Metro Atlanta, designated by the

United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and the sixth-largest in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, based on the July 1, 2023 metropolitan area population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Its economic, cultural, and demographic center is

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, and its total population was 6,307,261 in the 2023 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. The core 5 counties of metropolitan Atlanta are Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb, and Clayton, with over 60% of the metro area’s population residing in these counties. The metro area forms the core of a broader trading area, the Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs combined statistical area. The combined statistical area spans up to 39 counties in North Georgia. The CSA recorded in the 2020 U.S. census a population of 6,930,423. Atlanta is the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Census Bureau's

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

region. It surpassed the Greater Miami area in total population in 2021, and both the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

, and the Philadelphia metropolitan area in 2023 (the latter of which is in the Northeast region). About one in ten (10.6%) of residents served by the Atlanta Regional Commission (including the core 5 counties of the metropolitan area) live within Atlanta city limits.

Definitions

By U.S. Census Bureau standards, the population of the Atlanta region spreads across a metropolitan area of , comparable to the size of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Because Georgia contains more counties than any other state except

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

(explained in part by the now-defunct county-unit system of weighing votes in primary elections), area residents live under a heavily decentralized collection of governments. As of the 2000 census, fewer than one in ten residents of the metropolitan area lived inside Atlanta city limits. A 2006 survey by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce counted 140 cities and towns in the 28‑county Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in mid-2005. Eleven cities – Johns Creek (2006), Milton (2006), Chattahoochee Hills (2007), Dunwoody (2008), Peachtree Corners (2012), Brookhaven (2012), Tucker (2016), Stonecrest (2016), South Fulton (2017), Mableton (2022) and

Mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinat ...

(2024) – have incorporated since then, following the lead of Sandy Springs in 2005. The Atlanta metropolitan area was first defined in 1950 as Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb and Clayton counties. Walton, Newton, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Henry,

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, Rockdale, and Butts counties were added after the 1970 census, with Barrow and Coweta counties joining in 1980 and Bartow, Carroll, Paulding, Pickens and Spalding counties in 1990. Atlanta's larger combined statistical area (CSA) adds the Gainesville and

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

metropolitan areas plus

LaGrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaThomaston, Jefferson, Calhoun, and Cedartown micropolitan areas, for a total 2012 population of 6,162,195. The CSA also abuts the Macon and Columbus MSAs. The region is one of the metropolises of the Southeastern United States, and is part of the emerging

megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enough ...

known as Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion along the I-85 Corridor.

Metropolitan statistical area

The counties listed below are included in the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area. In 2023, the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

split the MSA into two conurbated metropolitan divisions. The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metropolitan division consists of the following 24 counties: The Marietta metropolitan division consists of the following five counties. Some entities define a much smaller metropolitan area by including only the counties which have the densest suburban development. Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, and Clayton were the five original counties when the Atlanta metropolitan area was first defined in 1950, and continue to be the core of the metro area. These five counties along with six more (Cherokee, Douglas, Fayette, Henry, Rockdale, and Forsyth) are members of the Atlanta Regional Commission, a weak metropolitan government organization which also is a

regional planning Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land-use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. Regional planning is related to urban planning as it relates land ...

agency. The eleven ARC counties, bolded, and four more (Bartow, Coweta, Hall, Paulding), with an asterisk (*), form part of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, created in 2001.

Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell MSA

The 10 counties listed above with under 60,000 residents are usually not included in any other metropolitan definition except the OMB/Census Bureau's MSA and CSA. Hall County forms the Gainesville MSA, but with astronomical growth to over 200,000 residents, is now also part of the Atlanta CSA. The official tourism website of the State of Georgia features a
"Atlanta Metro" tourism region
that includes only eight counties: Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Clayton, Douglas, Fayette, and Henry.

Combined statistical area

Atlanta GA-AL CSA

Municipalities

Edge cities

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

* Perimeter Center * Hartsfield-Jackson area * Gwinnett Place/

Sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, ...

area More than one half of metro Atlanta's population is in unincorporated areas or areas considered a census-designated-place (CDP) by the census bureau. One notable example is East Cobb, an unincorporated area (though not a CDP) adjacent to Marietta and Roswell in Cobb County. With an estimated population of approximately 164,055 as of 2020, it would be the second largest city in the metro besides Atlanta if incorporated. Metro Atlanta includes the following incorporated and unincorporated suburbs (both inside and outside Atlanta), exurbs, and surrounding cities, sorted by population according to 2020 census data (or later data if the city was incorporated after 2020 and census data is unavailable):

Cities and suburbs

Principal Cities *

pop. 498,044 *

(included in CSA) pop. 127,315 Places with 100,000 to 399,999 inhabitants * East Cobb (unincorporated) pop. 164,055 * Sandy Springs pop. 108,080 * South Fulton pop. 107,436 Places with 75,000 to 99,999 inhabitants * Roswell pop. 92,833 * Big Creek (unincorporated) pop. 83,277 * Johns Creek pop. 82,453 * Mableton (incorporated 2022) pop. 78,000 Places with 50,000 to 74,999 inhabitants * Lost Mountain (unincorporated) pop. 73,312 *

Alpharetta Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818; in 2010, the population had been 57,551. ...

pop. 65,818 * Marietta pop. 60,972 * Stonecrest pop. 59,194 *

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

pop. 55,663 * Brookhaven pop. 55,161 * Dunwoody pop. 51,683 Places with 25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants * Ellenwood (unincorporated) pop. 46,967 * Bill Arp (unincorporated) pop. 44,518 * Peachtree Corners pop. 43,905 * Newnan pop. 42,549 * Gainesville (included in CSA) pop. 42,296 * Milton pop. 41,296 * East Point pop. 38,358 * Tucker pop. 35,322 * Woodstock pop. 35,065 * Douglasville pop. 34,650 * Peachtree City pop. 34,364 * Kennesaw pop. 33,036 * Canton pop. 32,973 * Chamblee pop. 32,251 *

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

pop. 31,873 * Redan (CDP) pop. 31,749 * Lawrenceville pop. 30,629 * Silver City (unincorporated) pop. 29,495 * McDonough pop. 29,051 * Stockbridge pop. 28,973 * Union City pop. 26,830 * Carrollton pop. 26,738 * Sugar Hill pop. 25,076 Places with 24,999 or fewer inhabitants * Decatur pop. 24,928 *

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

pop. 23,478 * Clarkdale (unincorporated) pop. 23,401 * Cartersville pop. 23,187 * Candler-McAfee (CDP) pop. 22,468 * Acworth pop. 22,440 * Lathemtown pop. 21,110 * Suwanee pop. 20,786 * Snellville pop. 20,573 * North Druid Hills (CDP) pop. 20,385 * Forest Park pop. 19,932 * Fayetteville pop. 18,957 * Winder pop. 18,338 * North Decatur (CDP) pop. 18,511 * Conyers pop. 17,305 * Norcross pop. 17,209 * Buford pop. 17,144 * Villa Rica pop. 16,970 * Powder Springs pop. 16,887 * Lithia Springs (CDP) pop. 16,644 * Rex (unincorporated) pop. 16,580 * Fairburn pop. 16,483 * Riverdale pop. 15,129 * Belvedere Park (CDP) pop. 15,113 * Monroe pop. 14,928 * Clarkston pop. 14,756 * Druid Hills (CDP) pop. 14,568 * Lilburn pop. 14,502 * Covington pop. 14,192 * Loganville pop. 14,127 *

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

pop. 14,092 * College Park pop. 13,930 * Braselton pop. 13,403 * Mountain Park (Gwinnett) (CDP) pop. 13,089 * Vinings (CDP) pop. 12,581 * Panthersville (CDP) pop. 11,237 * Doraville pop. 10,623 * Thomaston pop. 9,816 * Irondale (CDP) pop. 8,704 * Tyrone pop. 7,658 * Hampton pop. 6,987 * Auburn (CDP) pop. 6,887 * Barnesville pop. 6,775 * Austell pop. 6,581 * Morrow pop. 6,445 *

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery fiction, mystery series, based on the Lovejoy (novel series), novels by John Grant (Lovejoy), John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six ser ...

pop. 6,422 * Hapeville pop. 6,373 * Conley (CDP) pop. 6,228 * Stone Mountain pop. 5,802 * Flowery Branch pop. 5,679 * Cumming pop. 5,430 * Locust Grove pop. 5,402 * Jonesboro pop. 4,724 * Palmetto pop. 4,448 * Dacula pop. 4,442 *

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

(CDP) pop. 3,135 * Avondale Estates pop. 2,960 * Lakeview Estates (CDP) pop. 2,695 * Grayson pop. 2,666 * Lake City pop. 2,612 * Chattahoochee Hills pop. 2,378 * Lithonia pop. 1,924 * Berkeley Lake pop. 1,574

Geography

Northern Suburbs: Sandy Springs, Roswell, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Peachtree Corners, Milton, Woodstock, Canton, Duluth, Sugar Hill, Suwanee, Norcross, Buford, Mulberry, Holly Springs, Mountain Park, Cumming, Ball Ground, Berkeley Lake, Nelson, Waleska Eastern Suburbs: Stonecrest, Brookhaven, Tucker, Redan, Lawrenceville, Chamblee, Decatur, Candler-McAfee, Snellville, North Druid Hills, Conyers, North Decatur, Belvedere Park, Clarkston, Lilburn, Scottdale, Doraville, Panthersville, Gresham Park, Druid Hills, Dacula, Stone Mountain, Grayson, Avondale Estates, Lithonia, Lakeview Estates, Pine Lake Southern Suburbs: East Point, Peachtree City, McDonough, Stockbridge, Union City, Forest Park, Fayetteville, Fairburn, Riverdale, College Park, Lovejoy, Locust Grove, Hampton, Irondale, Tyrone, Morrow, Conley, Hapeville, Palmetto, Jonesboro, Bonanza, Heron Bay, Chattahoochee Hills, Lake City, Brooks, Woolsey Western Suburbs: Marietta, Smyrna, Mableton, Douglasville, Kennesaw, Acworth, Lithia Springs, Powder Springs, Vinings, Fair Oaks, Austell, Fairplay

Topography and geology

The area sprawls across the low

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geography, geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an highland, upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low terrain, relief hill ...

of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

to the north and the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

to the south. The northern and some western suburbs tend to be higher and significantly more

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

y than the southern and eastern suburbs. The average elevation is around . The highest point in the immediate area is Kennesaw Mountain at , followed by Stone Mountain at , Sweat Mountain at , and Little Kennesaw Mountain at . Others include Blackjack Mountain, Lost Mountain, Brushy Mountain, Pine Mountain, and Mount Wilkinson (

Vinings Mountain Mount Wilkinson is a low mountain immediately north-northwest of and directly overlooking downtown Vinings, Georgia, Vinings, in southeast Cobb County, Georgia, Cobb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, USA. Although it rises s ...

). Many of these play prominently in the various

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

s of the Atlanta Campaign during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. If the further-north counties are included, Bear Mountain is highest, followed by Pine Log Mountain, Sawnee Mountain, and Hanging Mountain, followed by the others listed above. Stone, Sweat, Bear, and Sawnee are all home to some of the area's broadcast stations. The area's

subsoil Subsoil is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. Like topsoil, it is composed of a variable mixture of small particles such as sand, silt and clay, but with a much lower percentage of organic matter and humus. The su ...

is a dense clay soil, colored

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH) ...

y by the

iron oxide An iron oxide is a chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Ferric oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of which is rust. Iron ...

present in it. It becomes very

mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...

dy and sticky when wet, and hard when dry, and

stain A stain is a discoloration that can be clearly distinguished from the surface, material, or medium it is found upon. They are caused by the chemical or physical interaction of two dissimilar materials. Accidental staining may make materials app ...

s light-colored

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...

s and

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

easily. It also tends to have a low pH, further aggravating gardeners. The fineness of it also means it is easily deposited into streams during heavy rains, creating

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...

problems where it is exposed due to construction. This transported red soil can be seen downstream on the riverbanks of south Georgia (where the native clay is white), and down to the

Florida panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

(where the native

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

is also white).

Topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic mat ...

is present only in natural forest areas, created by the

decomposition Decomposition is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is ess ...

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

Earthquakes and fault lines

An extinct fault line called the Brevard Fault runs roughly parallel to the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It ...

, but as its last movements were apparently

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

, it is considered extinct and not a threat to the region. Still, minor

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s do rattle the area (and all of Georgia) occasionally. One notable one was in April 2003 (magnitude 4.6) coming from the northwest, its epicenter just across the state line in northeastern Alabama. While many people slept through the 5A.M. quake, it caused a minor panic in others completely unaware of what was happening. Similar earthquakes occur in this region called the Eastern Tennessee seismic zone, often felt much more widely across the stronger crust of eastern North America as compared to the west. Thus, the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina earthquake was also felt in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast. It caused damage as far as central Alabama and West Virginia. Two small earthquakes were also felt on the southeast side near Eatonton in early April 2009. The New Madrid seismic zone (near the Missouri-Tennessee borders) and the

seismic zone In seismology, a seismic zone or seismic belt is an area of seismicity potentially sharing a common cause. It can be referred to as an earthquake belt as well. It may also be a region on a map for which a common areal rate of seismicity is assume ...

producing the 1886 magnitude 7.3 earthquake are still capable of producing moderate or major earthquakes, which the entire Atlanta area will feel moderately or even strongly.

Climate

The Atlanta metro area has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

with four

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

s. Summer is the longest. January daily lows average from north to south, and highs range from , but often reach well above or below this average. There is an average annual snowfall of about , falling mostly from December through March, though there was snow north of the city on April 3, 1987. Snow flurries are actually common during the winter months when there is an especially deep trough in the jet stream. These events usually do not amount to more than a slight dusting and therefore go unrecognized in most weather summaries. Summers are long and consistently hot and humid. July mornings average and afternoons average , with slight breezes, and typically a 20–40% chance of afternoon

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...

s. During the summer afternoon thunderstorms, temperatures may suddenly drop to 70–77 degrees with locally heavy rainfall. Average annual rainfall is about . Late winter and early spring, as well as July, are the wettest. Fall, especially October, is the driest. From 1878 to 2011, the highest recorded temperatures at Atlanta were on three days in the extraordinarily hot July 1980, followed by that month and in August 2007, the hottest month ever for the area. This was broken on the last day of June 2012, when the temperature reached , during a massive

heat wave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

that hit most of the country, with another 105 the next day tying the July record. The lowest recorded temperatures were and on January 20 and 21 of 1985, and on February 13, 1899, during severe cold snaps that went so far south they devastated the entire

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

industry in

central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

. Hurricane Opal brought sustained

tropical storm A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its lo ...

conditions to the area one night in early October 1995, uprooting hundreds of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s and causing widespread

power outage A power outage, also called a blackout, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, a power cut, or a power out is the complete loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an el ...

s, after soaking the area with rain for two days prior. Since 1950, some metro counties have been hit more than 20 times by tornadoes. Cobb (26) and Fulton (22) are two of the highest in the state. The Dunwoody tornado in early April 1998 was the worst

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

to have struck the area. A tornado struck downtown Atlanta in March 2008, causing a half-billion dollars in damage. The area experiences a winter storm with significant

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

fall about once each year. This can be extremely irregular, with several consecutive years receiving no measurable snow. A

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

(see: 1993 Storm of the Century) caught much of the Southeast off-guard in 1993, dumping at the Atlanta airport on March 13, and much more than that in the suburbs to the north and west, as well as in the mountains. The only other recorded winter storm of comparable severity was the Great Blizzard of 1899. The heaviest snow was in January 1940, when buried the city during its coldest month on record. The second-heaviest was in 1983, when a very late storm dumped on March 24. Ice storms have occurred in the area. The well-remembered 1973 ice storm was brutal, as was the storm in 1982. The Southeastern U.S. drought of 2006–2008 began with dry weather in 2006, and left area lakes very low. The drought began to abate significantly after the 2009 Atlanta floods, when some areas got up to of rain in a week, with half of that falling in just 24 hours near the end of the period. The

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

calculated it to be a greater-than- 500-year flood.

Environment

The area's prolific rains are drained by many different

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

s and creeks. The main basin is that of the

, running northeast to southwest. The further northwestern suburbs drain into the

Etowah River The Etowah River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 waterway that rises northwest of Dahlonega, Georgia, Dahlonega, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, ...

via the Little River and Lake Allatoona. The southern suburbs are drained by the Flint River, and the east-southeastern ones by the

Oconee River The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it join ...

and

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

. By 2005 the metro area was using of water per day (about per person per day) from these rivers. This usage was reduced by more than 10% during the drought, but soared back up after watering restrictions were eased (and before the flooding ensued). The need for water is seen as a barrier to further growth in the area, but permanent measures for non-emergency

water conservation Water conservation aims to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, protect the hydrosphere, and meet current and future human demand. Water conservation makes it possible to avoid water scarcity. It covers all the policies, strateg ...

have never been put in place. The state legislature has refused to pass a requirement for low-flow toilets to be installed in homes that are sold, bowing to

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...

from the real estate

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

industry. Disputes over water are becoming increasingly common, with both

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

filing

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

s and threatening

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

s to prevent Georgia from taking too much water, mostly for metro Atlanta.

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

also threatened when a

pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

east to the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

was mentioned even informally. The state has now been ordered by a judge to reduce withdrawals from the Chattahoochee south of Lanier to 1970s levels within three years (2012), something that would create an immediate emergency water shortage if it were actually enforced.

Flora

The native

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

canopy is mainly oak, redbud,

hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

, poplar,

tuliptree ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family ( Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

, and

sweetgum ''Liquidambar'', commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, styrax or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated as a part of ...

, with chestnut having been common decades before in what is now considered oak-hickory forest. Saw palmetto,

Sabal palmetto ''Sabal palmetto'' (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, SAY-bəl''), also known as cabbage palm, cabbage palmetto, sabal palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, Garfield's tree, and swamp cabbage, is one of 15 species of Saba ...

and Trachycarpus fortunei have become common ornamentals as well. Traveling from the south, the metro area is generally the first area in which

autumn leaf color Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The phenomenon ...

can be seen, due to the different trees growing at the higher elevation and

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

. Underneath, the flowering dogwood is very common, the black cherry are quite prolific, with

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinat ...

popping up sometimes as well. Sourwood is also in its native range, and is easily identified by the fact that it turns fiery red in early October, much brighter and weeks earlier than most other trees (which usually peak in early November). Shrubby plants include

blackberry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

, horsechestnut, sumac, and sometimes hawthorn. Virginia creeper,

poison ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

, and briar are common

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

s. The Confederate yellow daisy is a

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...

native only to the area around Stone Mountain. Common garden plants include dogwood,

azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

hydrangea ''Hydrangea'' ( or ) is a genus of more than 70 species of Flowering plant, flowering plants native plant, native to Asia and the Americas. Hydrangea is also used as the common name for the genus; some (particularly ''Hydrangea macrophylla, H. m ...

, flowering cherry,

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

s, pin oak, red-tip photinia,

holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

, white pine,

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

, Bradford pear,

forsythia ''Forsythia'' , is a genus of flowering plants in the olive family Oleaceae. There are about 11 species, mostly native to Eastern Asia, but one native to Southeastern Europe. ''Forsythia'' – also one of the plant's common names – is named ...

, liriope ( mondograss), and English ivy.

Lawn A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...

s can be either cool-season

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

es like

fescue ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every ...

and rye, or warm-season like zoysia and bermudagrass which turn brown in late fall. A few homeowners associations actually prohibit green grass in the winter. Native to the nearby mountains, maples are now one of the most common landscape trees for new homes and parking lots, giving their color in the fall instead of spring. When planted close to buildings (which provide shelter and radiate heat), they can retain some of their color into December, especially if November has been warm. Common

lawn A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...

weeds are mock strawberry, violet, wild onion, and of course the ubiquitous dandelion, crabgrass, and plantain. By far the most notorious

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

is kudzu, a highly

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

which climbs and smothers trees and shrubs. New effective herbicides as well as increased development of formerly rural areas has greatly reduced kudzu in the metro area (although still quite common elsewhere in Georgia). Wisteria planted decades ago by farmers in then-rural areas has become wild and is common in undeveloped forests. Some vines exceed 50 years of age and cover dozens of acres of forest, creating a dense, purple explosion each spring. Japanese honeysuckle is extremely common, its fragrance an early summer delight. A common ornamental shrub, the Chinese privet, has escaped to become the state's most invasive non-native plant species.

Fauna

Among

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s, the eastern gray squirrel is by far the most ubiquitous, stealing birdseed from the bird feeders which many locals maintain. Chipmunks and small brown

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

s are common, but it is relatively rare to hear of them doing any damage.

Opossum Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 126 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North A ...

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

s, foxes,

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

s and

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

s are frequently seen. Garden and meadow snakes are common; six venomous

pit viper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . or pit adders, are a subfamily (biology), subfamily of Viperidae, vipers found in Asia and the ...

snakes ( Eastern diamondback rattlesnake,

timber rattlesnake The timber rattlesnake (''Crotalus horridus''), also known Common name, commonly as the canebrake rattlesnake and the banded rattlesnake,Albert Hazen WWright AH, species:Anna Allen WWright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States a ...

, pygmy rattlesnake, coral snake, water moccasin and copperhead) are indigenous, but reports of bites are rare. Many types of frogs, including tree frogs and bullfrogs, are easily heard in early summer, as are

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

s in July and August. Black bears occasionally wander down from the mountains, and

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

are abundant; overpopulated in some areas. Homeowners in the outer suburbs are prone to landscaping damage due to scavenging deer. The most common

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s are the

brown thrasher The brown thrasher (''Toxostoma rufum''), sometimes erroneously called the brown thrush or fox-coloured thrush, is a bird in the family Mimidae, which also includes the Catbird, New World catbirds and mockingbirds. The brown thrasher is abundant ...

(the GA state bird), American crow, European (or common) starling, American robin, mourning dove,

house sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the Old World sparrow, sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pa ...

northern cardinal The northern cardinal (''Cardinalis cardinalis''), also commonly known as the common cardinal, red cardinal, or simply cardinal, is a bird in the genus ''Cardinalis''. It can be found in southeastern Canada, through the eastern United States fro ...

, house finch, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, bluejay, white-breasted nuthatch, eastern bluebird, mockingbird, brown-headed nuthatch, and Carolina wren. Birds of prey thrive in the area, with three varieties of hawks common near open fields in even the most populated areas. Falcons roost on skyscrapers in downtown Atlanta and can be regularly seen feasting on pigeons. The American kestrel is sometimes seen. Late in the year, three species of owls can be heard nightly in wooded areas. Various

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...

s can be seen in forested lots, including the red-bellied woodpecker,

northern flicker The northern flicker or common flicker (''Colaptes auratus'') is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker specie ...

(also known as the "yellow-shafted flicker"), and the downy woodpecker. The red-headed woodpecker is common in open fields and on golf courses. The

American goldfinch The American goldfinch (''Spinus tristis'') is a small North American bird in the finch Family (biology), family. It is Bird migration, migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of th ...

is present mostly in winter, and the ruby-throated hummingbird only in summer.

Demographics

Numerically, Metro Atlanta is the third fastest growing metropolitan area in the U.S. The 2020 census counted 6,089,815 people in the 28-county metro area. This was an increase of 803,087 from its 2010 population, representing growth of 15.2%. This was, however, a slower rate than the 28.6% increase recorded between 2000 and 2010. Atlanta MSA in 2000 did not include Butts, Dawson, Haralson, Heard, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, and Pike counties, whose population totalled in 2000: 135,783; in 2010: 156,368 (2.96% of total new 28-county metro)
Compares the larger 28-county Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta MSA 2010 with a smaller 20‑county Atlanta MSA 2000; however the 8 new counties represent less than 3% of the larger 28‑county metro.
Source: for race and Hispanic population, U.S. Census Bureau 2010 and 2000 census; for foreign-born population: US Census Bureau 2010 and 2000 American Community Surveys
''Immigrants in 2010 Metropolitan America'', Brookings Institution
/small>

Race and ethnicity

White American White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person having ...

s made up 55.4% of metro Atlanta's population in 2010, a relative decrease from 63.0% ten years earlier, but in absolute numbers their population increased by over 330,000. Non-Hispanic whites proportionally dropped from 59.5% to 50.7% of the metro's population, while increasing by about 224,000. Black Americans are the largest racial minority with 32.4% of the population in 2010. Metro Atlanta has the second largest African American population behind the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

. From 2000 to 2010, the geographic distribution of blacks in Metro Atlanta changed radically. Long concentrated in the city of Atlanta and DeKalb County, the black population there dropped as more than half a million African Americans settled across other parts of the metro area, including approximately 112,000 in Gwinnett County, 71,000 in Fulton outside Atlanta, 58,000 in Cobb, 50,000 in Clayton, 34,000 in Douglas, and 27,000 each in Newton and Rockdale counties. Due to its availability of jobs, Atlanta has been a destination for young college-educated blacks in the Reverse Great Migration of African Americans from the North since the turn of the 21st century, with many settling quickly into suburban locations. The Atlanta metropolitan area has the second highest total African American population of any metropolitan area, with only the New York City metro area having more.

Hispanic Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spaniards, Spanish or Latin Americans, Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino (demonym), ...

are the fastest growing ethnic group in Metro Atlanta. At 10.4% of the metro's population in 2010, versus only 6.5% in 2000, the metro's Hispanic population increased an astounding 109.6%, or 298,459 people, in ten years. Major Hispanic groups include 354,351

Mexicans Mexicans () are the citizens and nationals of the Mexico, United Mexican States. The Mexican people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish language, Spanish, but many also speak languages from 68 different Languages o ...

, 43,337

Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology, Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borinqueños'', '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borincan ...

and 17,648

Cubans Cubans () are the citizens and nationals of Cuba. The Cuban people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish. The larger Cuban diaspora includes individuals that trace ancestry to Cuba and self-identify as Cuban but are n ...

. All of those groups' populations increased by over 90% in the ten-year period. Of the metro's 299,000-person increase in the Hispanic population from 2000 to 2010, 98,000 were in Gwinnett County, 57,000 in Cobb, 55,000 in Fulton (all but 3,000 outside the city of Atlanta), 20,000 in Hall, and 15,000 in DeKalb County. The Asian-American population also increased rapidly from 2000 to 2010. There were 296,956 Asian-Americans in the metro area in 2010, making up 5.9% of the population. This represented an 87% increase over 2000. The largest Asian groups are 108,980 Indian-Americans, 93,870 Korean-Americans, 67,660 Chinese-Americans, and 66,554 Vietnamese-Americans. Atlanta also has Georgia's largest Bosnian-American population, with approximately 10,000 in the metro area, mainly in Gwinnett County. Metro Atlanta has an increasingly international population, with 716,434 foreign-born residents in 2010, a 69% increase since 2000, with suburban Gwinnett County being one of the most diverse counties in the Southeastern United States. This was the fourth largest rate of growth among the nation's top 100 metros, after

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Orlando and

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. The foreign-born proportion of the population went up from 10.3% to 13.6%, and Atlanta moved up from 14th to 12th in ranking of U.S. metro areas with the largest immigrant population by sheer numbers. Still, its 13.6% proportion of immigrants is only the 29th highest of the nation's top 100 metros. Metro Atlanta's immigrants are more suburban than those of most cities. Out of the top 100 U.S. metros, Atlanta has the 11th highest ratio of the foreign-born living in the suburbs and not in the core city. Atlanta has a few

ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...

s such as a Koreatown, and areas such as the Buford Highway Corridor in DeKalb County and parts of Gwinnett County are commercial centers for multiple ethnic communities. In 1990, greater Atlanta had the largest Japanese population in the Southeast United States. The Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta estimated that, during that year, 7,500 to 10,000 Japanese lived in greater Atlanta. Of the metropolitan areas in the Southeast United States, as of 1990 greater Atlanta had the most extensive education network for Japanese nationals.Lively, Kit.
Education is made in Japan, exported to Atlanta
." ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

''. December 24, 1990. A1. Retrieved on January 11, 2012.

Language

In 2008, approximately 83.3% of the population five years and older spoke only English at home, which is roughly 4,125,000 people. Over 436,000 people (8.8%) spoke Spanish at home, giving Metro Atlanta the 15th highest number of Spanish speakers among American metropolitan areas (MSAs). Over 193,000 people (3.9%) spoke other

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

at home. People who speak an Asian language at home numbered over 137,000 and made up 2.8% of the population.

Economy

The Atlanta area is home to 31

Fortune 1000 {{location map+ , United States , float=right , width=400, relief=1 , caption=''Fortune'' 1000 company headquarters locations. Top 20 companies labeled, places= {{location map~ , United States , lat= 36.365378 , long= -94.217629 , label= Walmart, ...

headquarters. 2022 rankings: The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is the sixth district of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States and is headquartered in midtown

. The Atlanta Fed covers the U.S. states of

, and

, the eastern two-thirds of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, the southern portion of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and southern

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

as part of the

Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

Utilities

The area is the world's largest toll-free calling zone spanning , has four active

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

area codes A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, reach ...

, and local calling extending into portions of two others. 404, which originally covered all of northern

until 1992, now covers mostly the area inside the

Perimeter A perimeter is the length of a closed boundary that encompasses, surrounds, or outlines either a two-dimensional shape or a one-dimensional line. The perimeter of a circle or an ellipse is called its circumference. Calculating the perimet ...

(Interstate 285). In 1995 the

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

s were put into 770, requiring mandatory ten‑digit dialing even for local calls under FCC rules. This made Atlanta one of the US's first cities to employ

ten-digit dialing Ten-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure in the countries and territories of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). It is the practice of including the area code of a telephone number when Dialling (telephony), dialing to initiate a t ...

, which was begun by BellSouth the year before the Centennial 1996 Olympic Games. In 1998, 678 was overlaid onto both of the existing 404 and 770 area codes. Mobile phones, originally only assigned to 404, may now have any local area code regardless of where in the region they were issued. Area code 470, the newest area code, was overlaid with 404 and 770 in the same fashion as 678. The local calling area also includes portions of area code 706, 706/762 and a small area of area code 256, 256 in

on the Georgia border. The city of Atlanta is the most wired city in the United States. Many residents access the internet on a high-speed broadband and/or WiFi connection. It is home to one of the world's largest fiber-optic bundles. Major petroleum and natural gas pipeline transport, pipelines cross the area, running from the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf coast,

, and

to the population centers of the Northeastern United States, Northeastern U.S. This includes Colonial Pipeline and Plantation Pipeline, both based in Alpharetta. Metro Atlanta primarily uses natural gas for central heating and water heating, water heaters, with the major exception of heat pumps in apartments built during and since the 1980s. This is because winters are mild, and large apartment buildings usually require little energy to heat. Backup heat (also used during defrosting) is usually supplied by electric resistance heating, though some homes have hybrid heating units which use gas backup when it is cold. Exurban homes may also use all-electric instead of gas, if gas mains have not been extended to an area. Cooktops and ovens are a mix of gas and electric, while gas clothes dryers are rather rare. with a manual-valve gas starter, and some are now equipped with permanent gas logs with electric fireplace, electric switch start. Some homes also have natural gas grill (cooking), barbecue grills, formerly sold at utility company stores. Georgia Power is the main electric power company across the state and the metro area, beginning in 1902 as Georgia Railway and Power Company, Atlanta's streetcar (tram, trolley) company’s. Several electric membership corporations also serve the suburbs. These include the second-largest EMC in the nation in Jackson Electric Membership Corporation, Jackson EMC, Cobb EMC, Walton EMC, and Sawnee EMC. The city of Marietta operates its own electric utility, Marietta Power, under the Board of Lights & Water (BLW). It is also a member of the Municipal Electric Association of Georgia (MEAG). Atlanta Gas Light is the natural gas utility for the region, and has been so for over a century and a half, since it installed gas lamps in Atlanta in 1856. It operated as a regulated monopoly until November 1998, the after the state legislature voted in early 1997 to deregulate natural gas marketing, and make customers choose among nearly 20 different marketers still selling the same AGL-wholesaled gas, such as Gas South, Infinite Energy, SCANA and Georgia Natural Gas. Most of the gas comes via

from

. Water is provided by various county and a few city systems. Several of these systems actually serve parts of neighboring counties and cities as well. The Cobb-Marietta Water Authority serves not only Cobb, but also parts of neighboring Paulding and Cherokee counties, for example. During drought or other emergency, cities and counties can enact outdoor water-use restrictions, however some cross-jurisdiction water systems have also acted to put bans in place. In late September 2007, the state Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, stepped-in with its first-ever ban, covering most of the northern half of the state. While surface water is by far the primary source of water for the region, the drought had many systems (and a few wealthy homeowners) drilling new water well, wells for ground water, though the local water table is around deep, on average. sanitary sewer, Sewerage is also handled by the water utilities, but the various water and sewer networks may not conform to the same boundaries, resulting in interbasin water transfers. This is for practical reasons, because the area is hilly and divided by several drainage divide, watersheds, because the area has developed irregularly and erratically, and because water treatment plants are usually not near sewage treatment plants. Septic tanks are still used in the older homes of some exurbs.

Housing

Low-density residential subdivision development dominates the metro Atlanta suburbs. Changes in house price index, house prices for the metro area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 20‑city composite (finance), composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.

Community improvement districts

All of Georgia's community improvement districts are located in metro Atlanta. * Buckhead Community Improvement District, covering Buckhead (Atlanta), Buckhead * Perimeter Center Community Improvement Districts, covering the Perimeter Center area of Sandy Springs and Dunwoody/ * Cumberland Community Improvement District, around Cumberland Mall (Georgia), Cumberland Mall * Town Center Area Community Improvement District, around Town Center at Cobb mall * Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District, around Gwinnett Place Mall
Gateway85 Community Improvement District
covering area southeast of Norcross * Evermore Community Improvement District, or Highway 78 Community Improvement District, covering part of the U.S. 78 corridor in Gwinnett near Snellville * Lilburn Community Improvement District, established early 2010 in Lilburn *Aerotropolis Atlanta CIDs *Boulevard CID (industrial district), created 2010 In May 2016, the City of Atlanta launched Atlanta City Studio, the city's first "pop-up urban design laboratory focused on shaping the future of city neighborhoods." The studio hosts "lectures, open forums, urban art presentations and other neighborhood and design components." Atlanta City Studio will relocate twice per year in order for residents to interact with staff and share their ideas about improving city design. The studio is located on the second floor of Ponce City Market and in January 2017 will relocate "to a retail location on the Westside, possibly on MLK Jr. Drive or Cascade Road."

Education

Colleges and universities

* Agnes Scott College – Decatur * Atlanta Metropolitan State College –

* Atlanta Technical College – Atlanta * Atlanta University Center – Atlanta ** Clark Atlanta University ** Morehouse College ** Morehouse School of Medicine ** Spelman College * Brenau University – Gainesville * Chattahoochee Technical College – Acworth and Marietta * Clayton State University – Morrow * Columbia Theological Seminary – Decatur * Emory University – Atlanta * Georgia College & State University – Milledgeville, Georgia, Milledgeville * Georgia Gwinnett College – Lawrenceville * Georgia Institute of Technology – Atlanta * Georgia Piedmont Technical College – Clarkston * Georgia State University – Atlanta ** Georgia Perimeter College, Perimeter College –

, Clarkston, Covington, Decatur and Dunwoody * Gwinnett Technical College – Lawrenceville * Interdenominational Theological Center – Atlanta * Atlanta's John Marshall Law School, John Marshall Law School – Atlanta * Kennesaw State University – Kennesaw and Marietta * Lanier Technical College – Gainesville, Cumming, Winder, Dawsonville, Georgia, Dawsonville and Commerce, Georgia, Commerce * Life University – Marietta * Mercer University – Atlanta * Morris Brown College – Atlanta * Oglethorpe University – Brookhaven * Oxford College of Emory University, Oxford College – Oxford, Georgia, Oxford * Reinhardt University – Waleska, Georgia, Waleska * Savannah College of Art and Design – Atlanta * Southern Crescent Technical College –

* University of North Georgia – Gainesville * University of West Georgia – Carrollton and Newnan * West Georgia Technical College – Carrollton, Douglasville, Newnan and Waco, Georgia, Waco

School districts

* Atlanta Public Schools *Barrow County Schools *Bartow County School District * Buford City School District *Butts County School District *Carroll County School District (Georgia), Carroll County School District *Carrollton City School District *Cartersville City School District *Cherokee County School District (Georgia), Cherokee County School District *Clayton County Public Schools *Cobb County Public Schools *Coweta County School System *Dawson County School District *Decatur City School District *DeKalb County School System *Douglas County School District *Fayette County School System (Georgia), Fayette County School System *Forsyth County Schools * * Fulton County Public Schools *Gainesville City School District *Griffin-Spalding County School District * Gwinnett County Public Schools *Hall County School District *Haralson County School District *Heard County School District *Henry County School District *Jasper County School District *Lamar County School District (Georgia), Lamar County School District *Marietta City Schools (Georgia), Marietta City School District *Meriwether County School District *Morgan County School District *Newton County School System, Newton County School District *Paulding County School District *Pickens County School District (Georgia), Pickens County School District *Pike County School District *Rockdale County School District *Social Circle City School District *Walton County School District (Georgia), Walton County School District

Government and politics

In geographic terms, Georgia has the smallest average county size of any state. This focuses government more locally but allows greater conflict between multiple jurisdictions, each with its own agenda. The first significant intergovernmental agency in metro Atlanta was the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, which runs the MARTA public transportation system. Alongside other factors such as racism, race and socioeconomic class, class, as well as a lack of planning and perceived lack of need, problems associated with the inner city of Atlanta (crime, poverty, and poor public school (government funded), public school performance) influenced Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton county voters to refuse to allow construction of MARTA into their respective counties during the 1970s. These decisions resulted in permanent effects on land development in the region, making use of private automobiles even more of a necessity. The Atlanta Regional Commission is so far the closest that the area has come to a metropolitan government. It approves only those projects deemed to have a positive effect beyond the immediate area in which they are to be constructed. The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority is somewhat of a cross between ARC and MARTA, working to improve mobility, air quality, and land use practices in the region. GRTA also operates Georgia Regional Transportation Authority#'Xpress' service, Xpress buses from 11 counties, and could operate commuter rail service in the future. Currently, plans for commuter rail and eventual intercity rail (including the long-proposed but still unfunded Atlanta Multimodal Passenger Terminal) are the responsibility of the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority, which receives almost no funding. Since 2007 proposals have been floated to allow new multi-county sales taxes, in addition to existing county sales taxes for roads, to pay for regional transportation initiatives. Politics Due to demographic shifts and population increases in the region, Metro Atlanta has trended toward the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, so much so that Democrats have been able to win statewide due to turnout from this area. In 2020, Joe Biden won the area by 15.4 points, enough to narrowly capture the state's 16 electoral votes. In 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia, 2020 and 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia, 2022, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock successfully won full terms to represent the state in the United States Senate, U.S. Senate, mainly due to winning by large margins in Metro Atlanta.

Healthcare

The area is served by a network of healthcare facilities including private practice, urgent care, hospital systems, and specialty care facilities. There are approximately 37 hospitals serving the metro. There are both private for profit systems and community not-for-profit systems.

Hospitals with # beds

''Trauma Centers - Level I * ; Level II **'' Children's Healthcare of Atlanta *Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Arthur M Blank Hospital - Brookhaven - 446 * *Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Hughes Spalding Hospital - Atlanta - 82 *Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Scottish Rite Hospital - Sandy Springs - 319 Emory Healthcare *Emory University Hospital - Atlanta - 733 *Emory University Hospital-Midtown - Atlanta - 511 *Emory University Hospital-Wesley Woods - Atlanta - 71 *Emory University Orthopedic and Spine Hospital - Tucker - 75 *Emory Decatur Hospital - Decatur - 422 *Emory Hillandale Hospital - Lithonia - 90 *Emory Johns Creek Hospital - Johns Creek - 118 *Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital - Sandy Springs - 410 Grady Memorial Hospital - Atlanta - 974 * Northeast Georgia Medical Center - Gainesville - 872 ** Northside Hospital System *Northside Hospital, Northside Hospital Atlanta - Sandy Springs - 621 *Northside Hospital Cherokee - Canton - 126 *Northside Hospital Duluth - Duluth - 81 *Northside Hospital Forsyth - Cumming - 304 *Gwinnett Medical Center, Northside Hospital Gwinnett - Lawrenceville - 353 ** Piedmont Healthcare *Piedmont Hospital, Piedmont Atlanta Hospital - Atlanta - 512 *Piedmont Eastside Hospital - Snellville - 287 *Piedmont Fayette Hospital - Fayetteville - 290 *Piedmont Henry Hospital - Stockbridge - 341 *Piedmont Mountainside Hospital - Jasper - 52 *Piedmont Newnan Hospital - Newnan - 154 *Piedmont Newton Hospital - Covington - 94 *Piedmont Rockdale Hospital - Conyers - 138 *Piedmont Walton Hospital - Monroe - 77 Shepherd Center - Atlanta - 152 WellStar Health System, Wellstar Health System *Wellstar Cobb Hospital - Austell - 387 *WellStar Douglas Hospital, Wellstar Douglas Hospital - Douglasville - 102 *WellStar Kennestone Hospital, Wellstar Kennestone Hospital - Marietta - 662 * *Wellstar North Fulton Hospital - Roswell - 202 ** *Wellstar Paulding Hospital - Hiram - 294 *Wellstar Spalding Regional Hospital - Griffin - 160 Veterans Administration Medical Center, Veterans Administration Health Care *Veterans Administration Medical Center - Decatur

Media

Radio

* Q99.7, 99.7 * Star 94, 94.1 * The River, 97.1 * V-103, 103.3 * El Patron 105.3 * Radio 105.7 * Kiss 104.1 * 96.1 The Beat * praise 102.5 * Bull 94.9 * 99X 100.5 * hot 107.9 * 104.7 Air1 * 106.7 K-Love * 92.9 The Game WZGC * WSB Radio 95.5FM and 750AM * WREK 91.1 - Georgia Tech's Student Radio

TV - Broadcast

*WSB-TV 2 ABC *WAGA-TV 5 Fox *WGTV-TV 8 GPB *WXIA-TV 11 NBC *WPCH-TV 17 The CW *WUVG-TV 34 Univision *WATL-TV 36 MyNetworkTV *WANF-TV 46 CBS

TV - Cable

* CNN * Turner Broadcasting * The Weather Channel * Georgia Public Broadcasting (PBS), 9 stations * Adult Swim

Print

* ''Atlanta Business Chronicle'' * ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' * ''Atlanta (magazine), Atlanta Magazine'' * ''Atlanta Parent'' * ''The Atlantan'' * ''Gwinnett Daily Post'' * ''Jezebel'' * ''Marietta Daily Journal''

Culture and attractions

Professional sports teams

Former teams include the Atlanta Flames (now Calgary Flames) and Atlanta Thrashers (now Winnipeg Jets), both of the National Hockey League. Atlanta also plays host to two NASCAR Cup Series races each year at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Atlanta metropolitan area is also home to three Division I (NCAA), NCAA Division I programs, with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Georgia State Panthers in Atlanta proper and the Kennesaw State Owls in Kennesaw. Both Georgia Tech and Georgia State are members of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Sun Belt Conference, respectively, while Kennesaw State is a member of the ASUN Conference in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision; however, Kennesaw State accepted an invitation to move up to the FBS level from Conference USA starting in 2024.

Performing arts venues

* Atlanta Symphony Hall * Alliance Theatre, Alliance Theater * Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Cobb Energy Centre * Fox Theatre (Atlanta), Fox Theatre * Infinite Energy Arena * Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center * Spivey Hall

Museums

* Center for Puppetry Arts * Children's Museum of Atlanta * Delta Flight Museum * Fernbank Museum of Natural History * Fernbank Science Center * High Museum of Art * Jimmy Carter Library and Museum

Amusement

* College Football Hall of Fame * Georgia Aquarium * Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament * National Center for Civil and Human Rights * Six Flags Over Georgia * Six Flags White Water * World of Coca-Cola * Zoo Atlanta

Parks

* Atlanta Botanical Garden * The BeltLine, Beltline * Centennial Olympic Park * Chastain Park * Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area * Clayton County International Park/The Beach * Freedom Parkway, Freedom Park * Grant Park, Atlanta, Grant Park * Historic Fourth Ward Park * Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park * Piedmont Park * Stone Mountain * Woodruff Park

Festivals

*Music Midtown

Other

* CNN Center

Military presence

* Dobbins Air Reserve Base * Fort Gillem, closed * Fort McPherson, closed

Transportation

The U.S. Census Bureau has defined a metropolitan area for Atlanta which includes, but is not limited to, Roswell, Georgia and Sandy Springs, Georgia. According to the 2016 American Community Survey, about 78% of working metropolitan residents commuted by driving alone, 9% carpooled, 3% used public transportation, and 1% walked. Less than 1% of working residents commuted by bicycle, while about 2% of commuters traveled by all other means. About 7% of residents worked at home.

Transit systems

Atlanta has always been a rail town, and the city once had an extensive Streetcars in Atlanta, streetcar system, which also provided interurban service as far out as Marietta, to the northwest. The streetcars were replaced by an extensive Trolleybuses in Atlanta, trolleybus system, supplemented by buses, in the 1940s and 1950–52, and then converted to all buses in the 1950s and 1960–62. However, building a modern rapid transit system proved a difficult and drawn-out process and, compared to the original plans for a regional system, has only partially been accomplished. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, MARTA operates buses and a subway system in the city of Atlanta, Fulton, Clayton and Dekalb counties, while Cobb Community Transit, Cobb and Gwinnett County Transit, Gwinnett counties operate their own independent Suburban Transit Systems that feed into MARTA. This is a result of those counties' refusal to join the MARTA system (Gwinnett voted in March 2019 to reject MARTA again), a situation which was originally closely related to white flight from the city. It is the only US system in which the state does not provide any funds for operation or expansion, instead relying entirely on a 1% sales tax in its three counties. Due to the passage of a 1% sales tax in Clayton County on November 4, 2014, MARTA replaced the defunct C-Tran system bringing buses and commuter rail to the county beginning March 2015, with full bus service in 2016. The Atlanta Streetcar, a light rail loop, connects Centennial Olympic Park and MARTA heavy rail subway to the Sweet Auburn district and points in between. GRTA Xpress, Xpress GA, a suburban commuter bus service operated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority or GRTA, has over 32 routes running from the suburbs and exurbs to downtown Atlanta in 12 metropolitan counties. Plans are underway for commuter rail and bus rapid transit (BRT), though these are some years away. The $20 billion Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT project appears to conflict with other plans, such as the metro-wide Concept 3 approved by the Transit Planning Board, and the no-Jersey barrier, barrier High-occupancy toll lane, HOT lanes on I‑85 in Gwinnett. MARTA is also considering a BRT line of its own to the east. The first commuter rail line would run south of the city, eventually extended to

and possibly Hampton near Atlanta Motor Speedway. The "Brain Train" would likely be the second route, connecting the University of Georgia in Athens to Emory University and Georgia Tech in Atlanta. As planned, all commuter trains would arrive at the Atlanta Multimodal Passenger Terminal (MMPT), the long-delayed facility just across Peachtree Street from the Five Points (MARTA station), Five Points MARTA station, where all of its lines meet. Planning for the system and its extension as intercity rail across the state are the responsibility of the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority. Another proposed plan that has received very strong grassroots support in recent years is the BeltLine, a Green belt, greenbelt and transit system that takes advantage of existing and unused rail tracks to set up a light rail or streetcar circuit around the core of Atlanta, as well as establishing more Open space reserve, green space and footpaths for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Commercial railways

Before Atlanta was even a city, it was a railroad Transport hub, hub. From this came the joke, popular among other SCulture of the Southern United States, Southerners, that "regardless of whether one goes to heaven or hell, everyone must go through Atlanta first". Many of its suburbs pre-date it as depots or train stations along the major lines in and out of town. Many of these historic stations, including Atlanta's Atlanta Union Station (1930), Union Station and Terminal Station (Atlanta), Terminal Station, were demolition, demolished like many county courthouses and other historic buildings. Many have been saved however, including the L&N station in Woodstock, and the stations along the main W&A line in Marietta and Smyrna. Through mergers, the main railroads in the area are now Norfolk Southern and CSX. The Georgia Northeastern Railroad is a short-line railroad, short line that also services part of the area. There are also several railyards of Atlanta and vicinity, as well as the Southeastern Railway Museum and the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, more commonly known as Amtrak, runs the intercity rail line Crescent (Amtrak), Crescent through metro Atlanta twice daily, with one train heading towards New Orleans and the other headed towards New York (city), New York. All trains make a scheduled stop at Peachtree Station in northern Midtown Atlanta, but it is also possible for arrange for trains to stop in Gainesville, Georgia as well.

Air

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's busiest airport and is the only international airport for the region (and only major international airport for the state). Domestic-only carriers from Atlanta: * Alaska Airlines * American Airlines * Avelo Airlines * JetBlue Airways * Spirit Airlines * Southern Airways Express * Sun Country Airlines * United Airlines Domestic and international from Atlanta: * Delta Air Lines * Frontier Airlines * Southwest Airlines Foreign-based international carriers: * Aeromexico (Joint venture with Delta Air Lines) * Air Canada * Air France (Joint venture with Delta Air Lines) * British Airways * Copa Airlines * Ethiopian Airlines * KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Joint venture with Delta Air Lines) * Korean Air (Joint venture with Delta Air Lines) * Lufthansa German Airlines * LATAM Airlines (Joint venture with Delta Air Lines) * Qatar Airways * Scandinavian Airlines * Turkish Airlines * Virgin Atlantic (Joint venture with Delta Air Lines) * WestJet (Joint venture with Delta Air Lines) Other airports (maintained by local counties) include Charlie Brown Field (Fulton), McCollum Field (Cobb), Cartersville Airport (Bartow), DeKalb Peachtree Airport (DeKalb), Briscoe Field (Gwinnett), Coweta County Airport (Coweta), Cherokee County Airport (Georgia), Cherokee County Airport (Cherokee), Clayton County Airport - Tara Field, Atlanta Speedway Airport (Henry), and Paulding County Airport (Paulding). Former local airports were Stone Mountain Airport and Parkaire Field, among others. DeKalb Peachtree Airport is the primary business jet airport. This is due to its proximity to Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, and the Perimeter office areas.

Roads and freeways

Atlanta is served by three major interstate highways. Including tributaries, they are the following: (Note: The cities used below are also the control cities used for the Metro Atlanta Bypass/I-285 signs entering from the suburbs.) Interstate 75 in Georgia, Interstate 75 passes through from Macon to the south, and from Chattanooga to the north. Interstate 575 is a spur which merges with I‑75 near Kennesaw. I‑575 serves northeast portions of Cobb County and a large portion of Cherokee County. It ends in Ball Ground. Interstate 675 (Georgia), Interstate 675 is a route which connects I‑75 in Henry County to I‑285 in southern Dekalb County. Most of the corridor is within Clayton County. Interstate 85 in Georgia, Interstate 85 passes through from Montgomery on the southwest and from Greenville on the northeast. I-75 merges with I-85 to form the Downtown Connector from the Brookwood Interchange, just north of Midtown Atlanta, to just south of the Lakewood Freeway in south Atlanta. Interstate 185 (Georgia), Interstate 185 is a spur which merges with I‑85 in LaGrange and stretches southward to Columbus. Interstate 985 is a spur which merges with I‑85 in Suwanee and serves the northern suburbs of Gwinnett and Hall Counties. It terminates just northeast of Gainesville. Interstate 285 (Georgia), Interstate 285 is the beltway which encircles the city and its immediate eastern suburbs. It is commonly known as the Perimeter. I‑285 passes through Clayton, Cobb, Fulton, and DeKalb Counties. Interstate 20 in Georgia, Interstate 20 passes through from Birmingham to the west and from Augusta to the east. It serves Douglasville, the major suburb west of Atlanta. It serves Lithonia and Conyers to the east. Atlanta is also served by several other freeways, in addition to the interstate highways, including: Georgia 400 is the main corridor serving the north-central suburbs, and was the only toll road in the metropolitan Atlanta area. As of November 23, 2013, the tolls ended and the toll plazas were demolished. It reaches into the northern portion of Fulton County and gradually turns northeast before entering Forsyth County. The controlled-access portion terminates just northeast of the city of Cumming. To the south, it terminates and merges into southbound I‑85 just south of the Buckhead business district. Cumming/Dahlonega is used on I‑285 as the northbound sign, and Atlanta/Buckhead as the southbound. From I‑85 northbound, it uses Buckhead/Cumming. Stone Mountain Freeway, or U.S. 78, is an 8‑mile corridor east of Downtown Atlanta and the neighboring suburb of Decatur. It serves northeast portions of Dekalb County, including the city of Stone Mountain. It continues east as a divided highway into south Gwinnett County, including the suburbs of Lilburn, Snellville and Loganville. U.S. 78 also stretches east to Athens. Lakewood Freeway, or Georgia State Route 166, Georgia 166, extends between Lakewood Park in south Atlanta and Campbellton Road, just west of I‑285. Peachtree Industrial Blvd, or Georgia State Route 141, Georgia 141, is a route north-northeast of Atlanta which begins on the north side of I‑285 and runs parallel to I‑85 for about four miles until it terminates when it splits into GA‑141 and Peachtree Industrial (continuing as a normal divided highway). Georgia State Route 316 is a four-mile-long route that branches from I‑85 and stretches eastward into Gwinnett County. It continues east as a normal divided highway through the suburb of Lawrenceville and on to Athens. There are many historic roads across the area, named after historic mills of the Atlanta area, its mills and historic ferries of the Atlanta area, early ferries, and historic bridges of the Atlanta area, the bridges later built to replace the ferries. Pace's Ferry is perhaps the best known. Owing to the area's long history of settlement and uneven terrain, most arterial roads are not straight but meander instead, which can be confusing as much as the famed proliferation of Atlanta streets with "Peachtree" in the name. It is also often joked that half the streets are named Peachtree, while the other half have several names to make up for it. Partly, confusion is because the region maintains the historic nomenclature of each county naming its roads for the towns they connect with in surrounding counties. Thus, from Dallas to Roswell, Georgia State Route 120, Georgia 120 is Marietta Highway to the Paulding/Cobb county line, is Dallas Highway to the city of Marietta, Whitlock Avenue to the town square, South Park Square for just one city block, Roswell Street to Cobb Parkway (at the Big Chicken), Roswell Road to the Cobb/Fulton county line, and finally Marietta Street to the town square in Roswell. Further confusion is from the arbitrary location of state routes by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), so that they travel an erratic path requiring several turns by drivers instead of traveling the original straight route; and the renaming of roads by state legislators to honor their friends. There are many roads like this throughout the area, leading to duplication of names in different counties. In Fulton, "Roswell Road" refers to Georgia 9 through northern Atlanta and across Sandy Springs, in addition to the above-mentioned use in Cobb, for example. Numeric street addressing is done by county as well, with the origin usually being at one corner of the town square in the county seat. The U.S. Postal Service ignores these actual and logical boundaries however, overlapping ZIP codes and their associated place names across counties. The Cumberland/Galleria area has Cobb's numbers and an "SE" suffix, but is called "Atlanta" by the USPS (despite being Vinings, which the USPS ironically calls "unacceptable"), which can confuse visitors to think it is far away in southeast Atlanta. Where more than one town in the same county has a road to the same place, the smaller towns have their own name prefixed to it, while the county seat does not. The road need not go directly to the other place, but may connect through other roads. Examples include Due West Road west from Marietta, Kennesaw Due West Road southwest from Kennesaw, and Acworth Due West Road south from Acworth. Some are usually hyphenated, like Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, and Chamblee-Tucker Road. There are also several roads named for communities which have been overwhelmed by the urban and suburban sprawl, and so are somewhat odd to newcomers. These include Sandy Plains, Georgia, Sandy Plains, Crabapple, Georgia, Crabapple, Toonigh, Georgia, Toonigh, Luxomni, Georgia, Luxomni, and Due West, Georgia, Due West. Some of these communities are in the middle of the road, while some are at or very near one end. Some areas are renamed, either over time (Sandy Plains gradually became "Sprayberry" when Sprayberry High School moved there and similarly named shopping centers popped up around it); by the USPS (Toonigh is identified as "Lebanon"), or after rapid development. In such cases, the roads usually maintain their historic names even if the neighborhoods do not. There are also a few U.S. highways that cross the area, including U.S. Route 19 in Georgia, 19, U.S. Route 23 in Georgia, 23, U.S. Route 29 in Georgia, 29, U.S. Route 41 in Georgia, 41, and U.S. Route 78 in Georgia, 78. Other arterials are completely new, like much of Barrett Parkway, Sugarloaf Parkway and South Fulton Parkway, constructed by their counties but partly covered with a state route number. Occasionally, roads are realigned or extended to meet each other directly at a cross-road, leading to odd curves and name changes.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atlanta Metropolitan Area Atlanta metropolitan area, Regions of Georgia (U.S. state) Metropolitan areas of Georgia (U.S. state)

Definitions

Metropolitan statistical area

Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell MSA

Combined statistical area

Atlanta GA-AL CSA

Municipalities

Edge cities

Cities and suburbs

Geography

Topography and geology

Earthquakes and fault lines

Climate

Environment

Flora

Fauna

Demographics

Race and ethnicity

Language

Economy

Utilities

Housing

Community improvement districts

Education

Colleges and universities

School districts

Government and politics

Healthcare

Hospitals with # beds

Media

Radio

TV - Broadcast

TV - Cable

Print

Culture and attractions

Professional sports teams

Performing arts venues

Museums

Amusement

Parks

Festivals

Other

Military presence

Transportation

Transit systems

Commercial railways

Air

Roads and freeways

See also

References

External links