Analysis: How far $400K stretches in Atlanta vs. other cities right now

First, the good news: If your homebuying budget is anywhere close to what homes typically sell for in the U.S. right now, you don’t have to live in a shoebox in the City of Atlanta.

On the other hand, Atlanta is sliding closer to the most expensive places in the country when it comes to homebuyer bang for the buck.

Real estate data platform PropertyShark has compiled a new list for 2026 of what $400,000 currently buys in the largest 100 U.S. cities. Why $400,000? That’s roughly the national median home sale price at the moment.

PropertyShark’s analysts found “massive geographic disparities” in what that budget buys in different U.S. regions at the moment. Including in the hot, hot South.

In terms of square footage for the price, the City of Atlanta ranks at No. 66 on the list of 100 today, with $400,000 buying 1,525 square feet. The study considered standalone homes, townhomes, and condos in each city.

Atlanta’s rank puts it in the ballpark of Sunbelt competitors Tampa (1,554 square feet) and Dallas (1,468 square feet), among others.

But $400,000 buys less in Atlanta today than larger markets Chicago (1,667 square feet) and Houston (2,133 square feet), and a comparable sized market in Philadelphia (2,182 square feet), according to PropertyShark’s findings. (The City of Atlanta, we should note, has a relatively small footprint and limited housing supply.)

How Atlanta’s median home prices compare to the country’s other largest cities in 2026. (Note: The PropertyShark list includes 104 locations, as New York City was broken down into boroughs.) Courtesy of PropertyShark

According to the study, the City of Atlanta’s median home sales price last year was $425,000 for dwellings with a median size of 1,620 square feet. That’s a breakdown of $262 per square foot.

Atlanta is considered the No. 8 most space-constrained large city in the South for $400,000 right now, having fallen below the 1,820-square-foot national median, per PropertyShark.

In large cities across the country, that budget goes the furthest in Detroit (bagging almost 5,000 square feet). No surprise that it buys the least in Manhattan (just 267 square feet), per the study.

Courtesy of PropertyShark

Gone are the days of $400,000 buying roomy new single-family houses in places like Old Fourth Ward, West End, Kirkwood, Loring Heights, and East Atlanta.

But then again, is Atlanta’s middle-of-the-pack ranking for a top seven or eight metro still a relatively good deal?

Courtesy of PropertyShark