Document and Entity Information (USD $)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Oct. 27, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	MAA
Entity Registrant Name	MID AMERICA APARTMENT COMMUNITIES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000912595
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		75,254,249
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 5,492,980,651
Limited Partner [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	MID-AMERICA APARTMENTS, L.P.
Entity Central Index Key	0001581776
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer