Cost of Living in Atlanta, 🇺🇸 United States - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 2 20 $2,620 $1,620 $3,350 $1,380 $175

Utilities 1 21 — $145 $400 $128 —

Internet & Mobile 7 8 10 1 $45 $122 $200 $122 $5

Groceries 22 23 31 1 $140 $480 $980 $355 $10

Transportation 1 3 4 $269 $300 $720 $95 $42

Dining Out 24 25 26 27 1 $1,080 $540 $720 $182 $88

Leisure Activities 1 17 19 $380 $290 $4,320 $108 $38

Health Insurance 13 16 $63 $465 $1,150 $365 —

Visa & Legal Fees 14 15 — $50 $50 — —

Total $4,597 $4,012 $11,890 $2,735 $358

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 2 $1,620.00 $1,275 – $2,100 per month

Coworking Space 9 $199.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 1 2 $2,620.00 $2,000 – $3,200 per month

Coliving Space 18 2 $1,150.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 25 1 $5.39 per cup

Beer 31 1 $7.30 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 26 1 $23.30 per meal

Fast Food Combo 24 $12.40 per meal

Apples 23 1 $5.18 per kg

Bread 23 1 $3.03 per loaf

Milk 22 23 $0.85 per liter

Rice 23 1 $3.54 per kg

Chicken Fillets 22 1 $13.20 per kg

Beef 22 1 $20.40 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 32 1 $16.30 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 27 1 $96.00 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 31 1 $2.76 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 4 5 $3.50 per trip

Taxi per km 4 5 $1.49 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 3 1 $95.00 per month

Gasoline 28 1 $0.86 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 1 4 5 $13.00 per trip

Scooter Rental 3 $7.00 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 7 8 $45.00 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 1 10 $77.00 per month

Gym Membership 11 1 $40.00 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 19 $5.00 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 7 $45.00 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 29 1 $16.70 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 34 1 $57.50 per pair

Summer Dress 36 1 $48.00 per dress

Running Shoes 35 1 $105.00 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 33 1 $27.00 per visit

Laundry 30 1 $1.25 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 1 12 $160.00 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 23 1 $9.33 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Chicago, Austin, New York, Hanoi, London

Livingcost Atlanta rents, groceries, meals, utilities, transport Oct 2026Index
Zumper Atlanta 1-bedroom median USD 1,619 Oct 2026Listings
MARTA 30-day pass USD 95; standard fare USD 2.50Official
Atlanta taximeter USD 3.50 first 1/8 mi; USD 0.30 per additional 1/8 miOfficial
Checker Cab meter USD 3.50 flag; USD 2.40/mileListings
US gasoline USD 1.22/litre week of 19 Oct 2026 (national cross-check)Index
T-Mobile prepaid unlimited USD 45/mo with AutoPayOfficial
Visible unlimited USD 25/moOfficial
Roam Buckhead memberships USD 139–299/moListings
Xfinity broadband from USD 45/mo (Atlanta service area)Official
LA Fitness Toco Hills Atlanta USD 39.99/moListings
Piedmont Urgent Care self-pay visit USD 210Official
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
CBP ESTA / Visa Waiver Program authorizationOfficial
State Dept nonimmigrant visa application fees (B visitor USD 185)Official
KFF 2025 employer single premium benchmarkSecondary
Atlanta international school tuition bands 2026/27Secondary
Tripalink Atlanta coliving private rooms from ~USD 1,058/moListings
City tennis hard court prime USD 5/hr resident weekendOfficial
Mid-range Atlanta hotels roughly USD 140–190/night Oct 2026Secondary
Georgia Power residential avg 16.29¢/kWh; ~990 kWh/mo in 2025Official
USDA ERS/BLS retail milk, chicken breast, round steak Sept 2026Official
Publix via Instacart Atlanta grocery shelf prices Oct 2026Listings
McDonald's Peachtree Rd NE Big Mac Meal USD 12.49+Listings
Dunkin Moreland Ave latte USD 5.24+Listings
Lickety Split entrees USD 11–14Listings
Ruby Tuesday Virginia Ave entrees USD 18–32Listings
EIA US regular gasoline USD 3.860/gal week of 19 Oct 2026Official
AMC online adult ticket USD 11.49 base plus fees Oct 2026Official
Wash & Spin Campbellton Rd wash-dry-fold USD 1.75/lbListings
Gopuff Atlanta beer, wine, bottled water retail pricesListings
Beverage World Chloe Cabernet USD 14.51/750mlListings
Fresha Atlanta men's haircuts USD 24–40 at listed barbersListings
Target Levi's 501 jeans USD 52.49 sale / USD 74.99 listListings
Target running shoes Mizuno/Reebok USD 40–140 Oct 2026Listings
Target Wild Fable summer dress USD 16.50 clearanceListings

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 3800 2620
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 1950 1620
- Apples 5.4 5.18
- Beef 18.25 20.4
- Beer 8 7.3
37 more changes
- Bread 3.85 3.03
- Chicken Fillets 13.5 13.2
- Cinema Ticket 16.5 16.7
- Coffee 5.75 5.39
- Coliving Space 1450 1150
- Coworking Space 325 199
- Dining Out local 200, nomad 1200, expat 550, family 700, tourist 90 local 182, nomad 1080, expat 540, family 720, tourist 88
- Doctor Visit (GP) 135 160
- Fast Food Combo 12.5 12.4
- Gasoline 0.98 0.86
- Groceries local 350, nomad 150, expat 450, family 950, tourist 10 local 355, nomad 140, expat 480, family 980, tourist 10
- Gym Membership 55 40
- Haircut 45 27
- Health Insurance local 350, nomad 75, expat 450, family 1100, tourist 0 local 365, nomad 63, expat 465, family 1150, tourist 0
- Housing local 1450, nomad 2600, expat 2100, family 3200, tourist 165 local 1380, nomad 2620, expat 1620, family 3350, tourist 175
- Internet & Mobile local 95, nomad 110, expat 130, family 180, tourist 5 local 122, nomad 45, family 200, tourist 5
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 75 77
- Jeans 60 57.5
- Laundry 3.5 1.25
- Leisure Activities local 150, nomad 400, expat 300, family 500, tourist 40 local 108, nomad 380, expat 290, family 4320, tourist 38
- Meal (Inexpensive) 22 23.3
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 90 96
- Milk 1.15 0.85
- Mobile Plan 65 45
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 12 9.33
- Rice 4.5 3.54
- Ride-hailing (5km) 16 13
- Running Shoes 110 105
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 40 45
- Scooter Rental 7.5 7
- Summer Dress 45 48
- Taxi per km 1.7 1.49
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 20 5
- Transportation local 95, nomad 350, expat 450, family 750, tourist 45 local 95, nomad 269, expat 300, family 720, tourist 42
- Utilities local 165, nomad 0, expat 210, family 380, tourist 0 local 128, nomad 0, expat 145, family 400, tourist 0
- Water (1.5L bottle) 2.25 2.76
- Wine (Mid-range) 18 16.3
Lint fix — grocery and dining lines cite Instacart Publix, USDA ERS, Seamless restaurant menus, EIA gasoline, AMC tickets, Wash & Spin laundry, Fresha haircuts, and Target apparel (URLs in Sources checked)

Atlanta cost of living