City profile · Georgia · Census ACS 2023

Atlanta, GA

Atlanta's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

499,287
Residents
$81,938
Median income
$420,600
Median home
$1,203
Median rent (state)
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State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Atlanta.

Place dossier plate

Sheet GA-ATLANTA-GA · Atlanta, GA 499,287 pop · income 63rd pct · 327 tracts

POP-MAJOR · INC-HIGH · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-HIGH · BOOK-MEGA

  • POP-MAJOR 499,287
  • INC-HIGH $81,938
  • COL-PAR 96.3
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-UPPER 63rd
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Valparaiso
  • HOME-HIGH $420,600
  • BOOK-MEGA 327 tracts

Nearest income peer: Valparaiso, FL (+ $0 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Atlanta

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Atlanta on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Atlanta on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 499,287.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $81,938. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Atlanta - the verdict

Nationally, Atlanta sits in the 63rd percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.

63rd
percentile, household income
79th
percentile, home value
51st
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: Atlanta, GA

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 499,287 residents in Atlanta, a mid-sized U.S. city within Georgia. Households in Atlanta report a median income of $81,938 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 12.9%. Typical homes in Atlanta are valued around $420,600, and the median resident age is 34.0 years. About 58.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 63.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 8,109 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 147% from five years earlier. NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 63.2°F with 49.3 inches of precipitation per year.

Living costs in Georgia run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Georgia at 96.3 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,203 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Georgia's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). Workers in Atlanta report an average commute of 19.6 minutes, with 55.2% driving alone and 26.6% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 39.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Atlanta's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to housing and income to climate and hazard context to within-city variation to comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Atlanta, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count. No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in Atlanta?

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 55.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 19.6 minutes.

Compare commute patterns →

Question 2

How far does income reach against housing in Atlanta?

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 12.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

Compare the housing trade-off →

3. Within-city variation

What can 327 Census tracts reveal inside Atlanta?

That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.

PlainCities matches 327 Census tracts to this city.

Explore Atlanta's tract profiles →

Question 4

Which cities make useful reference points for Atlanta?

Within Georgia, the closest population matches are Columbus (204,383 residents, $56,622 income); Augusta-Richmond County (201,504 residents, $53,134 income); Macon-Bibb County (156,543 residents, $50,747 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Mesa, AZ (507,478 residents); Kansas City, MO (508,233 residents); Omaha, NE (488,197 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Other supported questions

Why these stay compact

These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.

Climate and hazard context

What physical conditions frame life in Atlanta?

NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 63.2°F, with 49.3 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Georgia is 39.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.

The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.

Mean temperature
63.2°F
Annual precipitation
49.3 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
39.5

NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.

Read the source boundaries →

Population change

Is Atlanta growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.

Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +29,024 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 8,109 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.

Period change
+5.8%
2025 estimate
529,110
2020 estimate
500,086

Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.

See the national growth ranking →

Schools and households

What does the education layer cover for Atlanta?

The NCES join finds 137 public schools within the city match. 58.4% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.

The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.

Matched public schools
137
Bachelor's degree+
58.4%
Poverty estimate
12.9%

NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.

See how the family ranking is built →

Population

499,287 residents

Large city (200k–999k)

Median Household Income

$81,938 /yr

Above median income · poverty 12.9% (Above-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

96.3 (US=100)

Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Georgia average

City profile score · Atlanta, GA

57/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Bachelor's+ share A+
58.4%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Household income C+
$81,938

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Cost of living C
96.3 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Poverty rate F
12.9%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Atlanta profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Bachelor's+ share, Household income, Cost of living, Poverty rate. Bachelor's+ shareHousehold incomeCost of livingPoverty rate 57 C
Atlanta profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Bachelor's+ share: 91/100 (A+) · 58.4%
  • Household income: 61/100 (C+) · $81,938
  • Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.3 index
  • Poverty rate: 28/100 (F) · 12.9%

How does Atlanta compare to other US cities?

Atlanta measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.

Household income 63% higher than other cities
Home value 79% pricier than other cities
Median rent 51% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Atlanta against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Georgia only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

Georgia-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places Atlanta near the bottom of Georgia's cities

Among the 638 Georgia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Atlanta ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Atlanta only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#105 of 610
83rd percentile in Georgia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 638
0th percentile in Georgia
Median Home Value
#34 of 577
94th percentile in Georgia
Poverty Rate
#292 of 637
54th percentile in Georgia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#29 of 638
95th percentile in Georgia
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Georgia only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

63rdIncome percentile
Gauge source note

63rd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Atlanta's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$420,600 21st percentile more affordable than 21% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). This entry sits in this band. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Atlanta $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Atlanta's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.1×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,108 of 15,516
More affordable than 16% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#71 of 117
Large cities (200,000–999,999)

At 5.1×, Atlanta sits in the pressured band: national rank #13,108 of 15,516 and #71 of 117large cities (200,000–999,999). Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$81,938 Atlanta, GA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Atlanta, GA Atlanta, GA's median household income ($81,938) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Atlanta, GA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Atlanta, GA median $81,938/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Atlanta, GA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Atlanta, GA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 58.4%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 12.9%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 63.7%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
499,287
Median Income
$81,938
Median Home Value
$420,600
Median Age
34.0
Poverty Rate
12.9%
Labor force participation
63.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
58.4%

Climate

Avg Temperature
63.2°F
Annual Precipitation
49.3"
Annual Snowfall
N/A

Schools

Total Schools
137
Public schools in this city

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
480,000 residents500,000 residents520,000 residents540,000 residents 202020212022202320242025 500,086 residents 529,110 residents ▲ +5.8%
Atlanta's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 500,086 residents
2021 493,261 residents
2022 500,528 residents
2023 513,206 residents
2024 520,760 residents
2025 529,110 residents

Housing Supply

BPS source

Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized

📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
8,109
housing units authorized
Single-Family
791
detached homes
Multifamily
7,318
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
16.2
permits per 1,000 residents

5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)

Year Total
2019 3,283
2020 1,674
2021 2,413
2022 11,853
2023 7,621
2024 8,109

Permit volume increased 147% from 2019 to 2024.

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Average Commute Time
19.6 minutes
Drive Alone
55.2%
Carpool
4.6%
Public Transit
6.4%
Walk
4.2%
Work from Home
26.6%
Other
3.0%

Based on 263,997 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

Georgia statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Georgia at $225 (electricity about $125 , water and sewer about $45 ).

These are Georgia statewide averages, not a meter reading for Atlanta. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Georgia's BEA cost-of-living index is 96.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Atlanta is $1,203/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Georgia statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 39.5 / 100 (Very Low).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a Georgia statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Atlanta sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Atlanta compares to similar-size Georgia cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
Atlanta (this city) 499,287 $81,938
Columbus 204,383 $56,622
Augusta-Richmond County 201,504 $53,134
Macon-Bibb County 156,543 $50,747
NOAA Normals NCES CCD Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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