Renters in Georgia have a new reason to sigh. A fresh report says $1,500 a month buys just 800 square feet in Atlanta, while the same cash in Columbus or Macon gets you a small kingdom by apartment standards.

📦 What It Means For You: If you rent in Atlanta, expect tighter living. If you can pick your city, your dollars go way further in Columbus or Macon — by about 500 square feet.

📊 What’s Happening: RentCafe’s new analysis ranks how much apartment space $1,500 rents in 200 U.S. cities. The South mostly wins on roominess, but Atlanta lands in the bottom 20 for space.

  • Atlanta: 800 sq. ft.
  • Columbus, GA: 1,332 sq. ft. (No. 2 nationwide)
  • Macon, GA: 1,330 sq. ft. (No. 3 nationwide)
  • Savannah, GA: 833 sq. ft.
  • Washington, D.C.: 398 sq. ft. (Yes, really)
  • National average: 715 sq. ft.

🧩 Between The Lines: Atlanta beats Washington, D.C. on space, but trails many mid-size cities that do not claim to be “world-class.”

  • $1,500 rents 1,247 sq. ft. in Oklahoma City, 1,137 in El Paso, and 1,071 in Louisville. Atlanta’s 800 looks small next to that.

🌎 The Big Picture: The South is mostly the land of more legroom, but there are tight squeezes. Florida hot spots like Tampa (712 sq. ft.) and Miami (506 sq. ft.) and pricey Virginia suburbs like Alexandria (582) and Arlington (476) come in under the national average. Smaller cities tend to offer more space — except when they do not, like Savannah. Location still rules, and so do trade-offs: jobs and amenities in big metros often mean paying more for less.

🔎 How To Use This: Moving for work or school? Compare square footage, not just price. Space is a bill you pay every day with your furniture, your dog, and your sanity.

The Sources: RentCafe https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/rental-space-for-1500/