TheAtlanta economy is the10th largest in the country and 18th in the world with an estimated 2014GDP of over $324 billion. Atlanta is one of ten U.S. cities classified as an "alpha-world city" by a 2010 study atLoughborough University,[1] and ranks fourth in the number ofFortune 500 companies headquartered within city boundaries, behindNew York City,Houston, andDallas.[2] Several major national and international companies are headquartered in metro Atlanta, including sevenFortune 100 companies:The Coca-Cola Company,Home Depot,United Parcel Service,Delta Air Lines,AT&T Mobility, andNewell Rubbermaid. Other headquarters for some major companies in Atlanta and around the metro area includeArby's,Chick-fil-A,Earthlink,Equifax,First Data,Foundation Financial Group,Gentiva Health Services,Georgia-Pacific,NCR,Oxford Industries,RaceTrac Petroleum,Southern Company,Mirant, andWaffle House. Over 75% of theFortune 1000 companies have a presence in the Atlanta area, and the region hosts offices of about 1,250 multinational corporations. As of 2006 Atlanta Metropolitan Area ranks as the 10th largest cybercity (high-tech center) in the US, with 126,700 high-tech jobs.[3][needs update]
The top employment sectors in Metro Atlanta are (November 2011, excludes agriculture):[4]
| Sector | Employees (thousands) |
|---|---|
| Trade, transportation, and utilities | 530.3 |
| Professional and business services | 391.4 |
| Government | 311.9 |
| Education and health services | 282.3 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 218.3 |
| Manufacturing | 146.5 |
| Financial activities | 128.5 |
| Other services | 90.5 |
| Construction | 83.9 |
| Information | 73.7 |
| Mining and logging | 1.4 |
Atlanta has a sizable financial sector. TheFederal Reserve System has a district headquarters in Atlanta; theFederal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which oversees much of thedeep South, relocated from downtown to Midtown in 2001.[5]Wachovia announced plans in August 2006 to place its newcredit-card division in Atlanta,[6] and city, state and civic leaders harbor long-term hopes of having the city serve as the home of the secretariat of a futureFree Trade Area of the Americas.[7] Before being acquired byBB&T in 2019,SunTrust Banks, the seventh largest bank by asset holdings in the United States,[8] had its home office on Peachtree Street in downtown.[9]
Invesco Ltd., an independent investment management company is headquartered in Atlanta, and has branch offices in 20 countries. Its common stock is a constituent of the S&P 500 and trades on the New York stock exchange. In December 2013, Invesco reported assets under management (AUM) of $778.7 billion.[citation needed]
Atlanta has a growing hi-tech community[10] and is also home to a growingBiotechnology sector, gaining recognition through such events as the 2009 BIO International Convention.[11] Atlanta is also the headquarters of theNuclear Regulatory Commission Region II.
Adjacent toEmory University, the city is also home to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with a staff of nearly 15,000 including: engineers, entomologists, epidemiologists, biologists, physicians, veterinarians, behavioral scientists, nurses, medical technologists, economists, health communicators, toxicologists, chemists, computer scientists, and statisticians. CDC has 10 other offices throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, and other staff in 45 countries around the world.[12]
The auto manufacturing sector in metropolitan Atlanta has suffered setbacks recently, including the closure of theGeneral MotorsDoraville Assembly plant in 2008, and the shutdown ofFord Motor Company'sAtlanta Assembly plant inHapeville in 2006.Kia, however, has opened a new assembly plant nearWest Point.[13] Hyco International Inc, one of the world's largest manufacturers ofhydraulic cylinders, is headquartered in Atlanta.[14]
Kitchen decor company Appliance Art, Inc. is based in Atlanta. It was founded in 2008 by Grant T. Smith.[citation needed]
The city is a majorcable television programming center.Ted Turner began theTurner Broadcasting System media empire in Atlanta, where he bought a UHF station that eventually becameWTBS. Turner established the headquarters of theCable News Network atCNN Center, adjacent today toCentennial Olympic Park. As his company grew, its other channels—theCartoon Network,Boomerang,TNT,Turner South,Turner Classic Movies,CNN International, CNN en Español,HLN, andCNN Airport Network—centered their operations in Atlanta as well (Turner South has since been sold). Turner Broadcasting is a division ofWarnerMedia. In 2008Tyler Perry establishedhis studios in Southwest Atlanta; and in 2010EUE/Screen Gems opened soundstages inLakewood Heights, south Atlanta. (See also:Film industry in Georgia)The Weather Channel, owned by a consortium ofNBC Universal,Blackstone Group, andBain Capital, has its offices in theCumberland district northwest of downtown Atlanta.
Cox Enterprises, a privately held company controlled byJames C. Kennedy, his sister Blair Parry-Okeden and their auntAnne Cox Chambers, has substantial media holdings in and beyond Atlanta; it is headquartered in thecity of Sandy Springs.[15][16] ItsCox Communications division, headquartered inunincorporatedDeKalb County,[17] is the third-largest cable television service provider in the United States.[18]
Atlanta has gained recognition as being a center of TV and film production, it being determined byGocompare.com to be in the top 10 of the most popular cities in the world where films and TV shows have been filmed.[19] Atlanta is a major center of television production and is the hub of the nation'sthird-largest film industry. Atlanta counts the presence ofTechwood Studios, which produces content for theTurner Broadcasting family of stations; since 2008 theTyler Perry Studios in Southwest Atlanta; and since 2010 theEUE/Screen Gems soundstages inLakewood Heights, south Atlanta. Atlanta is the setting for popular TV shows such as theReal Housewives of Atlanta andTyler Perry's series. Due to Perry, the "Housewives", and others, Atlanta is also known as a center of black entertainment in the U.S.[20]
Films set in Atlanta include two pictures that were awarded the Oscar forBest Picture:,Gone with the Wind (1939) andDriving Miss Daisy (1989). Other films set in Atlanta includeLittle Darlings (1980),Sharky's Machine (1981),Outbreak (1995),Tyler Perry'sMeet the Browns (2008),Life as We Know It (2010),Contagion (2011), andBaby Driver (2017).[citation needed]
Well-known television shows set in Atlanta includeHouse of Payne andTyler Perry's Meet the Browns fromTyler Perry Studios,The Real Housewives of Atlanta, the CBS sitcomDesigning Women, and numerousHGTV original productions. Since moving toBET for the 2011 season,The Game - as of January 2012[update] the highest rated ad-supported sitcom ever on cable - has been shot in Atlanta.[21]Williams Street Productions has produced multipleAdult Swim series as well asFreaknik: The Musical at theirMidtown Atlanta studios.
Atlanta is thefilming location for many horror-themed productions, including the TV seriesGoosebumps and its sequelGoosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween,Teen Wolf,The Walking Dead,Vampire Diaries, and the 2009 comedyZombieland. In addition, the horror festivalAtlanta HorrorFest is held yearly in October, and features the Buried Alive Film Fest,[22] bands, and a zombie walk. These factors promptedAtlanta magazine to dub the city the "Zombie Capital of the World",[23][24] andThe New York Times to recognize Atlanta's stature in the genre.[25]
Delta Air Lines is the largest employer in the Atlanta metro area.[26] Their 34,500 Atlanta-based employees include airport staff, flight crews, and those who work at the headquarters adjacent to the airport. Delta operates the world's largest airline hub atHartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and, together with the hub of competing carrierSouthwest Airlines, has helped make Hartsfield-Jackson theworld's busiest airport, both in terms of passenger traffic and aircraft operations. The airport, since its construction in the 1950s, has served as a key engine of Atlanta's economic growth.[27]
| Employer | Number of employees |
|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 34,500 |
| Emory University / Emory Healthcare | 32,095 |
| The Home Depot | 16,510 |
| Northside Hospital | 16,000+ |
| Piedmont Healthcare | 15,900 |
| Publix | 14,753 |
| Wellstar Health System | 15,353 |
| Kroger | 15,000+ |
| AT&T | 15,000 |
| United Parcel Service | 14,594 |
| Marriott International | 12,000+ |
| Children's Healthcare of Atlanta | 9,000 |
| Cox Enterprises | 8,894 |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | 8,403 |
| The Coca-Cola Company | 8,000 |
| Southern Company | 7,753 |
| Grady Health System | 7,600 |
| SunTrust Banks | 7,478 |
| Georgia Tech | 7,139 |
| State Farm | 6,000 |
| Turner Broadcasting System | 6,000 |
Source: Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Top 25 Metro Atlanta Employers (2018–2019)[28]
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The following is a list of the most notable companies that were founded or have their corporateheadquarters inAtlanta or the surroundingmetro area.
According to theCase–Shiller index, home prices in Atlanta increased 19.1% between March 2012 and March 2013.[51]
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