Metro Atlanta residents worry most about housing costs, survey shows
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The rising cost of housing is the top concern among metro residents, a survey released Friday by the Atlanta Regional Commission found.
Why it matters: High housing costs make it harder for people to maintain stable housing (and stable employment) and pushes homeownership further out of reach.
The latest: 28% of respondents said housing affordability is the biggest headache for the region, the ARC's 2025 Metro Atlanta Speaks survey shows.
- That's followed by traffic (24%) and crime and the economy (13%).
How it works: The survey, conducted online and via telephone by Kennesaw State University's A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research, questioned 4,121 adults in the 11-county region.
- The ARC said this is the first time housing affordability was included.
By the numbers: 62% of people said they couldn't afford to move to another home or apartment in the neighborhood where they live, according to the survey.
- 44% said the primary cause of the affordability crisis is builders constructing expensive units and 35% blamed investors buying up homes that they rent to tenants.
What they're saying: "On this year's survey, the concerns over housing affordability came through loud and clear," Mayor Andre Dickens, chair of the ARC board, said in a statement. "Our region is making meaningful progress on this challenge, but there's no doubt we have more work to do."
The big picture: The survey comes months after the ARC said metro Atlanta lost 230,000 low- to moderately priced housing units between 2018 and 2023.
- During that time, the metro area lost 54,241 units that rented for $800 or less and another 178,108 where rent was priced between $800 and $1,500.
The intrigue: 39% of the respondents supported expanding public transit to solve the region's long-running traffic woes, followed by 34% who said the focus should be on prioritizing roads and highways.
- 53% said the region's growth should be along existing corridors and in areas where there's already a concentration of businesses.
In the weeds: 53% of survey respondents said it's not a good time to find a job that pays well, up considerably from 41% who said the same thing last year.
- 46.5% said they think living conditions in the region will get worse over the next four years, up from 33%.
- Just 16% said they think things will improve, a drop from 28%.
What we're watching: Whether housing affordability will be a key campaign issue for candidates running for statewide office in 2026.
Go deeper: Atlanta is still growing, but not as fast as we were 10 years ago