09/30/2026
NEWS YOU CAN USE---READ AND ACT!
Atlanta Leads the Nation in Evictions as Black Renters Face 70% of Filings
Black renters make up about half of metro Atlanta's tenants but face nearly 70% of eviction cases, and even $80,000 incomes are not closing the gap
Grace L. by Grace L. September 28, 2026 in News Reading Time: 3 mins read
Atlanta evictions, Black renters reviewing an eviction notice and past due bill
Black renters make up nearly 70% of metro Atlanta eviction filings
Atlanta evictions are happening at a faster pace than anywhere else in the country, and Black renters are carrying most of the weight. Landlords across Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Clayton and Gwinnett counties filed 142,047 eviction cases between June 2025 and June 2026, according to Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, which tracks filings in major cities nationwide.
An eviction filing is the court case a landlord opens to remove a tenant. Not every filing ends with someone losing their home, and officials have not said how many of these cases led to completed evictions. But a filing alone can follow a renter on their record and make it harder to lease the next apartment.
The numbers break down along racial lines. Black residents make up 53% of renters in the five county region but account for 69% of eviction filings, roughly 75,000 cases in a single year. White renters accounted for 15% of filings and Hispanic renters 10%.
Income does not close the gap. Peter Hepburn, a Rutgers University sociology professor who works with the Eviction Lab, told a public meeting that Black renters face four to five times the eviction risk of white renters. He said Black households earning more than $80,000 a year are still at greater risk than white households earning $20,000. Hepburn pointed to discrimination, less savings to fall back on, and fewer family and social networks to lean on when money gets tight.
The scale of Atlanta evictions puts the region in a category of its own. About 24 of every 100 renter households faced a filing, roughly one in four and more than three times the national average of seven to eight per 100. That rate is higher than New York City’s.
Georgia law is a big reason why. Landlords here can file for eviction once rent is just three business days late. Eviction Lab researcher Juan Pablo Garnham has said evictions in Atlanta move fast and cost landlords little, while cities like New York have stronger tenant protections that slow the process down.
The filings are also concentrated. Researchers found that 15% of all eviction filings in the metro come from just 100 apartment buildings.
Rent is the other pressure point driving Atlanta evictions. The average renter household in the study pays about $1,795 a month, and rents have climbed faster than incomes for many Black families. Awodele Omilami, CEO of the Atlanta nonprofit Hosea Helps, told CBS Atlanta that people earning $15 and $20 an hour are struggling, and that some tenants are seeing increases of around $200 when they renew a lease. She said demand for help is rising while donations are falling.
City leaders say the crisis is not slowing down. Courtney English, chief of staff to Mayor Andre Dickens, said 31,000 people in the city of Atlanta are currently facing eviction. The city offers an interest free microloan program for renters at risk of losing their homes, and local advocates are pushing for stronger tenant protection
