How Big Is Atlanta, Georgia, Really? Understanding Its Size in Acres

If you live in Atlanta, are thinking about moving here, or you’re just curious how big the city actually is, it helps to translate those square miles on a map into acres—a unit many people find easier to visualize.

Below is a clear breakdown of how many acres Atlanta covers, how that compares to nearby areas, and what that size means for everyday life in the city.

How Many Acres Is Atlanta?

The City of Atlanta covers roughly:

• 136–137 square miles of land
• That’s about 87,000–88,000 acres of land area

To put the conversion in simple terms:

• 1 square mile = 640 acres
• 136 square miles × 640 acres ≈ 87,000+ acres

Most commonly, people round this to say Atlanta is about 87,000 acres in size.

Keep in mind, this refers to the city limits of Atlanta, not the entire metro area, which is much larger.

Atlanta’s Size at a Glance

Here’s a quick reference to help visualize Atlanta’s footprint:

Key takeaway:
When people ask, “How many acres is Atlanta?”, the most practical answer is that Atlanta covers roughly 87,000 acres of land.

City of Atlanta vs. Metro Atlanta: A Big Difference in Size

Many people use “Atlanta” to mean the whole metro area, but there’s a big difference between:

• Atlanta (the city limits) → ~87,000 acres
• Metro Atlanta (the region) → spans many counties and covers hundreds of thousands of acres

If you’re only concerned with things like:

• City services (Atlanta Police Department, City of Atlanta property taxes, City Council districts)
• City zoning (what you can build on your lot inside city limits)
• City school zones (Atlanta Public Schools)

…then the 87,000-acre number tied to the official city boundaries is the one that matters.

If you’re thinking more about commuting from Sandy Springs, Decatur, Marietta, College Park, or East Point, you’re in the Greater Atlanta area, which is much larger than the City of Atlanta itself.

What Does 87,000 Acres Actually Feel Like?

Acreage can be abstract, so here’s one way to mentally size it:

• A standard American football field, including end zones, is a bit larger than 1 acre.
• That means Atlanta’s land area is roughly like having tens of thousands of football fields side by side.

In daily life, this size translates into:

• Diverse neighborhoods spread across a large footprint, from Buckhead and Midtown to Southwest Atlanta and East Atlanta
• Significant travel time when crossing the city from one side to another, especially during rush hour
• Room for large parks, major employment centers, universities, and dense business districts within the same city limits

How Atlanta’s Acres Are Used: Neighborhoods, Parks, and Development

Within those 87,000 or so acres, Atlanta squeezes in a mix of:

Residential Areas

Large portions of the city’s acreage are made up of:

• Single-family homes on small to medium-size lots (common in neighborhoods like Kirkwood, West End, and Capitol View)
• Townhome and condo developments, especially around West Midtown, Old Fourth Ward, and Buckhead
• High-density apartments in areas like Midtown, Downtown, and along the BeltLine

If you’re a homeowner or buyer, you might care less about the total 87,000 acres and more about how your specific neighborhood fits into zoning maps and land-use plans.

Commercial and Business Districts

Within the city’s acreage, major commercial clusters include:

• Downtown Atlanta (government, tourism, sports venues)
• Midtown (tech, arts, high-rise residential)
• Buckhead (office towers, retail, hospitality corridors)
• Airport area near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the south side

These districts take up a relatively small share of the overall acreage but have a big impact on traffic, transit, and daily activity.

Parks and Green Space

A meaningful portion of Atlanta’s land is devoted to parks and green space, including:

• Piedmont Park
• Grant Park
• Chastain Park
• Segments of the Atlanta BeltLine trail system

For residents, this means that within those thousands of acres, there’s room not only for buildings and roads but also for trails, playing fields, and urban forests.

Why Knowing Atlanta’s Acres Matters

Understanding how many acres Atlanta covers can help with:

1. Housing and Real Estate Decisions

If you’re renting, buying, or developing property in Atlanta, scale matters:

• Lot size and zoning rules vary widely across the city’s 87,000 acres.
• Some neighborhoods have larger lots and more tree cover, while others allow denser multi-family buildings.

For zoning and land-use questions, you can contact:

City of Atlanta – Department of City Planning
55 Trinity Avenue SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
Main line: 404-330-6150

They can help you understand how your specific address fits within the city’s land-use plans, not just the overall acreage.

2. Commuting and Transportation Planning

Because Atlanta covers such a large area, your daily routine may involve crossing multiple miles (and effectively thousands of acres) to get to:

• Work in Midtown or Downtown
• School or childcare
• MARTA stations or Park & Ride lots

Knowing the city is spread over more than 87,000 acres explains why:

• Drive times can be long, even if you stay “inside the city”
• Transit routes and bike infrastructure can feel uneven depending on which part of the city you’re in

For transit questions, you can check route options or contact:

MARTA Customer Information Center
2424 Piedmont Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30324
Customer Service: 404-848-5000

3. City Services and Jurisdiction

The City of Atlanta’s 87,000 acres define where:

• Atlanta Police Department and Atlanta Fire Rescue provide primary service
• Atlanta Public Schools may be your local district (depending on your address)
• City of Atlanta taxes and ordinances apply

If your home or business is near the city line, knowing whether you fall inside or outside that 87,000-acre footprint can affect:

• Which services you call
• Which taxes you pay
• Which school system you’re zoned for

For boundary and service-area questions:

City of Atlanta – Mayor’s Office of Constituent Services
55 Trinity Avenue SW, Suite 1920
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: 404-330-6023

They can help you confirm if a specific address is inside Atlanta city limits.

How Atlanta’s Size Compares Within Georgia

While this article focuses on the City of Atlanta, many residents like to know how Atlanta’s acreage stacks up within Georgia:

• Atlanta is one of the larger cities in the state by land area, but not the only large one.
• Several other Georgia cities and suburbs also spread across tens of thousands of acres, especially in the metro counties.

However, Atlanta’s combination of size, population density, and economic activity makes those 87,000 acres feel especially busy and complex compared to many other cities in the state.

Checking Whether a Specific Address Is Within Atlanta’s Acres

If you want to know whether a particular property lies inside the official 87,000-acre footprint of the City of Atlanta:

1. Look up your address with the county tax assessor

   • Fulton County Board of Assessors (for most of Atlanta’s north and central areas)
   • DeKalb County Board of Assessors (for some eastside parts of Atlanta)

2. Confirm the “City” field in the record

   • If it lists Atlanta as the municipality, you’re within the city’s acreage.
   • If it lists another city or “unincorporated,” you may be in the metro area but outside Atlanta city limits.

3. Ask the City of Atlanta directly if you still aren’t sure

   • Department of City Planning or Constituent Services can clarify jurisdiction.

This can be important for:

• Business licensing
• Short-term rental rules
• Building permits
• Trash pickup and utilities

Key Takeaways for Atlanta Residents and Visitors

• The City of Atlanta covers roughly 87,000–88,000 acres of land.
• That area is spread across 136–137 square miles within official city limits.
• The metro Atlanta area is much larger and extends across multiple counties.
• Within those acres, Atlanta contains a mix of residential neighborhoods, business districts, parks, and transportation corridors.
• Knowing whether a specific address lies inside or outside Atlanta’s 87,000 acres affects which services, taxes, and rules apply.

If you’re planning to live, work, invest, or build in Atlanta, understanding the scale and boundaries of the city is a useful first step—and now you know that scale in acres.