The population of the city of Atlanta declined from 425,022 in 1980 to 394,017 in 1990, as residents moved to suburban portions of the metropolitan region. During the 1990s, however, the city increased in population. By the 2000 census, Atlanta had 416,474 inhabitants. In 2002, the population was estimated at 424,868.

Urban renewal and interstate highway construction projects in the 1960s wiped out areas of black, low-income housing in the inner city. Subsequently, blacks moved into areas of the city previously inhabited mainly by whites, while thousands of whites departed Atlanta for the suburbs. As a result, in 1970 Atlanta had a black majority for the first time in its history. According to the 2000 census, blacks represented 61.4 percent of the city’s population; whites, 33.2 percent; Asians, 1.9 percent; Native Americans, 0.2 percent; and those of mixed heritage or not reporting race, 3.2 percent. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders numbered 173 at the time of the census. Hispanics, who may be of any race, constituted 4.5 percent of the population.

The population of the Atlanta metropolitan area increased at a rapid rate in recent decades. In 1980 it had a population of 2,233,000; in 2000 it had 4,112,200 inhabitants. In the metropolitan area, whites were the largest group. However, in recent years the area has experienced an influx of new cultural and ethnic groups.