Atlanta was the second-fastest growing economy among the top 10 US Metro Areas last year, according to data on 2016 Metropolitan GDP released last week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In 2015 the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area generated a gross GDP dollar value of $308.7 billion. In 2016, the metro’s total economic output rose to $320 billion, an increase of 3.7%. Atlanta is the 10th largest MSA economy in the country. Of the other top 10 metro economies only San Francisco outpaced Atlanta in economic growth, with a rate of 5.4%. Boston, the 9th largest metro economy with a 2016 GDP of $371 billion, grew by 2% in 2016, while Philadelphia, the 8th largest metro economy, grew by 1.6%.
When the list is expanded to include the top 100 metro economies, Atlanta ranks as the 15th fastest-growing, just behind Las Vegas, with its growth rate of 3.9%.
The information technology sector has been leading Atlanta’s growth, contributing nearly a full percentage point to total GDP growth. The finance, insurance, real estate sector as well as the transportation and utilities and professional and business services sectors also made large contributions to Atlanta’s growth.
Here are the complete 2016 GDP rankings for the top 100 US Metro Areas:
