Women outnumber men in metro Atlanta, census data shows
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U.S. Census Bureau data shows Atlanta is among the top metro areas where women outnumber men.
By the numbers: Atlanta's estimated sex ratio gap stands at 105.6 women per 100 men, according to the census' 2023 American Community Survey.
- Baltimore ranks the highest with 107.2 women. Philadelphia and New York closely follow Atlanta with 105.5 and 105, respectively.
- One possible explanation is mass incarceration, which has removed hundreds of thousands of men from Black neighborhoods.
Caveat: The data measures the ratio in metro areas that have more than 1.5 million residents.
The big picture: The gender split is playing out across the country, with more men in the West and women in the East.
- The divide is driven by institutions and industries with deep gender imbalances that are especially clear in the West, AP notes.
Zoom out: The San Diego area, dotted with military bases, has almost 104 men for every 100 women, according to census data. Men make up more than 80% of America's armed forces.
- California's Silicon Valley; Austin, Texas; and Seattle host a big share of U.S. tech companies, which employ a workforce that is almost two-thirds male.
Between the lines: Big cities and areas with college campuses typically have more women than men, the Census Bureau said in a report last year.
- Among large U.S. counties, the three with the largest ratio of women to men were all home to universities.
- There is a wide gender gap in college enrollment: Women made up 58% of the total undergraduate population in 2021.