No, you're not imagining it: There are more signs in a variety of languages, more restaurants serving ethnic cuisine and more stores carrying cross-cultural products. Those are just a few indications that, in almost every corner of the metro area, Atlanta's population is growing more diverse.

From 1990 to 2000, when the last census data was reported, the 10-county metro area gained new minority residents who counted themselves as black, Asian, Hispanic and other.

Overall, the metro area saw its black population increase by 61.7 percent. Asian numbers grew by 166.9 percent; Hispanics, by 375.8 percent. Other nationalities counted for a 616.8 percent increase.

But the increases were not evenly distributed across the area. The largest increase in black residents came in Gwinnett, Fayette and Douglas counties. The biggest increases in Asian population were in Henry, Gwinnett and Cherokee counties, while Hispanic numbers soared in Rockdale, Gwinnett and Cherokee.

The statistical increases of minority numbers in areas such as Fayette, Douglas, Henry and Cherokee are high because those areas had relatively small minority communities in 1990. But it shows to Bart Lewis, chief of the research division for the Atlanta Regional Commission, that demographics are changing across the metro area.

"The census shows that many tracts, though majority white, do have significant black, Hispanic and Asian populations, " he said. "I think it's a good sign that we are trying to put old racial prejudices behind us." An interesting trend that the last census noted was large economic areas that have formed around predominately minority communities. "It's happening in north Clayton, south DeKalb and south-central Fulton, " Lewis said. "These are areas that are disproportionately non-white by choice." When it comes to average yearly income, the metro area is less diverse. It is primarily a district of middle-class residents, the majority of whom earn between $26,397 and $48,089 per year. The next higher bracket of income, from $48,090 to $105,781, was the second-largest group, with smaller percentages below $26,000 and above $105,782.

If you are a baby boomer between the ages of 45 and 54, you have plenty of contemporaries in the 10-county region. Almost 14 percent of the population falls into that age bracket. The largest age group, with 17.8 percent, is from 35 to 44 years, followed closely by 25 to 34 year-olds at 17.6 percent.

But if you're looking to live in neighborhoods where other young families are starting out, head to Fayette, Gwinnett or Henry. These three counties had the greatest growth–more than 100 percent–in the age range of 17 and younger.

The largest concentration of people between 15 and 30 was clustered just around the Perimeter; outside the circle, the largest age group is 37.5 years and older. Communities with the largest populations age 75 and older were found in central Fulton and DeKalb.

"This region grows by in-migration–people coming for jobs–and those people tend to be young, " Lewis said. "But on the other hand, what we're seeing now is the baby boomers, born from 1946 to 1964, making huge increases in the 35 to 55 age group in the '90s. By 2030, the numbers of people 60 and older will double. Yes, the nation and the region are getting older."