Rank #14 of 33

Atlanta, GA

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

9.6

Tacos per hour at the local median wage

$2.50 Avg taco price

$23.93 Median hourly wage (2024)

$3.00 Fast-casual taqueria

$1.99 Taco Bell crunchy taco

Atlanta sits above the national average. An hour of local work buys 9.6 tacos here, compared with 9.3 tacos per hour across the 33-city index (+0.3 vs national average).

Local note

Atlanta's taco scene has grown alongside the metro's expanding Latino population, with strong taquerias clustered along Buford Highway and in Marietta. Prices remain moderate by Sunbelt standards, supported by a large concentration of family-run spots that haven't followed the upmarket fast-casual trend.

Where the numbers come from

Fast-casual: Tacos La Villa ($1.80–$3 corn-tortilla menu), Taqueria del Sol, Carniceria Ramirez (~$3 representative). Chain: Taco Bell crunchy taco $1.99 (national avg).

Average taco price ($2.50) is $0.27 below the national average of $2.77.

How this is calculated. Tacos per hour = median hourly wage ÷ average taco price. Average taco price is the mean of the fast-casual taqueria anchor and the local Taco Bell crunchy taco price. Wages come from BLS OEWS, May 2024, MSA-level median for all occupations. Full methodology.