Atlanta’s affordable housing construction skyrocketed 153% in 2020-2024 compared to 2015-2019, the 5th highest growth rate in the nation. The metro area jumped from 4,139 units before the pandemic to 10,486 units after 2020. 

Notably, Atlanta is also dedicating a larger share of its total construction to affordable units. This segment grew from 7.4% of total builds (2015–2019) to 11.1% in the most recent five-year period. 

In the past five years, the U.S. built nearly 310,000 new affordable apartments — an unprecedented surge, with nearly one-third of that total delivered in 2024. Affordable housing construction rose 73% compared to the previous five-year period (2015–2019), far outpacing the 36% growth in overall apartment construction.

To better understand where this growth is happening, we analyzed affordable housing construction over the last 10 years. While large coastal markets like Seattle and New York saw major output, fast-growing locations like Austin and San Antonio — where completed apartments more than doubled — also emerged as key contributors to the country’s affordable housing pipeline.

More than 91,000 affordable apartments were completed in 2024 alone — the highest annual total in the past decade. That figure stands out not only for its scale, but also for how sharply it departs from previous years. The surge made 2024 the single largest yearly contribution to affordable housing construction in ten years, setting it apart as a defining moment in the recent building cycle.