Alpharetta and Milton residents who pay property taxes, pull permits, or check court records through Fulton County's online portals are now using a system ranked among the 10 best in the country.

Fulton County placed ninth in the 2026 Digital Counties Survey, a national benchmarking program run by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties. The ranking covers counties with populations of 1 million or more. Fulton is home to about 1.1 million residents, including everyone in Alpharetta and Milton.

The county announced the recognition on Thursday, July 23. The award itself was presented at the NACo Annual Conference in New Orleans on July 15.

"To be recognized on a national level reinforces Fulton County's commitment to using innovation to better serve our residents," Fulton County Chief Information Officer Kevin Kerrigan said in the county's announcement.

What the survey measures

Now in its 24th year, the Digital Counties Survey evaluates local governments on six criteria: strategic planning, cybersecurity, digital services, organizational technology leadership, data management, and innovation. Fifty-four counties won recognition across all population categories.

For Alpharetta and Milton residents, the practical upshot is that county-run digital services — property tax lookups, online permit applications, court scheduling, public safety systems — are being built and maintained by an IT department that meets national standards.

What Fulton built

According to the survey's profile of Fulton County, the county's Innovation and Technology Services department has deployed AI tools including ChatGPT and Claude for chatbot integrations and intelligent traffic routing. Low-code platforms let individual departments build their own digital tools faster.

On cybersecurity, Fulton follows a zero-trust model aligned with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, with multifactor authentication and centralized identity governance. The county has classified and labeled 2.5 million existing files under a new data governance program.

The county also runs a Capstone/Internship Center of Excellence Program with local colleges and universities to build its IT workforce pipeline.

Two Georgia counties in the top 10

Gwinnett County, Fulton's neighbor to the east, placed eighth — one spot ahead. Having two metro Atlanta counties in the top 10 of the largest-population category is notable for the region. Orange County, Fla., took first place, followed by King County, Wash., and Alameda County, Calif.

Nationally, cybersecurity remains the top IT priority for counties for the 13th consecutive year, with 41.5% of surveyed counties allocating 6% to 10% of their IT budgets to it. Budget constraints were cited as a pressing challenge by 86.4% of responding counties.

What's next

Unlike a budget vote or zoning case, this recognition does not carry a public comment period or upcoming meeting. The county has not announced any specific new digital service launches tied to the award. Residents can access Fulton County's online services at fultoncountyga.gov.