Atlanta

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia.

As of 2008, Atlanta is the thirty-third largest city in the United States, with an estimated population of 540,921. Its metropolitan area, officially named the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA (commonly referred to as Metropolitan Atlanta) is the ninth largest metropolitan area in the country, inhabited by approximately 5.5 million people. Moreover, the Atlanta Combined Statistical Area has a population approaching 6 million, making it the most populous metropolis in the American Southeast and the focal point of the emerging megalopolis known as the Piedmont Atlantic MegaRegion. Like most areas in the Sun Belt, the Atlanta region has seen explosive growth in the past decade, adding more than 1.13 million residents between 2000 and 2008. It is the fastest growing area of the United States behind the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Also in 2008, Atlanta became the eighth largest media market in the United States, with more than 2,387,520 households in its metropolitan area.

Considered a top business city and transportation hub, Atlanta is the world headquarters of companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Georgia-Pacific, AT&T Mobility, CNN, Delta Air Lines, and Turner Broadcasting. Atlanta has the country's fourth largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies inside city limits (although UPS, Home Depot, and Newell Rubbermaid are not in the city limits) and more than 75 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies have a presence in the metro area. Atlanta has a gross metropolitan product of $270 billion, accounting for more than 2/3 of the Georgian economy. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is located seven miles south of downtown Atlanta, is the world's busiest airport and the only major airport to serve the city.

Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County and the fifth location for the seat of government of the state of Georgia. A small portion of the city of Atlanta corporate limits extends into DeKalb County. Residents of the city are known as Atlantans.