Here in Atlanta, we definitely live by one slogan ‘We FULL!’ And while Atlanta does seem like it’s quite full a lot of the time, we’ve actually been surpassed by Miami and D.C. in terms of population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Atlanta had recently been at #8 on the list before surging ahead to #6… but we’re back to 8th, coming in just after Washington D.C.!
What cities make up the 10 largest metros now?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
Of the 10 fastest-growing metro areas between 2023 and 2024, nine were in the South, while one was in the West, with the two fastest growing being located in Florida… [and] Seven of the 10 fastest-growing micro areas were in the South, with the two fastest growing over the period located in Georgia and Florida.
Does this mean our population is going down?
No, the exact opposite, actually! According to Urbanize Atlanta,
Metro Atlanta’s 29-county region hardly stagnated, however, adding more than 75,000 people, or a 1.19 percent population bump.
The difference is that Miami added another 123,000 new residents and Washington D.C. brought in nearly 90,600 people. With these massive increases, Atlanta’s population ranking dropped two places below where we were the previous year.
And in fact, The Census elaborated on metro areas’ population growth as a whole by saying,
Population growth in U.S. metro areas as a whole was faster between 2023 and 2024 than in the previous year and outpaced that of the nation. Additionally, some metro areas that experienced population declines during the COVID-19 pandemic are now observing population gains, according to Vintage 2024 estimates of population totals and components of change released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Basically… we full, but not too full for new residents! 😉