By David Rosenberg, President, Woosh Market Research
Georgia has about 1.4 million small businesses. That represents 99.7% of all businesses in the state and roughly 1.8 million jobs.
Great numbers, no question. But there is a problem. If you are trying to figure out where to open a business, expand one, relocate, or make a meaningful investment, these numbers really do not help you make the decision.
I see companies make these kinds of mistakes all the time. They look at population growth, tax incentives, real estate costs, maybe employment trends, and then try to determine which Georgia market is “best.”
I am not convinced there is such a thing as “best.” What matters is finding the market where your particular business has the best chance to succeed.
This is a very different question. Think about it. A restaurant owner looking at Atlanta should be asking completely different questions than a cybersecurity firm. The same goes for a healthcare company, logistics contractor, manufacturer, or professional services firm. Different buyers. Different competitors. Different labor needs. Different economics.
Let’s look at a few Georgia-specific markets this way.
Atlanta City Proper: Lots of Opportunity. Lots of Competition Too.
There is an obvious reason companies are attracted to metro Atlanta. It is big. You have more potential customers, a large and diverse workforce, major corporations, universities, healthcare systems, investors, and access to a wide range of industries.
More than 3.1 million nonfarm jobs were located in metro Atlanta in June 2025. Education and health services added 23,500 jobs from the prior year. Clearly, there is large opportunity here.
But I believe companies sometimes become so enamored with Atlanta’s size that they overlook the other side of the equation. Competition.
Your potential customers have many choices. Good employees have choices. Depending on the industry, acquiring customers can become expensive very quickly. And if your business looks and sounds pretty much like everyone else, Atlanta is large enough for you to disappear in plain sight.
This does not make Atlanta a bad market. Far from it. If you need scale, access to major companies, investors, specialized talent, or a broad customer base, Atlanta may be exactly where you belong. Just don’t assume bigger means better.
Savannah: Looking Past the Tourists
When many people think about Savannah, tourism is the first thing that comes to mind. Fair enough. But from a business standpoint, I believe this view is way too narrow.
The port, warehousing, manufacturing, distribution, and growth throughout Chatham, Bryan, and Effingham counties are creating an entirely different set of opportunities. Transportation and material-moving occupations accounted for 13.1% of Savannah-area employment in May 2025. Nationally, the figure was 8.8%.
What I find interesting is not simply the growth in logistics. It’s everything that grows around logistics. More freight creates demand for maintenance, recruiting, training, safety, industrial services, food, housing, commercial real estate, packaging, and dozens of other support businesses.
This is where market research becomes useful, if not critical. Instead of asking, “What industries are growing in Savannah?” I personally would want to know, “What new problems is this growth creating, and who is willing to pay to solve them?” This is a much better business question.
Augusta: Smaller Market, Very Specific Strengths
Augusta is a good example of why market size alone can be misleading. No, it doesn’t have Atlanta’s scale. But look at what is concentrated there: cybersecurity, defense, healthcare, engineering, government activity, and higher education.
Fort Eisenhower, the Georgia Cyber Center, Augusta University, healthcare systems, and federal operations all influence who works there, who buys there, and what kinds of businesses can thrive there.
Civil engineers were employed at roughly 3.7 times the national rate in 2025. Mechanical engineers were employed at more than twice the national rate. This should get your attention if your business sells into these areas.
For the right company, Augusta could be a far better opportunity than Atlanta precisely because the market is more concentrated. But there is a catch.
In a smaller market, you better understand the buyer extremely well. Who actually makes the purchase decision? How many realistic customers exist? Who already has these relationships? You can’t afford to guess.
And Lastly, Georgia’s Mid-Sized Markets
I would never lump Macon, Columbus, Athens, and Gainesville together simply because they are smaller than Atlanta. They obviously are completely different markets.
Macon has real strength in healthcare, along with manufacturing, logistics, education, and business services. Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations represented 9% of employment there in May 2025 compared with 6.3% nationally.
Columbus has defense, aerospace, manufacturing, and financial services. Investments from Pratt & Whitney and JS Link America are particularly interesting because large investments like these often create opportunities for businesses that support them.
Athens has UGA, research, healthcare, life sciences, food and beverage, and an entrepreneurial base.
Gainesville and Northeast Georgia have their own strengths in poultry, food processing, distribution, healthcare, construction, and continued population growth.
Could operating costs be lower in some of these markets? Absolutely. Could competition be lighter? Possibly. But there are fewer potential customers too.
This is why I would never recommend choosing a Georgia market based primarily on population, growth rate, or cost. I always tell people to start with demand.
Who needs what you sell? How many potential buyers are really there? Who are they buying from today? What are they paying? Is demand growing? And perhaps most importantly, can you realistically capture enough of that market to make the investment worthwhile?
This is the analysis that matters. Because the “best” Georgia market is not necessarily Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, or anywhere else. It is the market where your business, the customer, the competition, and the economics actually fit.
And you need proper research to know that. Otherwise, you are just making a bet.
Want to learn even more? Contact David Rosenberg through LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/david-wooshresearch
Sources
U.S. Small Business Administration: Georgia 2025 Small Business Profile
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Atlanta Area Employment
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Savannah Occupational Employment and Wages
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Augusta Occupational Employment and Wages
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Macon Occupational Employment and Wages
Georgia Department of Economic Development: Pratt & Whitney Columbus Expansion
Georgia Department of Economic Development: JS Link America Columbus Investment
