Metro Atlanta

==Definitions==
By [[U.S.&nbsp;Census Bureau]] standards, the population of the Atlanta region spreads across a metropolitan area of {{convert|8376|sqmi|km2|0}},<ref name="MACOC-growth">{{cite web|title=Atlanta MSA Growth Statistics |publisher=[[Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce]] |date=May 2006 |url=http://www.metroatlantachamber.com/macoc/business/img/MSAGrowthStatsReport2006.pdf |access-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927062537/http://www.metroatlantachamber.com/macoc/business/img/MSAGrowthStatsReport2006.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> comparable to the size of [[Israel]]. Because Georgia contains more counties than any other state except [[Texas]] (explained in part by the now-defunct [[county-unit system]] of weighing votes in [[primary election]]s),<ref>{{cite web|title=States, Counties, and Statistically Equivalent Entities |work=Geographic Areas Reference Manual |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce |date=November 1994 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/GARM/Ch4GARM.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030506132933/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/GARM/Ch4GARM.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2003-05-06 |access-date=2007-09-28 }}</ref> area residents live under a heavily decentralized collection of governments. As of the 2000 census, fewer than one in ten residents of the metropolitan area lived inside Atlanta [[city limit]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Atlanta in Focus: A Profile from Census 2000 |publisher=The Brookings Institution |date=November 2003 |url=http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/livingcities/atlanta.htm |access-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003211/http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/livingcities/atlanta.htm|archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2006 survey by the [[Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce]] counted 140&nbsp;cities and towns in the 28‑county Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in mid-2005.<ref name="MACOC-growth" /> Ten cities – [[Johns Creek, Georgia|Johns Creek]] (2006), [[Milton, Georgia|Milton]] (2006), [[Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia|Chattahoochee Hills]] (2007), [[Dunwoody, Georgia|Dunwoody]] (2008), [[Peachtree Corners, Georgia|Peachtree Corners]] (2012), [[Brookhaven, Georgia|Brookhaven]] (2012), [[Tucker, Georgia|Tucker]] (2016), [[Stonecrest, Georgia|Stonecrest]] (2016), [[South Fulton, Georgia|South Fulton]] (2017), and [[Mableton, Georgia|Mableton]] (2022) – have incorporated since then, following the lead of [[Sandy Springs]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |last=Segal |first=Geoffrey |title=The Real Sandy Springs Effect |work=Reason |date=2005-12-02 |url=http://www.reason.org/commentaries/segal_20051202.shtml |access-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930190414/http://www.reason.org/commentaries/segal_20051202.shtml |archive-date=2007-09-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2005_06/search/hb1470.htm |title=HB 1470 – Milton, City of; provide charter |date=2006-10-11 |publisher=Georgia General Assembly |access-date=2007-06-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201013031/http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2005_06/search/hb1470.htm |archive-date=2007-12-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/sum/hb1321.htm |title=HB 1321 – Johns Creek, City of; incorporate |date=2006-10-11 |publisher=Georgia General Assembly |access-date=2007-06-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120044348/http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/sum/hb1321.htm |archive-date=2007-11-20}}</ref>

The Atlanta metropolitan area was first defined in 1950 as [[Fulton County, Georgia|Fulton]], [[DeKalb County, Georgia|DeKalb]], [[Gwinnett County, Georgia|Gwinnett]], [[Cobb County, Georgia|Cobb]] and [[Clayton County, Georgia|Clayton]] counties. [[Walton County, Georgia|Walton]], [[Newton County, Georgia|Newton]], [[Douglas County, Georgia|Douglas]], [[Fayette County, Georgia|Fayette]], [[Forsyth County, Georgia|Forsyth]], [[Henry County, Georgia|Henry]], [[Cherokee County, Georgia|Cherokee]], [[Rockdale County, Georgia|Rockdale]], and [[Butts County, Georgia|Butts]] counties were added after the 1970 census, with Barrow and Coweta counties joining in 1980 and Bartow, Carroll, Paulding, Pickens and Spalding counties in 1990.

Atlanta's larger [[combined statistical area]] (CSA) adds the [[Gainesville metropolitan area, Georgia|Gainesville]] and [[Athens – Clarke County metropolitan area|Athens]] metropolitan areas plus [[LaGrange, Georgia|LaGrange]], [[Thomaston, Georgia|Thomaston]], [[Jefferson, Georgia|Jefferson]], [[Calhoun, Georgia|Calhoun]], and [[Cedartown, Georgia|Cedartown]] micropolitan areas, for a total 2012 population of 6,162,195. The CSA also abuts the [[Macon, Georgia metropolitan area|Macon]] and [[Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area|Columbus]] MSAs. The region is one of the metropolises of the Southeastern United States, and is part of the emerging [[megalopolis (city type)|megalopolis]] known as [[Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion]] along the [[I-85 Corridor]].