Why Atlanta - 2025
- Gregg Metcalf
- Jul 24, 2025
- 10 min read
Updated: Aug 21, 2025
Atlanta just keeps getting better, a desirable destination for individuals and businesses, thanks to its continued growth, relative affordability, and strong job market.
• Georgia has ranked the #1 state for doing business for 11 consecutive years.
• Atlanta is ranked the #1 smartest city in the U.S.
• Atlanta is tied for 2nd when it comes to diversity of industry among Fortune 500 company headquarters.
Atlanta's great state of Georgia ...
Honing in on Atlanta ...
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Demographics
Atlanta remains a highly desirable destination for individuals and businesses, thanks to its continued growth, relative affordability, and strong job market. While previous years saw Atlanta rise in the ranks of the most populous metro areas, recent data indicates a slight shift. From 2023 to 2024, the Atlanta metro area experienced substantial growth, adding approximately 75,000 new residents, bringing the expected population to over 6.2 million by 2025. However, Atlanta has since dropped to the 8th largest metro area in the U.S. as of early 2025.
The city’s job market remains robust and diverse, with key sectors such as healthcare, entertainment, and finance driving employment. As of April 2025, the unemployment rate stood at 3.0%, reflecting a healthy economic environment. Although Georgia’s overall economic growth is projected to be slightly slower in 2025 compared to the previous year, it is still expected to outpace the national average, driven by a resilient labor market and successful economic development initiatives.
Population growth:
Over the past decade, Atlanta’s population increased by over 750k people, and in the past year, the metro saw the fourth-highest increase in population in the nation.
28 of 29 counties within the metro saw population growth from 2023-2024.
Alongside the Atlanta MSA, Georgia’s population also grew. Out of the state’s 159 counties, only 35 saw population declines, with two-thirds of these being more rural counties. Two of Georgia’s counties are the 1st and 4th fastest growing in the nation: Dawson County saw 6.4% growth, and Jackson County saw 5.8% growth, illustrating the increasing attractiveness of North Georgia.
Domestic Migration to Atlanta:
The South continues to drive population growth across the U.S. through a combination of domestic and international migration and natural increase, where there were more births than deaths.
Atlanta experienced the nation’s third-highest population increase in 2023, with the metro now accounting for just over 57% of Georgia’s total population. While domestic migration drove half of the state’s overall population increase, it accounted for just 27% of Atlanta’s growth, where natural population increase and international migration played significantly larger roles.
Growth forecast
 | Remaining in the top ten metros for net migration, Atlanta was the number 8 spot, with 206 new residents moving to the MSA each day in 2024, a jump from 188 in 2023. |
In 30 years...
Metro Atlanta’s total population is forecasted to increase by 30% by 2050, with the addition of 1.8 million residents.
The biggest age group is expected to remain the youngest tranche; however, the biggest growth will be seen on the opposite end, those aged 75 and older. An additional 840,000 jobs are expected to be added during the same timeframe.
Suburban Nodes:
Atlanta is densifying, with the city of Atlanta’s population increasing at a faster pace than the MSA as a whole. The majority of the suburban locations around the city are also seeing healthy population gains.
Education:
Atlanta ranks 7th amongst top metros with nearly
43%
of metro Atlanta’s population aged 25 or older earning a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Business Environment
Location economics
Georgia has attractive incentives for quality projects that create at least 50 new jobs while investing in the state. The number of jobs created, wages and investment amount are baseline criteria to qualify for an incentive in Georgia. Depending on these factors, incentive packages can range from $750,000 to more than $50 million.
Primary incentives: projects meeting job creation minimums may qualify for payroll tax credits and investment tax credits.
Other incentives: grants, infrastructure, electricity discounts, training and workforce and local assistance.
Cost of doing business:
Along with much of the Southeast, Atlanta ranks as one of the most affordable places to do business, cheaper than all of the Gateway markets and the U.S. as a whole. State incentive programs, low corporate income tax rates and a pro-business regulatory environment are some of the main factors that keep Georgia attractive and affordable for businesses.
Diversified business:
While being 8th in overall number of Fortune 500 headquarters in the U.S., Atlanta is in the top four of diversity of industry, tying for second with Dallas and Los Angeles. The metro area has nine distinct industries spanning across 16 companies.
Connectedness
Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains an unparalleled amenity for Atlanta residents and businesses, with unrivaled domestic and global access. The airport spans 4,700 acres on the southwest side of the Atlanta city limits, seven miles south of Downtown. This year marks a significant milestone as Hartsfield-Jackson celebrates its centennial anniversary.
80% of the nation’s population is within a two-hour flight of Hartsfield-Jackson. It remained the busiest airport in the world for both flights and passengers in 2024, with passenger volumes jumping 3.3% from the prior year to 108.1 million.
All roads lead to Atlanta
Atlanta sits at the intersection of three major interstates, serving as a
logistics hub for the Southeast and U.S.
• Georgia’s six U.S. interstates include two major transcontinental interstates
(I-95 and I-75) and provide 1,200 miles of interstate highway
• 20,000+ miles of state and federal highway
• Georgia products can reach 80% of Americans within a 2-day drive
• Governor Kemp announced a $1.5 Billion investment in the 2026 budget. This will go towards local roads, capital construction and maintenance as well as improving our freight carrying infrastructure.
Atlanta BeltLine
The Atlanta BeltLine is a 22-mile loop consisting of 33 miles of nearly-interconnected pedestrian and bicycle trails utilizing former rail corridors throughout Atlanta’s urban core. All mainline trails are expected to be complete by 2030 and 85% are currently complete or under construction. Also, MARTA-integrated light rail is proposed along the 22-mile loop which aims to enhance accessibility to residents.
The BeltLine continues to be a catalyst for Atlanta’s growth, helping to connect and revitalize neighborhoods and spur new development with inclusivity and sustainability as the priority.
Lifestyle
Cost of Living
Despite inflationary pressures nationwide, the overall cost of living in Atlanta continues to land below the national average, falling to the bottom of comparable markets and gateway cities. Home prices in the metro are also just below the national average. These factors continue to draw new people to the metro and contribute to Atlanta’s attractiveness.
Tourism Sports and Culture
City too busy to hate
n the early 1960s, Atlanta was at the center of the American Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Ralph David Abernathy and many of their peers found a welcoming home to grow their nationwide movement in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn district on the east side of Downtown, a mecca for Black-owned businesses at a time when few Black Americans owned businesses. This mecca arose, despite negative social and legal pressures, due in part to the Atlanta University Center – both the oldest and largest consortium of Black colleges and universities in the United States. Ivan Allen Jr., an ally to the Civil Rights movement, ordered the end of segregationist practices in Atlanta when he became mayor in 1962, an unprecedented step in the American South at the time. It was during Allen’s tenure as mayor that Atlanta gained the moniker “A City Too Busy to Hate” – highlighting both the explosive economic growth of the city and its tolerance and acceptance of African Americans when so many in the region were intolerant, and a moniker that Atlantans take pride in to this day.
Today, nearly 60 years following the tragic killing of Dr. King, Atlanta continues to be at the forefront of Black American culture, education and commerce. The City of Atlanta is 47% Black, with the second highest education rate amongst African Americans of any major American city. It supports over 170,000 Black-owned businesses and is home to countless Civil Rights museums and education centers, including the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and The King Center, administered by the National Park Service.
Industries to watch
Manufacturing
Georgia is a leader in advanced manufacturing, outpacing the U.S. in 10-year GDP growth across machinery, electrical equipment, and fabricated metals sectors. Manufacturing comprises over 90% of Georgia’s exports, substantially driving the state’s economy. To maintain this competitive edge, Georgia has cultivated an innovation ecosystem through strategic partnerships between state agencies, businesses, research universities, and technical colleges. Programs like Georgia Quick Start deliver essential workforce training, ensuring a skilled labor pipeline for manufacturers – particularly significant as Georgia ranks #1 nationally for manufacturing job creation with over 57,000 new positions from recent announcements.
The state has experienced remarkable growth in its automotive manufacturing sector, anchored by major investments from companies like Hyundai. The expanding presence of automakers and their suppliers has created a robust ecosystem, positioning Georgia to emerge as the Southeast’s epicenter for the future automotive industry.
Data centers
Demand for data centers continues to be unyielding. Large megawatt colocation buildings are starting to deliver in the market, and currently 75% of data center space under construction is preleased. With even more user demand continuously coming to the market, more opportunistic developers are joining the fray, attempting to entitle large sites to further meet user demand. Cloud users in particular are active, jumping up from 50% to 90% of demand since last year.
Technology
Demand for data centers continues to be unyielding. Large megawatt colocation buildings are starting to deliver in the marke
Atlanta will continue to be one of the fastest growing cities for Tech, with a thriving ecosystem fueled by its education infrastructure, talent and innovation incubators and will continue to be a magnet for businesses, investors and talent. Tech worker average earnings in Atlanta are the 2nd highest in the Southeast and tech jobs will grow at the 3rd fastest pace in the Southeast over the next five years.
Logistics and trade
The combination of transportation infrastructure, geographic advantages, and business environment has made Atlanta a natural choice for companies establishing distribution centers and logistics operations in the U.S. One of the major contributing factors is the infrastructure in place connecting the Savannah Port to not only Atlanta but the entire Southeast. Intermodal ports greatly exacerbate the market’s ability to move goods, utilizing multiple major interstates that run through the state as well as two Class I rail lines (CSX and Norfolk Southern).
Georgia’s exports have grown by 37% over the past 10 years, which is greatly aided by the Savannah Port and its proximity to Atlanta’s population node. The state is now ranked 6th in the U.S. for total international trade. |  |
Y’allywood
In 2008, the state of Georgia passed the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act, which provides a 20% tax credit to companies that spend $500,000 or more on production and/or post-production in Georgia, either on a single project or multiple projects over one year. Companies are eligible for an additional 10% tax credit if the production adds a Made in Georgia logo to the credits. More recently, the state passed a bill to add postproduction companies to those benefitting from the entertainment tax credits, which goes into effect in 2026. Thanks to incentives like these, along with the state’s pro-business climate, Atlanta has become one of the top film production hubs in the world.
Commercial Real Estate Landcape
Atlanta
office market
 | The Atlanta office market is the 7th largest in the nation and the largest in the Southeast with over 174 million square feet of space spread across three urban and seven suburban submarkets |
The Atlanta office market is the 7th largest in the nation and the largest in the Southeast with over 174 million square feet of space spread across three urban and seven suburban submarkets.
Office Snapshot
The shifts on the supply side are playing a large role in the office market and will continue to do so in the next few years. The impact of office inventory removals, coupled with a lack of new development, is likely to put downward pressure on vacancy rates. Net change in inventory (excluding deliveries)
Atlanta has maintained a healthy level of leasing activity despite economic headwinds, Leasing activity was robust in 2024, and extra-large transactions returned to the market. More deals over 75k s.f. were leased than in the prior 5 years as tenants continue to commit to larger spaces, which signals more confidence in the market. Count of large lease transactions (75,000 s.f.+)–
Despite ongoing workplace evolution involving tenants downsizing, many businesses remain committed to physical office space in Atlanta, with a significant portion even increasing their presence in the market. Seventy-five percent of tenants who leased at least 20,000 s.f. in 2024 either maintained or grew their office footprint. 2024 deals >20,000 s.f. by footprint (# of leases)
Atlanta Office Market Q2 2025
Atlanta
industrial market
 | The Atlanta office market is the 7th largest in the nation and the largest in the Southeast with over 174 million square feet of space spread across three urban and seven suburban submarkets |
The Atlanta office market is the 7th largest in the nation and the largest in the Southeast with over 174 million square feet of space spread across three urban and seven suburban submarkets.
Industrial Snapshot
TheAnnual leasing volumes reached second-largest volume on record in 2024. Annual leasing volumes (millions of s.f.)
Tenant demand continues to diversify while demand from traditional users remains strong. Top industries per year (deals over 100K s.f.)
Completion volumes are above the average since 2017 but under construction volumes continue to stop as groundbreakings have slowed. Completion and under construction volumes (millions of s.f.)
Atlanta Industrial Market Q2 2025
Atlanta
multi-housing market
2024 was a record year for completions and absorption for the Atlanta market. These trends have continued into 2025 with Atlanta ranking #1 for quarterly absorption. Projected deliveries peaked in 2024 and will taper off over the next three years, falling to less than 1% of total inventory by 2027. Atlanta ranks #3 in the country for rental aged population, and despite the slowdown in deliveries, rental demand is expected to remain strong as the cost of renting continues to be a more affordable option for Atlanta’s residents.
Transaction volumes have been down sharply after peaking in 2021, but Atlanta still ranks in the top 10 in the country for transactions in the past year. Momentum continued into 2025 with transaction volume experiencing double digit growth and the number of transactions exceeding the past two years.
How to Stay Ahead
Conduct a Needs Analysis to align your real estate strategy with your business objectives.
Secure and Optimize Office Location(s), Space(s), and Lease(s).
Maximize Profitability, Recruitment, and Retention
Many companies lose millions of dollars due to lack of employee engagement, loss of top talent, and inefficient or unneeded office space.
Working with Gregg Metcalf, clients gain the insights, the analysis, and the plan to obtain the lease and office space that retains the best employees, attracts top talent, and maximizes productivity as well as profitability.
To Contact Gregg Metcalf:
email: gregg.metcalf@jll.com
mobile: 404.661.9284
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