Sugar Hill, Georgia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sugar Hill, Georgia
City
Sugar Hill City Hall
Location in Gwinnett County and the state of Georgia
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Gwinnett
Area
• Total	11.16 sq mi (28.91 km2)
• Land	11.13 sq mi (28.82 km2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.10 km2)
Elevation	1,148 ft (350 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,076
• Density	2,253.82/sq mi (870.22/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	30518
Area code(s)	770, 678
FIPS code	13-74180
GNIS feature ID	0333152

Sugar Hill is a city in northern Gwinnett County in the U.S. state of Georgia and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The population was 18,522 as of the 2010 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Gwinnett County. As of 2019, the estimated population was 24,617.

History

Sugar Hill was established through a charter by the Georgia state assembly in 1939 as the Town of Sugar Hill and officially incorporated on March 24, 1939. The town was renamed the City of Sugar Hill in 1975. Before the city was incorporated, the area was part of a route from the railroad in Buford to the city of Cumming. According to Sugar Hill's city hall, the town was named after an incident where a large shipment of sugar spilled and the area became known as "the hill where the sugar spilled" or "the sugar hill".

In 2001 a drastic increase in natural gas prices, disproportionate to the cost of natural gas outside of Sugar Hill, resulted in residents forming "The Committee to Dissolve Sugar Hill", with over 1,600 residents signing a petition calling for a referendum to abolish both the municipal utility and the city itself. State senator Billy Ray proposed a bill asking for a non-binding referendum. The bill was passed in the state senate but failed to pass in the House, and the effort to revoke the city's charter was unsuccessful. The city council responded to this effort by reducing the utility's prices to be comparable to the surrounding area.

Geography

Sugar Hill is located in northern Gwinnett County in northern Georgia and is a suburb within the Atlanta metropolitan area. It is bordered to the northeast by the city of Buford and to the southwest by the city of Suwanee. Georgia State Route 20 is the main highway through the center of Sugar Hill, leading northwest 11 miles (18 km) to Cumming and south 12 miles (19 km) to Lawrenceville, the Gwinnett County seat. U.S. Route 23 runs along the southern edge of Sugar Hill, leading southwest 5 miles (8 km) to Suwanee and 10 miles (16 km) to Duluth. US 23 turns southeast at the Sugar Hill–Buford border and runs 1 mile (1.6 km) with SR 20 to Interstate 985, which in turn leads northeast 19 miles (31 km) to Gainesville and southwest 36 miles (58 km) to downtown Atlanta.

According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2010 the city of Sugar Hill had a total land area of 10.6 square miles (27.5 km²), of which 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²), or 0.33%, was water. The U.S. Geological Survey lists the city's elevation as 1,149 feet (350 m).

Climate

The climate of Sugar Hill, as with most of the southeastern United States, is humid subtropical (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification with four seasons including hot, humid summers and cool winters.

July is generally the warmest month of the year with an average high of around 87 °F (31 °C). The coldest month is January which has an average high of around 50 °F (10 °C). The highest recorded temperature was 107 °F (42 °C) in 1952, while the lowest recorded temperature was −8 °F (−22 °C) in 1985.

Sugar Hill receives abundant rainfall distributed fairly evenly throughout the year typical of southeastern cities, with February on average having the highest average precipitation at 5.3 inches (130 mm), and April typically being the driest month with 3.7 inches (94 mm).

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 25,076 people, 7,195 households, and 5,806 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of 2010 Sugar Hill had a population of 18,522, with 6,114 households and 4,832 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,748 inhabitants per square mile (675/km²). The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 72.4% white, 9.8% black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian Indian, 5.0% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.6% from some other race and 2.5% from two or more races. 19.6% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the city's 6,114 households, 45.2%% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9%% were married couples living together, 13.2%% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-familie households. 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.46.

The median income for a household in the city was $70,106, and the median income for a family was $75,473. Males had a median income of $53,890 versus $37,991 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,119. About 9.3% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

After the 2000 census the city's growth was ranked 75 out of the 100 highest growing cities in the nation, and one of the 20 fastest growing in the state of Georgia and is Gwinnett County's fourth-largest city by population. Sugar Hill was the third-largest city in Gwinnett County until Peachtree Corners became a city on July 1, 2012.

Economy

On April 28, 2011, Governor Nathan Deal signed legislation that allowed individual local communities to vote on whether to allow alcohol sales on Sundays, which had previously been prohibited by the Georgia General Assembly since the 1800s. A total of 97 cities and counties in Georgia held referendums on November 8, 2011, including Sugar Hill. The Sugar Hill city council voted to allow Sugar Hill residents vote on the issue and on November 15, 2011, Sugar Hill became one of several cities that voted to allow Sunday sales of alcohol. In 2012, the remaining areas of Gwinnett County that did not hold November 8 referendums voted to allow Sunday sales. Supporters of the proposal to allow Sunday sales of alcohol argued that doing so would help the economy.

Education

Gwinnett county operates Gwinnett County Public Schools for K-12 students living in Sugar Hill. Sugar Hill Elementary, White Oak Elementary, Sycamore Elementary, Lanier Middle School and Lanier High School are the public schools serving the city of Sugar Hill residents.

Gwinnett County Public Library operates the Buford-Sugar Hill Branch in Buford.

Infrastructure

Roads and freeways

Sugar Hill's major road is State Route 20, which travels through Sugar Hill in a general northwest-southeast direction, going southeast into the adjoining city of Buford and northwest into Forsyth County. The nearest interstates are I-985 and I-85, which are both accessible via State Route 20 in Buford.

Pedestrians and cycling

• Sugar Hill Greenway (Under construction)
• Western Gwinnett Bikeway (Under construction)

Utilities

The city is a member of the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia and manages the Sugar Hill Gas Department which provides natural gas for the city's residents.

Notable people

• Kurt Johnson, former NHRA pro stock driver and 1993 NHRA Rookie of the Year
• Warren Johnson, former NHRA pro stock driver and six-time NHRA pro stock Champion
• Daryl Mitchell, television and movie actor

See also

In Spanish: Sugar Hill (Georgia) para niños