Running Head: ATLANTA 1

Atlanta: Economic Analysis

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Atlanta is a metropolitan city in the United States and the capital city of the State of

Georgia. The population estimate of the city was 463,878 in 2015 (Bureau, 2016). In the

United States, Atlanta is the 9th largest metropolitan town and home to about 6 million

people. The city is the county of the county of Fulton and small portion of it stretches into the

county of DeKalb eastwards.

Atlanta exerts a significant impact in different areas such as entertainment, art,

technology, media, research, education, finance and commerce and this makes it a world

city. Among the top world cities, Atlanta is ranked 40th and 8th in the U.S having a gross

domestic product of approximately 270 billion Dollars. The city is also home to the

headquarters of major international media corporations such as the Turner Broadcasting

System (TBS), the Cable News Network (CNN) as well as Cox Enterprise. Nevertheless, the

city is home to several multimillion dollar companies also known as Fortune 500 such as The

Home Depot, The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines and The United Service Parcel.

Figure 1: Map of Atlanta

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Atlanta is the 40th-largest city in the United States and the largest city in Georgia. In

the Southeastern region, it is ranked as the 6th largest. The median income between the year

2010 and 2015 for a household in Atlanta has been averagely 47,464 Dollars while the

median income for a family has been averagely 59,711 Dollars. Close to 22 percent of the

population and 18 percent of families belonging to the lower class. The combined statistical

area of the population of Atlanta is 5,626,400 (Bureau, 2016). The population has steadily

grown over the past century of the citys existence and in 1970, it peaked at approximately

496,000. However, the population decreased by 16% when the city lost about 100,000

residents from 1970 to 2005. In this period, the metro area acquired over 3,000,000 people

which slit the metro population of the citys share by 50% from over twenty five percent in

1970 to about twelve percent in 2005. However the population has been increasing

cumulatively to about 420,000 residents in 2010. Atlanta is an interracial city with people of

different races as the occupants. The table below shows the percentage in race of the

residential population between 1940 and 2010 (Ambrose, 2006).

Racial composition 2010 1990 1970 1940

White 38.42% 31.19% 48.37% 65.38%

Black or African American 54.01% 67.12% 51.27% 34.56%

Non-Hispanic 36.29% 30.3% 47.33% n/a

Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 5.18% 1.89% 1.51% n/a

Table 1: Racial Composition of the population of Atlanta

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The data composition of Atlanta by race in the years 2005 and 2010 by foreign-born status,

ethnicity and race is shown in the table below:

Foreign-born Population. % of Population. % of absolute %

Status, Ethnicity 2010 total 2005 total change change
or Race 2010 2005 2005- 2005-
2010 2010

Black 286,126 54.01% 249,829 57.37% 36,297 14.45%

White 211,365 38.39% 138,352 33.18% 22,763 16.46%

White non- 183,294 33.28% 135,322 31.29% 22,155 16.78%

Hispanic

Asian and Pacific 28,071 5.09% 16,873 3.89% 11,198 65.78%

Islander

Hispanic or 56,142 10.22% 32,643 7.45% 23,499 72.03%

Latino of any race

Foreign-born 33,621 8.01% 27,352 6.56% 6,269 22.89%

Table 2: Data composition of Atlanta by race in the years 2005 and 2010 by foreign-born status,

ethnicity and race

As of 2010, Atlanta has been considered the 4th largest city in the nation with black-

majority and has been known as the Black Mecca for a long time due to the citys role as

the centre of culture (music and film), education, social & political power and black wealth.

Atlanta has realized a great demographic increase in it white population (Galloway, 2011).

The whites city populations proportion increased drastically between 2000 and 2006 as

compared to any city in the United States. By 2010, the population of the whites had grown

by about 23,000 people growing the percentage from 30% in 2005 to 36% in 2010. This is

basically more than twice the increase between 2005 and 1990. In the same period, the
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population of blacks in the city dropped by close to 32,000 people, a decrease from 62% of

the population of the city in 2010 to about 53% in 2010. The demographic change is as a

result of the whites influx into refurbished in-town neighbourhoods e.g. Old Fourth Ward

and the East Atlanta and the blacks movements into the suburbs e.g. the county of Clayton

(Galloway, 2011).

Atlanta has always been a very busy and industrious city. It has been home for about

494,000 jobs since the year 2015. The largest industries are Social Assistance and Healthcare.

They account for 13% of the total employment with over 63,000 jobs. Another major

employment in the city includes Professional, Technical and Scientific Services which

account for 11% of the total employment in the city. In this industry, employment is

concentrated at 80% more in the city than in the whole nation. Government service

employment is also concentrated in the city. The average wages generated annually in

Atlantic City is very high, close to 67,800 Dollars, due in part to size of the Professional,

Scientific and Technical Services (98,000 Dollars annually).

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While employment contraction occurred during Atlantas recession, the city has steadily

recovered. Between 2010 and 2015, there was an addition of over 45,000 jobs in the city and

consequently boosting employment by 10%. The Professional, Scientific and Technical

Services contributed the most. It was responsible for increasing employment by 23% creating

over 10,500 jobs. Social Assistance and Healthcare also added over 7,800 jobs. There was

also rapid growth in the Administrative, Support, and Waste Management and Remediation

Services industry with over 8000 jobs. This portion expanded employment by 25%. The rapid

increase in staffing agencies and temporary jobs show that some organizations are utilizing

these services rather than directly hiring permanent workers. Within the same period, the

Educational Services, the Wholesale Trade and Information lost jobs.

Between 2010 and 2015, the growth of employment in the Atlantic City exceeded the

growth in Georgia and the United States. While there was a 2% annual increase in

employment in the city, in Georgia and in the overall nation, employment respectively grew

by 1.9% and 1.6%. Employment is expected to progressively grow within the next decade in

Atlantic City, with the addition of about 25,000 jobs, thus boosting employment by 5%. The

Social Assistance and The healthcare industries are expected to drive this growth which is

planning to add close to 25,000 jobs (Benfield, 2011). The Accommodation & Food services

as well as The Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industries are also expected to

progressively grow rapidly while the manufacturing and Utilities industries are expected to

shrink slightly. Every year, over 17,000 employment opportunities are anticipated in Atlantic

City due to new demand and replacement. Over 65% of opportunities arise from replacement

demand. The Professional, Scientific and Technical Services as well as the Healthcare and

Social Assistance are anticipated to offer the highest number of opportunities.

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The table below shows projected demands for employment and demand.

Bold represents jobs with the highest average annual demand for employment
Green represents jobs that are expected to increase the most jobs Employment

If a client chose to invest in the area, real estate would be a great idea. Currently, the

Atlantic City is the third best market for investment in real estate within the Southeast and

fifteenth in the whole nation. This ranking was achieved by Atlantic City through Settle-

based All Property management report. The homes in Atlanta have an 8.9% appreciation

value annually. This appreciation is basically 60% greater than the nations overall average.

The firm appreciation value of the properties can attribute to annual employment growth to

up to 4% as well as high demand for housing. This clearly shows that the demand for housing

in Atlanta including real estate rental is very firm and will progressively keep growing.
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The following table shows the growth of investment in real estate between 2010 and 2015

Year Real Mortgage Mortgage & Total percentage

Estate Loans unaffiliated of total cash
Real estate and
assets invested
assets
2015 $21,681.00 $427,693.00 $16,506.00 465,880.00 8%

2014 $18,551.00 $393,686.00 $17,607.00 $429,844.00 7%

2013 $18,896.00 $371,774.00 $17,010.00 407,680.00 7%

2012 $17,941.00 $351,760.00 $16,473.00 386,174.00 7%

2011 $16,993.00 $339,011.00 $15,890.00 371,894.00 7%

2010 $15,804.00 $323,132.00 $13,116.00 352,052.00 7%

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References

Ambrose, D. R. (2006). Metropolitan Frontiers: A Short History of Atlanta. An overview of

the city's history with an emphasis on its growth.

Benfield, K. (July 27, 2011). The Atlanta BeltLine: The country's most ambitious smart

growth project.

Bureau, U. C. (2016). Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1,

2015 Combined Statistical Area; and for Puerto Rico 2015 Population

Estimates".

Galloway, J. (2011). A census speeds Atlanta toward racially neutral ground. The Atlanta

Journal-Constitution .

Schneider, C. (2011). Young professionals lead surge of intown living.