Give me 16 minutes, I’ll explain EVERY major city in Atlanta

I'm going to attempt to explain every major city in Atlanta so that you can understand what these areas are like. These are the city suburbs of Metro Atlanta, and I have ordered them in order of population. So the most populated city or suburb of Metro Atlanta being the highest, and then the lowest one being the lowest. And so I have 20 suburbs here, which is really just the top 20 because there are about a hundred suburbs around Metro Atlanta. So we're talking about the top suburbs of Metro Atlanta, starting with Sandy Springs at number one with a population of 105,000. For sure, this is one of the suburbs of Atlanta that has the best mix of the suburban area and the city-like or the urban area. Sandy Springs borders the city of Atlanta, and so it's not like one of these super far out suburbs. It's actually one of the closest suburbs to the city of Atlanta. So naturally it's one of the suburbs that is the most like the city of Atlanta. There are parts of Sandy Springs that are easily walkable and you can get around town to like the shops and the restaurants very easily. And then there are neighborhoods in Sandy Springs that are kind of off the beaten path where you would totally need a vehicle to get around. And so Sandy Springs has the best mix of these two kinds of lifestyles. You have a lot of young people who live in Sandy Springs, a lot of retirees who live in Sandy Springs, but not a lot of families. The public school system in Sandy Springs is not great. There are some private schools that are excellent, but public school wise, that's not what Sandy Springs is known for. Really what they're known for is their proximity to the city of Atlanta. What's up, y'all? My name is Victor with Atlanta Suburban Living. We make videos every week about what it's like to live in Atlanta and the suburbs of Atlanta. Number two on the list is Roswell, Georgia, with a population of 91,000 people. Roswell is actually just north of Sandy Springs, and so this is no coincidence. This is why these are the suburbs with the highest population is because of their proximity to Atlanta. But Roswell is a bit different than Sandy Springs in that it's not nearly as easily walkable. It's not nearly as much like the city of Atlanta. Roswell is really where we start to see that it becomes more like a suburban area. Lots of residential neighborhoods with like a few commercial areas peppered throughout the city. And you've got to like drive to these commercial areas, a five minute drive, maybe a 10 minute drive to a grocery store. And you do have a lot of families who live in Roswell because the public schools there are great. For sure. One of the things that Roswell is known for is their excellent downtown area. The history and the charm in downtown Roswell is one of the best in all of Metro Atlanta. Number three on the list is Johns Creek, Georgia, with 80,000 people. Johns Creek is one of the most polished, one of the nicest suburbs of Metro Atlanta. We're still in Fulton County. All three of these Sandy Springs, Roswell and Johns Creek are all in the same county as Atlanta, which is another reason why Johns Creek has such a high population. One of the things about Johns Creek, though, is that it doesn't really have much of a downtown area. I think they're actually just finishing here, actually, in the last few weeks at the time of filming this video, they're finally like finishing a downtown or city center area in Johns Creek. But the thing that brings the most amount of people to Johns Creek is the public schools here. This is one of the best public school districts in all of Metro Atlanta. So you have a lot of families who live in Johns Creek. There's no question that Johns Creek is one of the best suburbs in all of Metro Atlanta. Number four on the list is Mableton, Georgia. We're finally out of Fulton County, out of the county where Atlanta is located. We're in a different county now. And Mableton has a population of 78,000 people. So just a little less than Johns Creek, but Mableton is more to like the west part or maybe the northwest part of Metro Atlanta. You still have a good proximity to the city of Atlanta, maybe a 30 minute, 45 minute tops drive to the city. If you're living in Mableton and working in Atlanta. But the thing about Mableton is that the cost of living here is much lower than some of the other suburbs. This is a big draw for a lot of the people who choose Mableton is they want that proximity to Atlanta, but they don't want to break the bank to own a home or to live there. And so for that, Mableton is an excellent option. Number five on the list is everybody's favorite Alpharetta, Georgia. Back into Fulton County, population of about 66,000 people. And Alpharetta just does everything well. The public schools are great here, the proximity to Atlanta, the access to the major highways to get to Atlanta are excellent here. The appearance and like just the feel and the vibe of Alpharetta is one of the best in all of Metro Atlanta. You've got the downtown Alpharetta area, the Avalon. There's no wonder why so many people choose Alpharetta. This is one of the most desirable suburbs in all of Metro Atlanta. Number six on the list is my hometown, Marietta, Georgia, and Marietta has a population of 63,000 people. Marietta also has excellent public schools, but they're not quite like the city. The vibe of Marietta is not quite as like upscale as Alpharetta. The downtown area is a bit more historic. The homes here are certainly a bit older than some of the homes in Alpharetta, but we still have great public schools, great community here. The proximity to Atlanta kind of depends on where in Marietta you are. Marietta is an enormous city, and so you could be in the north part of Marietta and it'd be about an hour drive to Atlanta, or you could be in the south part of Marietta, like near the Atlanta Brave Stadium, and it's like a 15-minute drive to the city of Atlanta or the middle of Atlanta. So it really just depends on where you are, but in my opinion, Marietta also does all of these things well, the public schools and the community and the safety and the cost of living. All of those things are great in Marietta. Not the best. You know, it's not like Alpharetta. It's not like Johns Creek, but Johns Creek and Alpharetta have very high cost of living. In Marietta, you get all of those things without the high cost of living, which is why so many people choose this area. Okay, moving along quickly here, number seven on the list is Stonecrest. We really don't talk a lot about Stonecrest on this channel. Stonecrest is definitely a great option. It's the seventh most popular suburb in all of Metro Atlanta, population of 61,000, and it's kind of on the east part of Metro Atlanta. Areas like Stone Mountain is right around there, Stonecrest. And then we have number eight on the list is Brookhaven, Georgia. Brookhaven is one of the most unique out of all of the ones on this list because all of these suburbs that we have talked about so far, and the majority of the suburbs on this list are outside of the perimeter. They are outside of Interstate 285. Brookhaven, however, is inside the perimeter. And so this is a hop, skip and a jump to this really hop, skip and a jump. This is just a five minute drive to the city of Atlanta because Brookhaven and Atlanta in a lot of parts, they border each other. And so very often the people who are working in Atlanta, but they don't want to fight that traffic. They choose Brookhaven because they're right next to each other. And very often much of Brookhaven has that city feel. This is not like the super far out suburban feel. Brookhaven has that city of Atlanta kind of feel, which is why so many people choose that area. Number nine on the list is one of my favorites. I think this is like a very undervalued suburb. That's Smyrna, Georgia. Smyrna is in Cobb County, which is also like where Marietta is located. And Smyrna is just south of Marietta. And again, one of the biggest draws here is the cost of living, very low cost of living for being one of the most popular suburbs. Very often we see this kind of correlation where these super popular suburbs also have high cost of living. That's because these super popular suburbs have a lot of desirability. There's a lot of like demand for homes in this area. So naturally to see one of these suburbs that has a high population, but the cost of living is low. You don't really see that very often. Mableton was one, but now Smyrna, this is certainly a great option as well. They also have an excellent downtown area. And so the community there is also great, very safe. All of these areas are very safe. If I was talking about an area that was not safe, I would let you know. This is certainly a great area. Smyrna is one of the best suburbs in all of Metro Atlanta. Number 10 on the list is Dunwoody. Dunwoody has a population of 51,000 people and it's right next to Sandy Springs. But also Dunwoody is in DeKalb County. And so it has a similar feel though, as Sandy Springs, that kind of a good mix of the suburban feel and the city feel where you can walk around to many parts of the area. You don't necessarily need to be car dependent in Dunwoody, but you can also get away and be in one of these quieter suburban neighborhoods. Number 11 on the list is Noonan. This is not really a suburb that we talk much about on this channel. It's on the south side of Metro Atlanta and it's very different than a lot of these other suburbs that have been, at least so far for the ones on the list, have been on the north side. Noonan is on the south side and it's way down south. And so as far as suburbs go, this is one of the more country-like suburbs on the list. I mean, it just, I wouldn't say it's country like you're out there living in the woods, especially for my folks in South Florida. I know you're afraid of living here, like in the country part of Metro Atlanta. I promise it's not that bad, but Noonan definitely is one of the quieter suburbs in all of Metro Atlanta. Like you're going to get easily half acre to an acre of land for your home. This is like super normal in Noonan and you're going to drive 10 to 15 minutes to a grocery store. And so it's not like a five minute drive to a grocery store. This is like a 15 minute drive potentially to the grocery store. The population of Noonan is 45,000. So certainly one of the quieter suburbs. Number 12 on the list is Douglasville. Douglasville is 41,000 people. In fact, if you're thinking about moving to any one of these suburbs, feel free to call, text, or email me anytime. Thank you so much to everybody who has reached out. I'm always happy to help. Even if you just have a question about what it's like living here, Douglasville is a pretty good suburb. I want to be real with you. It's not one of my favorites. It's on the west part of Metro Atlanta. I'm trying to think of what it has good going on there. It's kind of close to Atlanta. It is very close to I-20. And so because it's close to I-20, it's easy access to the city of Atlanta. Number 13 on the list is Peachtree Corners. Peachtree Corners is a great suburb. They got an excellent downtown area. The population there is 41,000 people and Peachtree Corners is kind of like one of these suburbs where they have done a lot of renovating in the last decade or so. It's really become very popular in the last few years, in the last decade. And so Peachtree Corners has a lot of newer kind of shopping areas, newer commercial areas, newer homes. This is very different than some of the other suburbs we've talked about, Smyrna, Mableton, Marietta. These areas are a bit older, maybe a few decades older, whereas Peachtree Corners, they certainly have some older homes, but a lot of Peachtree Corners has been developed in the last few years. And so a lot of newer areas with excellent public schools, very family-friendly area. Number 14 on the list is Peachtree City. This is also on the south side, but not nearly as far south as Noonan. Peachtree City is the suburb that you may have heard about where they drive around on golf carts. They've got these like super wide sidewalks and like people will take their golf cart to the grocery store or take their golf cart to drop their kids off at school. This is an excellent, I think it's awesome. Some people kind of think it's kind of cringe. I think it's great. It really helps build community. And so, you know, it's very common to see like a teenager and their friends and they each have a golf cart and so they're able to like get around instead of having to get on the road with the car. It's just a bit safer with the golf carts and they can go from neighborhood to another neighborhood. Definitely one of the best parts of living in Peachtree City is the golf carts. I don't know if I said the population, 40,000 in Peachtree City. Number 15 on the list is Canton. One of my favorites, arguably like my top two, top three is Canton, Georgia. The population there is also 40,000. This is on the very north part, arguably the farthest north of all of these suburbs of Metro Atlanta. If you go much farther north than Canton, I would say you're not really in Metro Atlanta anymore. But Canton is very family friendly, kind of quieter, kind of quieter area. I mean, again, it only is 40,000 people. And so it is an area that is very quickly being developed though. And there are a lot of people starting to move to Canton or have been moving to Canton for quite a while now. And so Canton is also one of the fastest growing suburbs in all of Metro Atlanta. But this is one of my favorites. They do so many things well. The downtown area, the public schools, the safety, the family focus. One of the best suburbs in all of Metro Atlanta. Okay, moving quickly here, trying to get to number 20. We've got number 16, which is Woodstock, 39,000 people. Woodstock is in Cherokee County. Excellent downtown area, much closer to Atlanta than Canton. Woodstock is certainly one of the fastest growing suburbs in all of Metro Atlanta. Then we've got Kennesaw, Georgia, at number 17. Kennesaw has a population of about 38,000 people. This is a very, very historic suburb. Lots of Civil War history here. Lots of history in the city of Kennesaw. They have kind of a newer downtown area, but this has really only been in the last five to 10 years. Before that, it was a very kind of like historic downtown area. And so I think Kennesaw is a great area. It's in Cobb County. Number 19 on the list is McDonough, Georgia. McDonough has a population of 33,000 people. This is on the south side of Metro Atlanta. And then number 20 on the list is Duluth, Georgia. Duluth has a population of 33,000 people. By the way, I got all of these numbers from like a recent census that I found online. I'm sure you may find other numbers for populations on other websites. It's hard to say exactly what these populations are because every one of these websites got a different statistic for what the population is. This comes from like a recent U.S. census. Duluth with a population of 33,000 people in Gwinnett County. Actually, I'm kind of surprised there aren't other cities in Gwinnett County on this list. I would say like Honorable Mention, Suwannee is a great option. Buford is a great option. These are both in Gwinnett County that I think probably should be on this list. But again, these are family-friendly, excellent public schools, super safe areas with plenty of economy. This is not like super out in the country. This is like there's plenty of industry, plenty of commercial areas and homes in these areas. No question that one of the biggest factors for whether or not you make the move to Atlanta really has to do with the cost of living here. Not only the cost of homes, but also like the cost of groceries and the cost of utilities and the power bill and the water bill and all of these things. And so I've made an entire video where I outlined the monthly cost of living in Metro Atlanta. You can check out that video here. I'll see you in the next one.