Sandy Springs workers are getting smaller raises while their grocery and utility bills climb faster than almost anything else in their budgets.
Federal data released Aug. 4 shows private-sector wages in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area, which covers Sandy Springs and 28 surrounding counties, grew just 2.6% over the 12 months ending in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, wages rose 3.1% over the same period.
The gap matters because local prices aren't slowing down to match. The BLS consumer price report for the same metro area shows overall inflation at 2.8%, food prices up 5.5% and energy costs up 11.5% year-over-year through June. Gasoline alone jumped 27%.
That math is simple: a 2.6% raise minus 2.8% inflation means purchasing power is shrinking.
A sharp reversal
Two years ago, Atlanta-area wages were growing at 5.4%, well above the national rate of 4.1%. By June 2025, local wage growth had slipped to 3.2%. Now it sits at 2.6%, half a percentage point behind the country.
Total compensation, which includes benefits, rose just 2.7% locally versus 3.3% nationally. The Atlanta metro tied Dallas for second-slowest total compensation growth among large metros tracked by the BLS. Only Minneapolis was lower.
Who feels it most
The squeeze hits hardest along Roswell Road and in the service economy that keeps Sandy Springs' restaurants, hotels and retail corridors running. At the Community Assistance Center, Sandy Springs' largest human services nonprofit with locations at 1130 Hightower Trail and 8607 Roswell Rd., the pattern is familiar.
Horton III, CEO of the Community Assistance Center, said during coverage of the CAC's Sandy Springs Connects career expo earlier in 2026 that "almost 77 percent of the folks that come to us for help are already working at least one job." He described the center's clientele as the "working poor," a characterization that predates the latest wage data but underscores who bears the brunt of the cost squeeze.
In 2024, the CAC assisted nearly 10,000 people and distributed roughly one million pounds of food. The city estimates about 20,000 Sandy Springs residents need some form of assistance.
Grocery aisle by aisle
The BLS data breaks down exactly where food costs are climbing fastest in the metro area. Cereals and bakery products rose 8.9% year-over-year through June. Fruits and vegetables were up 7.5%. Nonalcoholic beverages increased 5.6%. Eating out rose 5.9%, meaning even a lunch break costs noticeably more.
One relative bright spot: shelter costs rose just 1.3% locally, well below the food and energy surge. As we reported Aug. 14, the city's apartment construction boom may be helping moderate rent pressure.
Slow job growth too
The metro area added just 12,700 nonfarm jobs over the year ending in June, a 0.4% increase, according to BLS metro employment data. That's one of the slower rates among large U.S. metros.
Decelerating wages, rising costs and modest hiring all suggest employers have regained the leverage they lost during the post-pandemic labor crunch.
What's next
The BLS will release updated Atlanta-area consumer price data on Friday, Sept. 11. That report will show whether the food and energy surge continued through August or began to ease heading into fall.
