Corporate investment is fast tracking and tech-driven in Atlanta: Elon Musk has set up a data center that will house $700 million in accelerated computing hardware: $442 million allocated to X, and $258 million to xAI. Amazon Web Services’ multi-billion-dollar Georgia build-out and AIG’s 2026 innovation hub in Brookhaven – which triples its Atlanta office space – are all reasons for a #20 ranking for Large Companies. Hartsfield-Jackson reclaimed the “world’s busiest” airport title with 108.1 million passengers in 2024; ATLNext’s modernization program continues with a much-enlarged $1.4-billion Concourse D running through 2029. The hospitality lights were turned on in the 50-acre Centennial Yards with Hotel Phoenix in mid-2025, the first ground-up hotel downtown in decades, while South Downtown added Wyndham’s 204-room boutique Origin Hotel in July.
On the Westside, June’s opening of a new BeltLine segment brought the pedestrian and cycle pathway to 12.6 miles – closer to the planned 22-mile loop ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup – and a boost for Atlanta’s impressive #6 ranking for Green Space. Tourism is surging: Discover Atlanta tallied 51 million visitors and $20 billion in 2024 spend, and the city will host eight FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, including a semifinal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.