In recent years, Atlanta has earned a number of new labels. It’s a tech mecca of tomorrow. It’s the “Hollywood of the South.” It’s even been named Running City USA. But what it has not been recognized for—and really should be—is its impressive standing in the world of higher education. Yes, Atlanta is a bona fide hub for advanced learning. How do we know that? Well, the facts speak for themselves.

• Atlanta is home to 70 colleges and universities. Together, these institutes of higher learning educate 275,000 students annually.
• Atlanta ranked as the #1 large college city in America.
• The metro area is #6 in the nation in the number of annual college graduates.
• The city’s colleges and universities offer approximately 1,800 distinct programs of study at the Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate and Professional levels.
• The city’s colleges and universities bestow 42,000 degrees each year, placing Atlanta at #7 in the country for degrees conferred.
• Atlanta ranked number #2 in the country in the percentage of degrees awarded that were Bachelor’s degrees or higher.
• The number of degrees awarded in engineering and engineering technologies placed the city as #4 in the United States in that arena.
• Metro Atlanta ranks #5 in the nation in the area of university research and development, with the higher education system spending $1.49 billion on R&D initiatives.
• The Atlanta University Center Consortium is the world’s oldest and largest association of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The consortium includes Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine and Spelman College.

Information provided by Invest Atlanta, the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.