Atlanta is not known as a transit city, but MARTA’s four rail lines cover more of the city’s apartment stock than most newcomers expect. If you want to drive less, or share one car in a two-person household, choosing a building near a station is the single biggest decision you can make. This guide shows where to find apartments near MARTA rail stations.
Short answer: MARTA’s Red and Gold lines share the north-south trunk through Downtown, Midtown and Lindbergh, then split: the Red Line continues to Buckhead and the Perimeter, and the Gold Line runs to Brookhaven, Chamblee and Doraville. The Blue and Green lines run east-west, with the Blue Line reaching Decatur. Atlantic Station, West Midtown, Grant Park and Vinings / Smyrna have no station inside the neighborhood.
Apartments near MARTA: a neighborhood-by-neighborhood rail guide
| Neighborhood | Buildings | MARTA rail |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown | 15 | All four lines meet at Five Points; several more Downtown stations |
| Midtown | 28 | Red and Gold: North Avenue, Midtown, Arts Center |
| Buckhead | 28 | Red: Buckhead; Gold: Lenox; Red and Gold: Lindbergh Center |
| Perimeter / Dunwoody / Sandy Springs | 20 | Red: Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, North Springs |
| Brookhaven | 14 | Gold: Brookhaven / Oglethorpe |
| Chamblee / Doraville | 10 | Gold: Chamblee, Doraville |
| Decatur | 12 | Blue: Decatur, East Lake, Avondale nearby |
| Old Fourth Ward / Inman Park | 20 | Blue and Green: Inman Park / Reynoldstown and King Memorial at the edges |
| Atlantic Station / Home Park | 8 | No station inside; Arts Center is the nearest |
| West Midtown / Upper Westside | 20 | No station inside the core of the district |
| Grant Park / Summerhill / East Atlanta | 12 | No station inside; bus connections to Downtown |
| Vinings / Smyrna | 12 | No rail |
How to use this when apartment hunting
- Check the building, not just the neighborhood. Many building pages in this directory list the nearest station. A building in a rail neighborhood can still be a 20-minute walk from the platform.
- Ride it at rush hour. Before you sign, make your commute once on MARTA at the time you would actually travel.
- Ask about parking costs. In towers near stations, parking is often an extra monthly charge. If you can drop to one car, the savings add up.
- Think about the airport. Every Red and Gold Line station has a one-seat ride to Hartsfield-Jackson, which is a real perk for frequent travelers.
For the most rail-friendly shortlist, start with Midtown and Buckhead, which have the most rail stations of any neighborhoods in this directory (every Buckhead building listed here is near one), then widen to Brookhaven, Chamblee and Decatur for more space and lower prices on the same lines.