As Thanksgiving passes and the holiday season kicks into full swing, many Metro Atlantans are turning their attention from gratitude to wishes — in typical American holiday fashion. So, what’s on our collective wish list when it comes to the big issues shaping our region?
The Metro Atlanta Speaks 2025 Survey asked residents across the metro area what solutions they prefer for some of our region’s most pressing challenges. Metro Atlanta Speaks (MAS) is a perception and attitude survey of a statistical sample of Atlanta region residents. MAS is (and has been for the decade-plus) the largest survey of its type in the state, and very likely beyond to the Southeast Region. Here’s what Atlantans said they want most going into the 2025 holiday season.
When asked, “If you could, would you move to a different neighborhood in the Metro Atlanta area, stay where you are now, or move away from Metro Atlanta?” about half of residents said they’d stay right where they are — making it the majority response.
Interestingly, that figure is nearly 10 percentage points lower than in the 2024 survey, suggesting a slight uptick in mobility or restlessness among residents this year.
When it comes to attracting and retaining a skilled workforce, one solution clearly stood out: more affordable housing.
Affordable housing outpaced more traditional workforce strategies like job training, K–12 education improvements, and expanded access to higher education. For many residents, affordability is the key that unlocks economic opportunity.
Atlanta’s traffic is legendary — and not in a good way. The survey results showed that. 34% favored road and highway improvements. Despite our region’s deep car culture, 39% of respondents said expanding public transit is the best long-term fix for congestion topping improving roads and highways. Even in a car-centric city, the appetite for accessible, efficient transit options are most prominent in our minds.
In an interesting twist, while residents favor more transit connectivity, many also believe the region’s future growth — new homes, businesses, and entertainment hubs — should take place in undeveloped or rural areas rather than in-town or existing suburban centers. 39% of our region shared this response, the majority answer.
That desire for open-space development could mean longer commutes and more spread-out amenities. As the saying goes, Atlantans might just want to have our cake and eat it too.
However, just trailing that desire to develop in rural places, 36% believe that future growth should be focused along existing transportation corridors.
Metro Atlanta is as bullish on AI as SoftBank is [1]. People in our region believe AI will increase business productivity in our region by a margin of 7 to 3.
But the enthusiasm doesn’t stop at the office door. On top of helping us run faster, we think AI will make it so we don’t even break a sweat. Nearly half of respondents think AI will make daily life easier overall, while only about a third expect it to make things harder.
From housing affordability to public transit to emerging technologies, Metro Atlantans have a clear vision for the region’s future — one rooted in opportunity, innovation, and balance. As we head into 2026, the wish list is long, but the message is clear: residents want a Metro Atlanta that’s connected, affordable, and forward-looking — a place worth staying for.
Find more details about the MAS 2025 Survey here and check out the newly improved dashboard to explore the MAS 2025 results.
