Cities › GA
Atlanta
Mayor Andre Dickens · Democratic · in office since Jan. 3, 2022
The Executive Summary
Mayor Andre Dickens (D) has led Atlanta since Jan. 2022; on economic outcomes — the only thing this site scores for mayors — Atlanta ranks No. 6 of 21 big cities. On Dickens's watch, poverty rate fell 18.1% → 15.8% across 2023–2024; median household income fell $88,413 → $88,165 across 2023–2024. Crime, housing and schools are not in this score, and outcomes are shared with the council and the economy — association, not causation.
| Unemployment 3.7% (2025) | +0.95σ · 0%/yr vs peers +8.71%/yr · 2023–2025 (3 pts) |
| Median household income $88,165 (2024 · constant 2024 $) | −0.08σ* · -0.28%/yr vs peers +2.56%/yr · 2023–2024 (2 pts) |
| Poverty rate 15.8% (2024) | +0.32σ* · -12.71%/yr vs peers -1.92%/yr · 2023–2024 (2 pts) |
| Government form | Strong mayor |
Atlanta is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to Andre Dickens. The score is Atlanta's economic trend during their tenure, measured against the other 49 largest cities over the same years.
Sources: unemployment — BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · median household income — Census ACS 1-year, CPI-U deflated · poverty rate — Census ACS 1-year (B17001). Unemployment runs through 2025; income and poverty through 2024. The 2025 unemployment point is an eleven-month average — October 2025 was never collected during the federal shutdown — and it is included and flagged here under the same rule the state pages apply to the same statistic (one statistic, one rulebook, as of v2.6; through v2.5 city pages excluded it instead, and the changelog says so).
Scored on economic outcomes only — unemployment, real median income and poverty. Crime, housing and health are not yet included, so this is a narrower measure than a governor’s. Two denominators. The rank is out of 21 — the mayors with enough scored years to rank. 21 of 50 cities are scored, 0 of those are early reads left unranked, and 29 mayors are not yet scorable. Each σ is measured against all 49 other cities. *Thin data — a trend fitted through fewer than 3 points is a line between dots, not a track record; percentage-per-year figures on those rows swing hard on small changes. Government form follows standard reference classifications and was not verified city by city. Methodology
The Rundown
No. 6 of 21 big-city mayors — on economics, and only economics.
Unemployment. Better than the typical big city. 3.7% → 3.7% across 2023–2025.
Poverty rate. About the middle of the pack. 18.1% → 15.8% across 2023–2024.
Median household income. Better than the typical big city. $88,413 → $88,165 across 2023–2024.
How this is scored: 60% is where Atlanta stands against the other 49 largest cities, 40% is which way it moved on Mayor Dickens's watch — the same rule governors get. It covers 3 economic outcomes only: crime, housing and schools are not in this grade, so it is narrower than a governor's. Atlanta is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to the mayor.
Atlanta sits in GA, whose governor Brian Kemp holds a scored statewide record (No. 25 of 29). State outcomes are not the mayor’s grade — a city is not a state — but they’re the nearest verified context today.