Top 10 facts about Metro Atlanta to be excited about in 2017
By Patrick Adcock
The new year is now in full swing, and as we look forward to all of the changes and opportunities coming, it’s also important to take stock of where Atlanta is on the national and global stage.
Here are some of our favorite statistics about the city of Atlanta and Georgia as a whole:
1. Metro Atlanta is the nation’s ninth largest metro area by population with an estimated 5.7 million people. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, March 2016)
2. From 2014 to 2015, metro Atlanta experienced the fourth most net migration of the nation’s metro areas with a net gain of 58,197 migrants. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, March 2016)
3. Metro Atlanta’s economy is the 10th largest metro economy in the nation with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $339 billion. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, September 2016)
4. From 2014 to 2015, 82,400 net jobs were created in metro Atlanta. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2016)
5. Twenty-five metro Atlanta headquartered companies are among America’s largest corporations qualifying as the 2016 FORTUNE 1000, of which 16 metro Atlanta headquartered companies rank among the 2016 FORTUNE 500. (Source: FORTUNE magazine, 2016 FORTUNE 500/1000, June 2016)
6. Metro Atlanta ranks the fifth metro area in the nation for Inc. 5000 headquarters – home to 220 of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. (Source: Inc. magazine, 2016 Inc. 5000, August 2016)
7. Metro Atlanta has the lowest cost of doing business among the ten largest metro areas in the nation with an index of 95.1 which represents costs 4.9 percent below the U.S. baseline. (Source: KPMG, “2016 KPMG Competitive Alternatives: Guide to International Business Location Costs,” March 2016)
8. 67 countries have representation in metro Atlanta with 81 consular and trade offices and 34 bi-national chambers of commerce serving the Southeast U.S. (Source: MAC; GDEcD 2016)
9. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport offers nonstop service to more than 150 U.S. destinations and 70 international destinations in more than 50 countries. (Source: HJAIA, 2017)
10. Georgia was named the #1 State for Doing Business by Area Development for the last three years and the #1 State for Business Climate by Site Selection for the last four years. (Source: Area Development, “Top States for Doing Business,” 2014, 2015, 2016; Site Selection, “Top State Business Climate Rankings,” 2013, 2014, 2014, 2016)
For more information, visit metroatlantachamber.com
