Atlanta is the No. 1 city in America in the minds of so many of its residents that it comes as little surprise to them when the southern behemoth and giant metropolitan area are actually officially named No. 1 in something. But, still, the more recognition Atlanta receives, the more people seem to want to want to move here, giving the Atlanta real estate market a near constant inflow of home buyers and earning the city the title of the nation’s No. 1 Moving Destination for the fourth year running.
Atlanta has maintained this rank thanks to its low cost of living and its excellent employment opportunities. The city was ranked as the No. 1 city for post-graduates — those who have entered the job market after graduating with their undergraduate or master’s degrees. Atlanta post-grads earn an entry-level average of $43,000 a year, 21 percent higher than the national average, and median rent price in the city is tied with Raleigh and Houston as the nation’s lowest average rent.
Post-grads and other highly-trained professionals are drawn to Atlanta by a high concentration of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the city, the third largest concentration in the country behind only New York and Houston. The companies headquartered in Atlanta include:
- The Home Depot
- UPS
- The Coca-Cola Company
- Delta Air Lines
- Southern Company
- Genuine Parts
- SunTrust Banks
- First Data
- AGCO
- Rock-Tenn
- HD Supply
- Coca-Cola Enterprises
- Newell Rubbermaid
- NCR
The surrounding metro Atlanta area also contains the company headquarters of an additional 12 Fortune 1000 companies.
Thanks to so many businesses choosing to make Atlanta their corporate home, metro Atlanta was also recently ranked as having the 10th largest economy in the country and the 44th largest economy in the world in a recent report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Atlanta is projected to have a $321.1 billion gross metropolitan product in 2014, with an average annual growth rate of 3.6 percent.
With so many industry leaders choosing their homes in and around Atlanta, and with home prices out-competing the rest of the nation, it is no surprise that so many people are moving to Atlanta. They move here to have a better quality of life for themselves and their families.
If you are searching for a new city to call home, be sure to check out Atlanta. A favorable climate, excellent education opportunities, a strengthening real estate market and a strong business sector all make Atlanta a wonderful place to live and work. For more information on real estate opportunities in Atlanta, click here.