Metro Atlanta has surged back to become the sixth-largest metro area in the United States, logging 6.482 million residents according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The region gained 61,953 people in the year ending July 1, 2025.
That growth rate placed Atlanta third nationally in numeric gains, behind only Houston and Dallas. The surge allowed Atlanta to leapfrog Miami and Washington D.C., which had temporarily passed the region in previous estimates.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic six years ago, metro Atlanta has added nearly 400,000 total residents. The Atlanta Regional Commission notes the 29-county area's growth of 0.96 percent outpaced the nation.
The population boom helps explain traffic congestion and housing demand across the region, as well as the continued investment in transit and infrastructure.