PROFILE of Metro Atlanta Is a Premier Destination for Business Professionals and Families

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PROFILE OF Metro Atlanta is a premier destination for business professionals and families. The area is home to 5.7 million people and more than 160,000 businesses. Metro Atlanta’s diverse economy, global access, abundant talent, low costs of business and living, and vibrant quality of life are reasons to choose metro Atlanta. photos: Georgia Department of Economic Development

1837 As the site for the 1847 Atlanta was 1864 Atlanta, a strategic 1886 Atlanta pharmacist 1914 The Federal 1925 Mayor Walter A. Sims southern terminus of the incorporated as a city. transportation center during Dr. John S. Pemberton Reserve Bank established signed a lease on an abandoned state-owned Western & the Civil War, was reduced created the beverage a branch in Atlanta. auto racetrack and committed Atlantic Railroad, Atlanta to ashes after General that became “Coca-Cola.” the city to developing it into an began as a town called Sherman’s victory in the airfield named Candler Field. “Terminus.” Battle of Atlanta. Four years later, it became Atlanta Municipal Airport. photos: Georgia Department of Economic Development three years later. novel became themovie The PulitzerPrize-winning Mitchell waspublished. The Wind”byMargaret 1936 “GoneWith Product (GDP)inBillionsofU.S.Dollars,2015 World RankingofGlobalGrossDomestic have agreaterGDPthantheU.S.Southeast–ChinaandJapan. Domestic Product(GDP)intheSoutheastmeasured$3.8trillion2015.Onlytwoforeigncountries The Southeast’s populationis82.2millionanditseconomythelargestofallU.S.regions. the 10thlargesteconomyinU.S.asmeasuredbyGrossMetroProduct(GMP). and aglobalbusinesshub.MetroAtlantaisoneofthefastestgrowingmetrosinU.S.has The AtlantaMetropolitanStatisticalArea(MSA)isthebusinesscapitalofsoutheasternU.S. Demographics Rank Median HouseholdIncome(2015Est.) Labor Force(2015Est.) % ofpopulationforeign-born(2015Est.) Bachelor’s degreeorhigher(2015Est.) % ofpopulation25andoverwitha Median Age(2015Est.) Population (2015Est.) Snapshot 10 15 20 25 30 35 1 2 3 4 5 to Atlanta. from Monroe,La., relocated itsheadquarters 1941 Location U.S.A. China Southeast U.S.A. Japan Germany United Kingdom Canada Mexico State ofGeorgia,U.S.A. Saudi Arabia Belgium Metro Atlanta,GA,U.S.A. Venezuela Malaysia DeltaAirLines and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control It isnowknownasthe established inAtlanta. Disease Center(CDC)was 1946 TheCommunicable $17,947 $10,866 $2,849 $3,817 $4,123 $3,356 $1,550 $1,144 $496 $646 $454 $371 GDP $339 $296

Stone Mountain. was completedon Memorial carving 1950 Atlanta MSA TheConfederate > > > Metropolitan Area (29 Counties) Alabama Tennessee 29 counties 22,592 squarekilometers 8,723 squaremiles 2,836,322 5,710,795 $60,219 13.8% 37.0% 48.3% 36.1 ATLANTA

Georgia won theNobelPeacePrize. King, Jr., anativeAtlantan, 1964 Florida South Carolina Dr. Martin Luther City ofAtlanta North Carolina Port ofSavannah ATLANTIC OCEAN $50,210 233,306 463,878 Gross 6.9% 33.8 International Airport. Hartsfield Atlanta changed toWilliamB. 1971

Theairport’s name Metro Atlanta has the lowest relative cost of doing business among the nation’s 10 largest metro areas.

(KPMG, Competitive Alternatives: Guide to International Business Location Costs, 2016) photos: Georgia Department of Economic Development

1974 Atlanta Brave Hank 1975 R.E. “Ted” Turner’s 1978 The Home Depot, 1982 Georgia-Pacific 1991 United Parcel 1996 Atlanta hosted the Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s Turner Broadcasting System another home-grown moved its headquarters to Service (UPS) relocated Centennial Olympic Games, home run record with his (TBS) went on the air. Today, success story, was Atlanta from Portland, Ore. its headquarters from the first time the Summer 715th home run. the award-winning cable founded in Atlanta. Greenwich, Conn. to Games were held in the stations CNN, TNT and The metro Atlanta. eastern U.S. Cartoon Network are based in Atlanta. photos: Georgia Department of Economic Development 2000s 2000-2010. than 1millionpeoplefrom population increasedmore MetroAtlanta’s 160 180 200 220 240 100 120 140 Latinterm,“Resurgens,”whichmeans“risingagain.” > > > > Government winters, warmsummersandadequaterainfall. nightlife. MetroAtlantaexperiencesallfourseasonswithcool affordability. Residentsenjoyaccesstoarts,culture,sportsand Metro Atlantaprovidesexceptionalqualityoflifewhilemaintaining ofLifeQuality > grossincome.Thetaxraterangesfromonetosixpercentbasedonincomebrackets. > Georgia’s individualincome taxrateisagraduatedbasedonanindividual’s federaladjusted option.TheCityofAtlanta/FultonCountyaddsfourpercentasalocal > Georgia’s salestaxbaserateisfourpercent.Countiesmayaddonetothreepercentasalocal > Taxes 80 Source: C2ERCostofLivingIndex,Q2,2016*NewYork valuesareforManhattan Atlanta’s risefromtheashesofCivilWar. ThesealofthecitybearsPhoenixand Atlanta’s symbolisthePhoenix,legendarybirdofEgyptianmythology, whichrepresents commissioners, citycouncilsandmayors. The 29countiesthatmakeupmetroAtlantaareindividuallygovernedbyboardsof the councilpresident. The CityofAtlantaisgovernedbyamayorand15-membercitycouncilthatmanaged in 43ouncesofpuregoldminedDahlonega,Georgia,thesiteAmerica’s first“GoldRush.” Atlanta isthecapitalcityofGeorgia.TheCapitolDomebrightensAtlanta’s skylineandislayered property areassessedat40percentoffairmarketvalue. Property taxrates(millagerates)aresetlocallybyeachcountyandcity. Realandpersonal Georgia’s corporateincometaxrateissixpercent(singlefactorsalesapportionment). Cost ofLivingIndex:SelectU.S.Metros Atlanta, GA 98.0 98.0 Airport. Atlanta International Hartsfield-Jackson name changedto 2003 Theairport’s Dallas, TX 98.5 Miami, FL headquarters. the area’s FORTUNE500 to metroAtlanta,increasing relocated theirheadquarters 2009 109.4 NCRandFirstData Chicago, IL 119.0 metro Atlanta. was establishedin Center ofExcellence Smart GridTechnology 2010 Boston, MA 146.0 GEDigitalEnergy’s Washington, D.C. 148.4 100 million passengers. breaking yearserving Airport hadarecord- Atlanta International 2015 San Francisco, CA 174.7 Hartsfield-Jackson

New York ,NY* 226.0 Maintains aLow

Metro Atlanta Cost ofLiving

ranked intheFORTUNE 500. Atlanta-based companies 2016

U.S. average:100 Sixteenmetro photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development Georgia ranks as the #1 state for workforce development program.

(Area Development, 2016) photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development > > localbusinesscommunities. than35,000studentsayear. Theyareavitalworkforcetrainingandretoolingresourceforthe > MetroAtlantaishometothemaincampusesof Morehouse SchoolofMedicine,andSpelmanCollege. – Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, institutions member four of comprised is AUC The andlargestassociationofHistoricallyBlackCollegesUniversities(HBCUs) . > MetroAtlantaishometotheUniversityCenter(AUC)Consortium, theworld’s oldest universitiesinmetroAtlantaincludeEmoryUniversityandMercer University, amongothers. KennesawStateUniversity(KSU)andtheGeorgiaInstituteof Technology (GeorgiaTech). Private > ThelargestpublicuniversitieswithinmetroAtlantaareGeorgia StateUniversity(GSU), grown researchanddevelopmentexpendituresto$1.49billion–a46percentincreaseinfiveyears. > MetroAtlantaranksfifthinthenationforuniversityR&D.Ourhighereducationsystemhas technologydegreesawarded,setsthemetroAtlantaregionasanationalleaderforinnovation. > Ourstrengthinengineering,coupledwithbeingthefourthfastest-growingmetrofor degreesawarded(excludingcomputerscience). > TheGeorgiaInstituteofTechnology leadsthenationinnumberofengineeringbachelor’s awardedinthenation. > Theregionexcelsatgraduatingengineerswiththethirdhighestnumberofbachelor’s degrees > MetroAtlantaleadsthenationingrowthofenrolledAfrican-Americanstudents. > Withmorethan42,000degreesannually, metroAtlantaranks#7fordegreesconferred. statistics, engineeringandphysics. study includebusinessandeconomics,computerscience,communications,mathematics& colleges anduniversitiesfuelbusinesseswithtalent,discoveryinnovation.Popularfieldsof With morethan275,000studentsenrolledin70highereducationinstitutions,metroAtlanta’s Higher Education > > > > approximately 400privateschools. that include1,150elementary, middleandhighschools.MetroAtlantaisalsohometo More than940,000studentsareservedthroughmetroAtlanta’s 37publicschoolsystems Pre-K thru12 Education technical collegesinGeorgia. Tuition assistance throughtheHOPEGrantprogramisavailabletoGeorgia residentsattending Atlanta Technical Collegeisamong thetopcommunitycollegesinnation. Georgia offersfreePre-Kclassesforfour-year-old childrenthroughoutthestate. Placement (AP). Several schoolsprovideprogramminginInternationalBaccalaureate(IB)andAdvanced English-as-a-Second Languagecoursesareavailableineverypublicschooldistrict. including: German,Arabic,Portuguese,ChineseandJapanese. Metro AtlantahasseveralinternationalschoolsthatteachinlanguagesotherthanEnglish, seven technicalcolleges,whichenrollmore

2016 FORTUNE 500 Headquarters (16)

2016 FORTUNE 1000 Headquarters (9)

Source: FORTUNE magazine, June 6, 2016 Business and Industry

Metro Atlanta is recognized as an international gateway and the economic engine of the South- east. As the largest economy of all metros in the region, metro Atlanta offers diverse businesses and services. > Home to 25 of America’s largest corporations (FORTUNE 1000) and 220 of the nation’s fastest- growing private companies (Inc. 5000), metro Atlanta is a premier location for headquarters. Metro Atlanta is also a leading headquarters location for food franchises, business services, and nonprofits. > Metro Atlanta is a thriving ecosystem for entrepreneurs and new businesses. In 2015, Atlanta was named one of four international cities recognized as startup “hotbeds” by Inc. magazine. There is an abundance of creative energy, talent and entrepreneurial spirit in metro Atlanta. Many companies choose metro Atlanta to locate their innovation centers. > A business-friendly environment and low cost of doing business are key elements for growth and opportunity in the metro Atlanta region. Site Selection named Georgia the #1 state for business climate in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Area Development ranked Georgia the #1 state for doing business in 2014, 2015 and 2016. KPMG indexed Atlanta with the lowest relative cost of doing business of the nation’s ten largest metro areas in 2016.

Targeted Industries Technology > World-class technology community – from startups to FORTUNE 500 companies > Headquarters of technology leaders including AT&T Mobility, NCR, Global Payments, First Data, SecureWorks, among others > Home to the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) – one of 12 business incubators changing the world, according to Forbes > Strengths in mobile technologies, financial transactions processing, Internet security, software development, digital media and content Bioscience & Health IT > More than 2,000 bioscience companies have establishments in Georgia, according to TEConomy/BIO > Nation’s health IT capital > Center for global health with the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Cancer Society, Arthritis Foundation, Task Force for Global Health > Strengths in medical device, vaccine R&D and clinical trials Supply Chain & Advanced Manufacturing > Global logistics hub for the Southeast with extensive intermodal network of air, road, rail and port > 5th in the nation for transportation and logistics employment > 6th largest U.S. industrial real estate market > Strengths in supply chain management software, distribution services, food processing, aerospace and automotive photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development

Atlanta’s transportation network easily connects people and products to the global marketplace. photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo © MAC 2012 photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development Transportation

Air Service The world’s most-traveled airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), has five runways that serve more than 100 million passengers a year. > Located in the southeastern region of the United States, more than 80 percent of U.S. consumers can be reached from Atlanta in two flight hours or two truckload delivery days.

Nonstop flights

photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development to more than 150 domestic

ATLANTA destinations and over 70 international destinations in 45 countries.

Air Cargo photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is served by 25 all-cargo air carriers. The airport received Air Cargo Week’s World Air Cargo Award for Airport of the Year in 2009, 2010 & 2012. More than 625,000 metric tons of cargo passed through ATL in 2015. Highways Three major highways (I-75, I-85, I-20) converge near the central business district. The perimeter highway (I-285)

circles the city in a 62.7-mile loop. Georgia 400 is a six- ATLANTA lane highway providing yet another route to the city via north metro Atlanta. Atlanta’s major highways contain High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) and High Occupancy Toll

photo © MAC 2012 (HOT) lanes which decrease drive times during peak hours. Rail Abundant rail service makes Atlanta the rail center of the Southeast. > More than 5,000 railroad miles in Georgia – the largest intermodal hub in the region. > Served by two class-one railroads (CSX and Norfolk Southern) and over 20 short-line companies. Ocean The Port of Savannah, located 250 miles from Atlanta, is the nation’s fastest-growing and fourth-largest container port. Mass Transit > Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), with bus and rail services that cover more than 1,000 miles. Cobb County Transit (CCT) & Gwinnett County Transit connect into MARTA at various points. photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development

Atlanta is the top moving destination in the U.S.

(Penske, 2016) photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development > > Aquarium–Theworld’s largestaquarium withovereightmilliongallonsofwater, right > Georgia > > > > www.fernbankmuseum.org includingDinosaurPlaza,NatureQuestandaWalk ThroughTime inGeorgia. > FernbankMuseumofNaturalHistory–Avarietyhands-onexhibitsaboutnaturalhistory > > Center–JourneyintotheheartofCNNWorldwide foranexcitingglimpseofnewsand > CNN > > Major Attractions > > > > > > > > > Major Festivals Music Midtown Taste ofAtlanta National BlackArts Festival Georgia RenaissanceFestival Festival PeachtreeLatino DragonCon Atlanta PrideFestivalandParade Atlanta FilmFestival365 Atlanta DogwoodFestival www.civilandhumanrights.org the AmericanCivilRightsMovementtotoday’s globalhumanrights movements. National CenterforCivilandHumanRights – An engagingculturalattraction thatconnects entertainment. www.foxtheatre.org The FoxTheatre–historicisoneofAtlanta’s premierevenuesforlive in theheartofdowntown.www.georgiaaquarium.com Zoo Atlanta–Aprivatenonprofitwildlifeparkandzoologicaltrust.www.zooatlanta.org such asTheQuad,PlayingField,GameDayTheaterandAT&T GameTime. www.cfbhall.com College FootballHallofFame–Aninteractiveandpersonalizedexperiencefeaturingexhibits tory oftheworld’s mostpopular softdrink.www.worldofcoca-cola.com The World ofCoca-Cola–Visit TheWorld ofCoca-ColaindowntownAtlantaandtracethehis www.woodruffcenter.org the AllianceTheatre,HighMuseumofArt,ArtsforLearningandAtlantaSymphonyOrchestra. performing andvisualarts–bothtraditionalavant-garde.TheWoodruff ArtsCenterincludes Woodruff ArtsCenter–LocatedinMidtown,theoffersAtlantansaboldvarietyof of America’s greatestnonviolentmovementforjustice,equalityandpeace.www.thekingcenter.org living memorialdedicatedtotheadvancementoflegacyDr. MartinLutherKing,Jr., leader Martin LutherKingJr. CenterandNationalHistoric Site–TheKingCenteristheofficial, a widevarietyoffunfamilyactivitiesandthingstodo.www.stonemountainpark.com Stone MountainPark–Locatedon3,200acresofnaturalbeauty, StoneMountainParkfeatures broadcasting inaction.www.cnn.com/StudioTour www.cartercenter.org Center iscommittedtoadvancinghumanrightsandalleviatingunnecessarysuffering. The CarterCenter–FoundedbyformerU.S.PresidentJimmyandhiswifeRosalynn,the research, conservationandenjoyment.www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org Atlanta BotanicalGarden–Maintainsplantcollectionsforthepurposeofdisplay, education, > Atlanta St.Patrick’s DayParade > Little5PointsHalloween FestivalandParade > InmanParkFestival > > > > Sweetwater420Fest > Virginia HighlandSummerfest Decatur CraftBeerFestival Atlanta JazzFestival and CentennialOlympicPark Fourth ofJulyatLenoxSquare

- photo: D.J. Shockley, Courtesy of University Georgia Sports photo: D.J. Shockley, photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Jarrett Jack, Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information photo: Jarrett Jack, Courtesy of Georgia Tech photo: Metro Atlanta Chamber

Atlantans enjoy a variety of sports and recreation throughout the year. photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development photo: Metro Atlanta Chamber photo: D.J. Shockley, Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Atlanta ishometo10professionalsportsfranchises: Sports 80 hospitallocationsandover 100,000 healthcarepractitioners. andtechnicians healthcare systemsinthecountry. MetroAtlanta’s healthcarecommunityincludes morethan Metro Atlantaprovidesaccessto oneofthemostqualified,affordableandefficient Healthcare cyclingandrunning. > Recreationleaguesandclubsforpopularsports,suchastennis, softball,soccer, basketball, > > > Metro Atlantanshavemanyopportunitiesforoutdoorrecreation: Recreation > PetitLeMans–AutoRacing > BB&TAtlantaOpen–Tennis > PublixGeorgiaMarathon&Half > AJC > > > TheTOURChampionshipatEastLakeGolfCourse–PGA > Atlanta continuestohostmajorsportingevents,suchas: Atlanta Gladiators Georgia Swarm Atlanta Blaze Atlanta Silverbacks Atlanta UnitedF.C. Gwinnett Braves Atlanta Braves Atlanta Dream Atlanta Hawks Atlanta Falcons Team Chattahoochee RiverRecreationAreas–forwalking/hiking,rafting, fishingorpicnicking. Lake LanierandAllatoona–forfishing,swimmingboating More than100public,privateandsemi-privategolfcourses–over300daysperyear. SEC Championship–CollegeFootball Chick-fil-A PeachBowlandKickoffGame–CollegeFootball NASCAR SprintCupSeriesatAtlantaMotorSpeedway–Racing – – Peachtree RoadRace–10K States, servesrunnersandwalkersofallagespaces. The AtlantaTrack Club(ATC), thesecondlargestrunningorganization in theUnited association intheworldwithmorethan80,000members. The AtlantaLawnTennis Association(ALTA) isthelargesttennis-basedcommunity League East CoastHockeyLeague(ECHL) National LacrosseLeague(NLL) Major LeagueLacrosse(MLL) National PremierSoccerLeague(NPSL) Major LeagueSoccer(MLS) Minor LeagueBaseball(MiLB) Major LeagueBaseball(MLB) Association (WNBA) Women’s NationalBasketball National BasketballAssociation(NBA) National FootballLeague(NFL) Infinite EnergyArena(Gwinnett) Infinite EnergyArena(Gwinnett) State University Fifth ThirdBankStadiumatKennesaw Atlanta SilverbacksPark Mercedes-Benz Stadium Coolray Field SunTrust Park Philips Arena Philips Arena Mercedes-Benz Stadium Venue

SOURCES

Demographics: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), World Bank, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Note: Southeastern U.S. as defined by BEA.History: Atlanta History Center, Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of Atlanta, U.S. Census Bureau, FORTUNE magazine. Government: State of Georgia, City of Atlanta. Taxes: Georgia Department of Revenue. Quality of Life: Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) Cost of Living Index. Education: Human Capital Research Corp., Georgia Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, University System of Georgia, Technical College System of Georgia. Business and Industry: FORTUNE magazine, Inc. magazine, Site Selection, Area Development, KPMG, Brookings Institution, Metro Atlanta Chamber. Transportation: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia Power, Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia Ports Authority, MARTA. Attractions, Festivals, Sports and Recreation: Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Atlanta Sports Council, Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Healthcare: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, BusinessWise.

As of December 2016.