Per a CoStar Market Update, the Atlanta market saw the country's eighth-largest increase in population growth last year, with a spike in international migration largely responsible for driving the increase, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The population rose by roughly 75,100 residents from 2023 to 2024, estimates released last week by the Census Bureau show. At over 6.4 million people, Atlanta’s total population also ranks as the eighth-largest region in the nation, though that represents a drop from last year when Atlanta claimed the No. 7 spot.
International migration accounted for a nearly 50,000-person increase in population, a jump that is significantly larger than the last several years. From 2022 to 2023, international migration to Atlanta was 40,800 people. From 2021 to 2022, it was 35,700 people.
Domestic migration, on the other hand, was negative 1,300 residents. That is atypical for Atlanta. The 2022 to 2023 count was positive 16,300 residents, and the 2021 to 2022 count was 37,900 residents.
Among the top 10 markets for numerical population growth, Atlanta wasn’t alone in terms of negative domestic migration. New York; Miami; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; and Seattle each posted negative net migration between 11,500 and 146,900 residents.
While negative domestic migration in Atlanta was much smaller than in these other markets, the change could speak to the region’s shifting narrative on affordability. In the first quarter of 2023, Atlanta multifamily asking rents were over $1,700 per month — over 20% higher than they were in the first quarter of 2020. In recent quarters, apartment rent in Atlanta has declined but remains about 19% higher than it was in early 2020.
Another factor could be slow job growth. Domestic migration had been driven by impressive increases in regional employment. This has slowed over the past two years. Employment in the United States grew by about 2.8% compared to 2.1% in Atlanta from January 2023 to January 2025, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The total population increase last year puts the Atlanta region’s year-over-year growth at 1.2%. This is lower than many of the other Sun Belt cities in the top 10 for numerical growth: Dallas grew by 2.2%, Houston grew by 2.6%, Miami grew by 1.9% and Phoenix grew by 1.7%.
The region's 2023 to 2024 growth of 75,100 people was also less than the past two years. According to the latest data, the population grew by about 82,900 residents from 2022 to 2023 and 92,500 residents from 2021 to 2022.
The Atlanta market dropped to the eighth spot in total population after being surpassed by the tri-county South Florida area. That area, which includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, now has a population of nearly 6.5 million people.
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