Average salary in Atlanta: $71,900 a year
The mean annual wage across every job BLS counts in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area, with the median, the pay spread and the jobs behind it.
BLS reports occupational wages for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 12060), which includes Atlanta, Sandy Springs and Roswell and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not Atlanta city limits.
The average salary in the Atlanta metro area is $71,900 a year ($34.57 an hour): that is the mean annual wage across 2,889,670 jobs in the BLS May 2025 survey. The median is $51,170 ($24.60 an hour), so half of those jobs paid less and half paid more. The mean sits above the median because a smaller number of very high wages pulls it up.
How Atlanta compares with Georgia and the U.S.
The metro area's mean salary is $5,980 (9.1%) above the Georgia statewide figure of $65,920 and $2,130 (3.1%) above the U.S. figure of $69,770.
| Measure | Atlanta metro | Georgia | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (average) salary | $71,900 | $65,920 | $69,770 |
| Median salary | $51,170 | $48,170 | $50,980 |
| Mean hourly wage | $34.57 | $31.69 | $33.54 |
| Median hourly wage | $24.60 | $23.16 | $24.51 |
| Jobs counted | 2,889,670 | 4,889,170 | 155,495,730 |
Prices matter as much as pay. BEA's regional price parity for the Atlanta metro area in 2024 is 100.1, where the United States = 100: overall prices there were level with the national price level. A salary goes further where the index is lower.
What jobs in the Atlanta area pay, from low to high
One job in ten in the metro area paid less than $29,110 a year, and one in ten paid more than $132,230. A quarter paid less than $37,030; a quarter paid more than $82,140.
| Area | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta metro | $29,110 | $37,030 | $51,170 | $82,140 | $132,230 |
| Georgia | $27,930 | $35,700 | $48,170 | $77,570 | $122,470 |
| United States | $31,200 | $37,590 | $50,980 | $80,520 | $128,560 |
Pay by job group in the Atlanta area
The largest group in the Atlanta area is office and administrative support, with 328,500 jobs (11% of the total, calculated). The best-paid group by median is management ($130,550); the lowest-paid is food preparation and serving related ($29,720). Where BLS does not release a figure, the table says so.
| Job group | Jobs | Median salary | Mean (average) salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office and Administrative Support | 328,500 | $47,040 | $50,440 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | 313,910 | $44,120 | $59,570 |
| Sales and Related | 277,630 | $37,550 | $56,400 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 261,950 | $81,310 | $94,380 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related | 260,100 | $29,720 | $31,970 |
| Management | 216,850 | $130,550 | $148,880 |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical | 174,470 | $94,790 | $116,410 |
| Educational Instruction and Library | 155,480 | $62,210 | $65,510 |
| Production | 133,010 | $44,880 | $48,140 |
| Computer and Mathematical | 119,150 | $110,010 | $117,280 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair | 108,800 | $59,700 | $63,320 |
| Construction and Extraction | 93,260 | $51,530 | $58,770 |
| Healthcare Support | 90,780 | $38,000 | $40,200 |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance | 67,010 | $37,430 | $39,050 |
| Protective Service | 64,330 | $47,010 | $53,580 |
| Personal Care and Service | 56,820 | $31,700 | $37,780 |
| Architecture and Engineering | 39,940 | $95,770 | $103,400 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media | 38,260 | $64,540 | $80,200 |
| Community and Social Service | 34,420 | $60,590 | $66,320 |
| Legal | 32,330 | $98,420 | $153,260 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science | 20,640 | $83,070 | $91,770 |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry | 2,050 | $37,540 | $43,680 |
The occupations with the most jobs in the Atlanta area
8 of the 12 largest occupations in the Atlanta area with a published annual median paid a median below the all-jobs median of $51,170 (calculated from the BLS figures).
| Occupation | Jobs | Median salary |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 84,970 | $32,850 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 80,730 | $27,780 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 78,460 | $39,020 |
| General and Operations Managers | 69,320 | $111,410 |
| Customer Service Representatives | 59,990 | $42,710 |
| Registered Nurses | 56,460 | $100,490 |
| Cashiers | 51,180 | $30,010 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 50,970 | $36,160 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 45,880 | $18,460 |
| Business Operations Specialists, All Other | 43,720 | $80,020 |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 41,830 | $59,100 |
| Office Clerks, General | 40,710 | $43,330 |
Go deeper
Pay for every occupation in the area.
Open →PricesCost of living in AtlantaWhat a salary buys there.
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How this page is built
Every pay figure is a BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2025 estimate for all occupations in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan statistical area (occupation code 00-0000), copied from BLS's data file; the job-group and occupation rows come from the same file. The average is BLS's mean wage (total wages divided by jobs); the median is the wage in the middle. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include commissions, tips, production bonuses and cost-of-living allowances, and leave out overtime premiums, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. BLS turns hourly wages into annual ones at 2,080 hours (40 hours for 52 weeks). Ranks, differences and shares are TryHired calculations from the BLS figures. Price levels are BEA Regional Price Parities.
- Household income: this page reports pay per job, not household or family income, which the Census Bureau measures differently.
- Starting pay: the figures include experienced workers. Entry-level pay is usually lower.
- Take-home pay: every figure is before taxes and deductions.
- Self-employment and farm work: not covered by OEWS (see the FAQ).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates: national, state and metropolitan-area data files (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS technical notes: what the survey counts as wages and jobs.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released Feb 19, 2026).