Biz Start-Up Rate Declines in Cobb Amid Red Tape, Slow Responses

The number of new business applications in Cobb County declined in 2023, perhaps reflecting regulatory start-up difficulties reported recently by several Cobb business owners who suffered delayed openings.

Applications to open new businesses declined in Cobb County in 2023, while the state saw an increase in applications overall.Photo byAdeolu EletuonUnsplash

According to annual date published by the US Census Bureau in late June, Cobb County saw 22,149 new business applications in 2023, a decline of 1.6% from the prior year. Cobb County's results stood in stark contrast to most surrounding counties and state-wide applications, the data showed.

Georgia's overall business applications increased 1.7% in 2023, according to the Census Bureau data. Cobb's surrounding counties of Bartow, Cherokee, Fulton, and Paulding counties saw business application activity increase from 1.2% in Fulton County to over 12% in neighboring Cherokee County. Douglass County experienced a 2% decline in new business applications, the Census data showed.

Several new businesses recently opened in Marietta and West Cobb have suffered delayed openings, and their owners blamed red tape, application delays, and slow responses from the county for the delays.

At the Avenues in West Cobb, two new business owners reported that their planned openings had slipped months behind schedule due to local government permitting and inspection delays. Both said they had difficulties scheduling inspections, and experienced instances when inspectors failed to show up as scheduled.

Similarly, an owner of a new Marietta business spoke of permitting delays and slow responses as a reason for a weeks-long opening delay.

The names of the owners and business identities are withheld from this report to avoid any further problems with governing bodies.

Until Covid, new business applications grew steadily in Cobb County since 2013. While Georgia's application rate increased, Cobb's decreasedPhoto byUS Census Bureau Statistical Data

From 2013 to 2020, new business applications increased in Cobb County, following a similar trend at the state level. Then, with the Covid pandemic in 2020, new business applications tumbled at the county and state level.

But in 2023, Georgia saw its first increase in new business applications since the Covid pandemic, while Cobb's application rate declined.