ATM fees in metro Atlanta are still the nation’s highest, Bankrate says
Getting cash could cost you a hefty fee.
Metro Atlanta continues to have the nation’s highest average fees for using certain automated teller machines. Customers seeking cash from ATMs outside their bank network paid an average of $5.37 in the region, according to a survey by Bankrate. That’s up from $5.33 last year.
The metro area has topped the list for five years.
Bankrate conducted the survey among 10 banks in each of 25 large U.S. markets. Across all the metro areas, the average total cost of an out-of-network withdrawal was $4.86, an increase of 9 cents from 2024.
A decade ago, that figure was also $4.86, according to Bankrate data that spans from 1998 to 2025. The fee today is about $2 less than a decade ago, adjusting for inflation.
Boston recorded the lowest ATM fees, which averaged $4.37 per transaction in the 2025 survey.
People can incur as many as two charges each time they use an ATM outside their network, Bankrate says. One charge could be from the institution that owns the ATM (this year averaging $3.22), and the other could come from the customer’s bank (this year averaging $1.64).
Consumers are using less cash these days, favoring credit cards and other electronic payments instead. The share of payments made with cash hit 14% in 2024, down from 16% in 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
“As ATMs become less frequently used, associated fees are likely to rise,” Stephen Kates, a Bankrate financial analyst, said in a prepared statement. “Consumers can most easily avoid these fees by banking with institutions offering wide ATM networks or reimbursing out-of-network ATM charges.”
Tripp Cofield, president and CEO of the Georgia Bankers Association, said there is often a price to pay for modern-day conveniences.
“Like other convenient on-demand services, there are real costs to providing immediate access to your cash anytime and almost anywhere you want it,” Cofield said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This includes the costs for the ATMs themselves, as well as secure armored cash transport, fraud protection and 24/7 network connectivity.”
Cofield also pointed out that Bankrate surveyed just 10 of the 81 banks serving the metro Atlanta area.
“The survey’s own national data shows the average total ATM fee is exactly the same as it was 10 years ago,” Cofield said. “What other on-demand service can consumers say that about? Further, many banks in Georgia cover the cost of ATM fees, including any out-of-network fees.”
Bankrate’s survey delved into other bank-related fees.
Across the 25 metro areas, the average overdraft fee, which banks charge to cover transactions that otherwise would result in a negative balance, declined 1% this year, to $26.77.
In metro Atlanta, the average overdraft fee was $29.05, the eighth highest among the surveyed metros.
Nationally, the average monthly service fee for interest-earning checking accounts increased more than 1%, to $15.65, Bankrate said. The average minimum balance to avoid this fee has climbed to $10,705, up nearly 5% from last year.
METROS WITH THE HIGHEST ATM FEES
Atlanta: $5.37
Phoenix: $5.35
San Diego: $5.31
Detroit: $5.25
Cleveland: $5.21
Source: Bankrate
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