Want to compare the metro Atlanta region to 99 of the other largest metro areas in the country? Using our 100 Metros Dashboard, you can do just that! The visual features high-level metrics on topics ranging from demographics, housing, and economic development. Fresh off its 2024 update, we are sharing the dashboard on 33N, along with a few key insights. While we haven’t embedded the dashboard into this post due to sizing constraints, you can access the dashboard here or by clicking on the image below:

Here are but a few key takeaways from the latest dashboard update:

Demographics

  • The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta MSA is now home to 6,307,261 residents, making it officially the 6th largest MSA in the country.
  • Nearly 40% of the population is between the ages of 35 and 64.
    • This percentage is very comparable to fellow Sunbelt cities Nashville (39%), Dallas (39%), Charlotte (40%), and Tampa (39%).

Housing

  • The Atlanta MSA features nearly 2.5 million housing units, with 26% of the housing stock being built in 1979 or earlier.
    • While this might seem like a high percentage, consider that the Washington, D.C. (45%), Charlotte (29%), and Houston (32%) metro areas have a greater percentage of housing units built prior to 1980.
  • Sixty-nine percent of the housing units in the metro area feature costs above 30% of the income of the inhabitants, a term known as “cost-burdened.”
    • Of this 69%, 80% of the owner-occupied units were considered to be cost-burdened, while only 47% of the renter-occupied units were cost-burdened.

Education

  • Nearly 42% of the metro population over the age of 25 has a bachelor’s degree, indicating a relatively well-educated working-age population. This figure is greater than that of the Nashville, Charlotte, Miami, Dallas, and Houston metro percentages of working-age population with a bachelor’s degree.

Explore the dashboard for further insights on these topics as well as health, employment, economic development, and commuting. You can also utilize the “Comparison” tab to more directly compare high-level metrics between cities. Happy exploring!