Atlanta isn’t just the capital of Georgia—it’s also one of the largest college hubs in the Southeast. If you live in Atlanta, are planning to move here, or are visiting and curious about the city’s education scene, it helps to understand how many colleges are here, what types they are, and where they’re located.
Because “Atlanta” can mean different things (the city limits vs. the metro area), the answer depends on how you define it.
When people ask, “How many colleges are in Atlanta?” they’re usually thinking about all the schools that feel like part of the city’s higher education community, not just those technically inside city limits.
Here’s a simple way to look at it:
| Area | Approximate Number of Colleges & Universities | What’s Included |
|---|---|---|
| City of Atlanta (core area) | Around 15–20 | 4-year universities, HBCUs, specialized schools, some community colleges and technical campuses |
| Broader Atlanta metro area | Roughly 50+ | All the above plus suburban campuses in places like Decatur, Marietta, Kennesaw, and Lawrenceville |
These numbers shift slightly as programs open, consolidate, or change names, but they give a realistic sense of scale:
Atlanta is a major college city, with dozens of institutions offering everything from technical certificates to PhDs.
To make sense of how many colleges are in Atlanta, it helps to group them by type. Most Atlanta-area schools fall into a few main categories:
These are large, often nationally recognized institutions offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, with extensive research activity.
Some of the best-known in or very near Atlanta include:
These schools contribute heavily to Atlanta’s identity as a technology, healthcare, and business hub.
Atlanta is nationally known for its concentration of HBCUs, many of which are clustered in the Atlanta University Center (AUC) on the west side of the city.
Within city limits, you’ll find:
These schools are a major reason Atlanta is viewed as a center of Black higher education and culture.
Beyond the research universities and HBCUs, Atlanta has several private institutions with strong liberal arts or specialized focuses, such as:
These schools tend to be smaller and more intimate than the big public universities.
If you’re looking for two-year degrees, workforce training, or flexible career programs, Atlanta has multiple options through the Technical College System of Georgia and community-oriented campuses.
Within or close to the city you’ll find campuses such as:
Across the wider metro area, additional community and technical campuses serve students in DeKalb, Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton counties.
Atlanta also hosts specialized institutions for creative and professional training, including:
These schools add to the total number of colleges even if they’re smaller or more narrowly focused.
When you ask how many colleges are in Atlanta, you’ll get different numbers depending on who you ask—and they’re not all wrong. The variation comes down to boundaries and definitions.
If you draw a boundary strictly around the City of Atlanta, you’ll find:
That usually adds up to around 15–20 distinct institutions that offer higher education degrees or substantial postsecondary programs and market themselves as being “in Atlanta.”
When people say “Atlanta” in everyday conversation, they often mean the Atlanta metro area, which includes parts of:
Once you include colleges in places like Kennesaw, Marietta, Decatur, Lawrenceville, and Morrow, the count rises to 50 or more colleges, universities, and technical schools that are considered part of “greater Atlanta.”
If you’re a student or parent planning where to study, it makes sense to think in terms of the metro area, since commuting via I‑20, I‑75, I‑85, GA 400, or MARTA is a normal part of Atlanta life.
Knowing how many colleges are in Atlanta is useful, but what really matters day-to-day is how this shapes living, working, and studying here.
Within a relatively short driving radius, you can find:
This makes Atlanta a practical place for:
Several major campuses, especially in Downtown, Midtown, and the west side, are near MARTA rail or bus routes, including:
If you don’t want to drive everywhere, looking at schools along MARTA lines is a practical way to narrow your options.
Because Atlanta has so many colleges, there are regular pipelines into local industries like:
If you’re already in Atlanta’s workforce, local colleges can be a way to upskill without leaving the region.
If you’re trying to figure out where to start, it helps to know the central offices or resources that deal with higher education and student questions.
While each college has its own admissions and registrar’s office, there are a few useful Atlanta-area touchpoints:
Atlanta Technical College
Atlanta Metropolitan State College
Georgia State University (Downtown Campus)
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUC)
Most institutions list admissions, financial aid, and program information on their official sites and can be reached by main campus phone lines for up-to-date details on programs and application steps.
With so many colleges in and around Atlanta, it can help to narrow your choices using a few simple questions:
Because Atlanta has dozens of colleges and universities in its orbit, most residents can find at least one option that fits their goals, budget, and commute.
In everyday terms, you can safely say that Atlanta proper hosts around 15–20 colleges and universities, and the greater Atlanta metropolitan area is home to more than 50 higher education institutions of various types. For anyone living in or moving to Atlanta, that means plenty of educational paths—without needing to leave the city you call home.
