traveled Buford Highway was constructed through Suwanee.[6] In 1960, Interstate 85 was built to extend to just south of Suwanee, where it ended at the time. Throughout the last 100 years, several primary education schools have opened in Suwanee, including North Gwinnett High School and Suwanee Elementary School. The first known date for Suwanee High School was 1880, when it was a one-room school house.[6] The first city hall was built in the early 1960s, and the second city hall was built in 1997. In 2005, Town Center was constructed and finished in 2009, at which time the city hall moved to it, where it currently resides.[6] In 2003, Suwanee was named a City of Excellence by the Georgia Municipal Association and Trend Magazine.[6] In 2017, Suwanee was recognized as a Green Community by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) certified at the bronze level for the city's commitment to environmental stewardship and their leadership in sustainability practices.

Suwanee has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with mild winters and hot, humid summers.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,786 people, 7,012 households, and 5,235 families residing in the city.

As of 2010, Suwanee had a population of 15,355. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 67.4% white, 10.8% black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 18.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.3% reporting some other race, and 2.3% reporting two or more races. 6.75% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.[12]

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 8,725 people, 2,947 households, and 2,375 families residing in the city. The population density was 889.5 inhabitants per square mile (343.4/km²). There were 3,144 housing units at an average density of 320.5 per square mile (123.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.49% White, 6.38% African American, 0.13% Native American, 6.84% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.16% of the population.

There were 2,947 households, out of which 46.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.8% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.4% were non-families. 14.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.5% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 39.3% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $84,038, and the median income for a family was $91,519. Males had a median income of $60,147 versus $40,650 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,712. About 1.5% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

In 2016, Suwanee unveiled the first Bike Share program in Gwinnett County.[16][17][18]

The city of Suwanee has released a master plan of existing and proposed trails and sidewalks to connect the community neighborhoods, schools and businesses.[19] Major trails include:

• Interstate 85
• U.S. Route 23
• State Route 317

The nearest air service is provided by Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is south of Atlanta. The nearest regional airport is Gwinnett County Airport.