Atlanta vs Dallas in 2022 - 5 Key Metrics to Compare (compared, places, life)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The weather is debatable. Dallas has more sunny weather and Atlanta has more stormy days and a longer amount of cooler/colder weather. I'm a hot and sunny kinda guy.
Culture, just depends on what you're looking for. Both have a lot of it. And Dallas has the convenience of Love Field which is now the busiest mid-sized airport and growing.
Based on the OP's criteria, Dallas completes well against Atlanta, except for higher education. But regarding weather...
From my experience - Living in DFW for 35 years, and Atlanta area for 8 years: Atlanta's weather is generally more pleasant and less volatile than Dallas. Dallas gets that southern plains weather - very cold spells in the winter, hot, humid in the summers, and the storms in DFW are much more violent than anything I have experienced in Atlanta so far. Atlanta has been swiped by a few remnants of Hurricanes over the years, but they mostly brought some wind and a lot of rain.
And Atlanta does get more rain overall, but nothing dramatic. Keeps the area green, which is nice.
Economy - Both are home to multiple Fortune 500 companies and have diverse economies. Atlanta has gotten a lot of tech jobs lately and is a major center for TV/Movie production. I would say it's a Tie.
Real Estate - Both prices boomed a lot. There is one apartment complex in Atlanta where rents for a 2BR went from $1500 a month a few years ago to almost $3000 a month now. Despite that I think you can get more bang for your buck in Atlanta for the suburban houses, so I'll go with Atlanta.
Safety/Crime - I think Atlanta's core is more vibrant than Dallas's core but it also has more crime. So Dallas wins this one.
Schools - Both have excellent schools in the burbs. But Atlanta wins by a big margin when including Universities and also all the Historical Black Colleges.
Diversity/Dating - I think Atlanta is better for dating.
If you add in some other categories like weather and topography/nature scenery I would lean Atlanta for those as well.
Based on the OP's criteria, Dallas completes well against Atlanta, except for higher education. But regarding weather...
From my experience - Living in DFW for 35 years, and Atlanta area for 8 years: Atlanta's weather is generally more pleasant and less volatile than Dallas. Dallas gets that southern plains weather - very cold spells in the winter, hot, humid in the summers, and the storms in DFW are much more violent than anything I have experienced in Atlanta so far. Atlanta has been swiped by a few remnants of Hurricanes over the years, but they mostly brought some wind and a lot of rain.
And Atlanta does get more rain overall, but nothing dramatic. Keeps the area green, which is nice.
The only real weather threat Atlanta has is when it gets windy, you have to worry about trees. In DFW you don’t have to really worry about it but the trees in ATL are tall enough to do massive damage to your home if they fall on them, and unfortunately I’ve had that happen twice. One came right through my bedroom. Another smashed up the roof pretty bad. Atlanta does get violent storms, just nowhere near the frequency as DFW gets, and it doesn’t get hail and tornadoes nearly as much either.
Based on the OP's criteria, Dallas completes well against Atlanta, except for higher education. But regarding weather...
From my experience - Living in DFW for 35 years, and Atlanta area for 8 years: Atlanta's weather is generally more pleasant and less volatile than Dallas. Dallas gets that southern plains weather - very cold spells in the winter, hot, humid in the summers, and the storms in DFW are much more violent than anything I have experienced in Atlanta so far. Atlanta has been swiped by a few remnants of Hurricanes over the years, but they mostly brought some wind and a lot of rain.
And Atlanta does get more rain overall, but nothing dramatic. Keeps the area green, which is nice.
This.
I lived in KC and have spent a lot of time on the metroplex. Dallas is a great city, but aesthetically it’s no different than Kansas. There seems to be very little elevation change in DFW, with maybe the exception of the cedar hill area.
Atlanta has the 2nd highest MLB ballpark by elevation in the US and sits close to the southern end of the Appalachian trail. I’d agree that the weather is much milder than people outside Georgia think it is. We get a lot of rain but overall I guess it’s just a preference on what type of weather you like.
You either choose 4-6 months of really hot 90s-100s in Dallas, or 3-4 months of humid 80s-90s weather in Atlanta.
As far as economy— can’t argue that Dallas May have an edge. Housing seems to be pretty similar, although Atlanta is now officially designated as an unaffordable city by the federal reserve bank of Atlanta. (Collin County is as well as I’m sure other parts of the metroplex are as well. )
I don’t know much about dating but IMO the women are more attractive in Texas than Georgia.
Atlanta is much prettier than Dallas... except... the part of Dallas starting at Uptown, through Park Cities and up to about the LBJ freeway. That part of Dallas is idyllic. I love the treelined streets and pretty houses. I also love that there are very few big streets cutting through that area and minimal sprawl, which the city seems to have brushed off to the sides (thank God!). I think Uptown Dallas might be prettier than Midtown Atlanta in that Midtown is mainly along a single street whereas Uptown Dallas feels more like a quieter 3-dimensional neighborhood. I stand to be corrected on that, however.
I agree with the other commenters that Atlanta feels scarier. I keep reading about how Lenox, Phipps, and Buckhead are covered in shootings. The downside of Dallas is just the endless parade of strip malls and gas stations that go on as far as the horizon. Atlanta at least covers up some of that with trees.
The last time I drove through Dallas, I drove through downtown Fort Worth. I caught it on a Friday evening and it may be the nicest downtown I've ever seen in the US. There were people milling around everywhere with block after block of restaurants. Everything was tasteful and immaculate. The people all looked clean cut and professional; it felt safe.
I think my decision between the two might come down to traffic. Atlanta is pretty with those hills and forests but I can't bear to sit in traffic. I would need to study individual parts of town and determine if Atlanta has areas that are livable from a traffic stand point. If not, Uptown/Park Cities or downtown Fort Worth might be my choice.
Economy- close. Maybe Atlanta by a hair.
Real Estate- I would say Atlanta probably has slightly better COL.
Safety/Crime- Dallas is safer
Schools- I would guess Dallas probably has better K-12.
Diversity/Dating- These are 2 different categories, not sure why the OP lumped them together. Dallas is definitely the more diverse city. Not sure which has the better dating scene. I'd guess for African Americans, Atlanta would be better and for others, Dallas would be better.
For those not in the know, a majority of the schools in the northern crescent of ATL are good to great. Not saying they are better or worse than Dallas' schools. Just highlighting that many not from the area don't realize how well the schools perform inside of I75 and I85 in the north metro.
As for crime, I don't know what the stats say. But I'm very crime averse, and Midtown and Buckhead have always felt extremely safe to me. Once again, that statement wasn't aimed at Dallas, just to say that I've not felt less safe across the Atlanta metro than in other large cities.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
