Earnings Per Common Share of MAA (Details) - Parent Company [Member] - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015
Earnings Per Share Disclosure [Line Items]
Weighted average common shares - basic		75,302	75,189	75,276	75,167
Weighted average partnership units outstanding	[1]	0	0	4,156	0
Effect of dilutive securities	[2]	0	0	246	0
Weighted average common shares - diluted		75,302	75,189	79,678	75,167
Calculation of Basic Earnings per Share [Member]
Earnings Per Share Disclosure [Line Items]
Income from continuing operations		$ 88,906	$ 96,828	$ 182,344	$ 305,378
Income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests		(4,627)	(5,094)	(9,508)	(16,078)
Income from continuing operations allocated to unvested restricted shares		(254)	(221)	(485)	(668)
Income from continuing operations available for common shareholders, adjusted		$ 84,025	$ 91,513	$ 172,351	$ 288,632
Earnings per share - basic		$ 1.12	$ 1.22	$ 2.29	$ 3.84
Calculation of Diluted Earnings per Share [Member]
Earnings Per Share Disclosure [Line Items]
Income from continuing operations		$ 88,906	$ 96,828	$ 182,344	$ 305,378
Income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests	[1]	(4,628)	(5,094)	0	(16,080)
Income from continuing operations allocated to unvested restricted shares	[2]	(254)	(221)	0	(668)
Income from continuing operations available for common shareholders, adjusted		$ 84,024	$ 91,513	$ 182,344	$ 288,630
Earnings per share - diluted		$ 1.12	$ 1.22	$ 2.29	$ 3.84
Limited Partnership Units [Member]
Earnings Per Share Disclosure [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount				4,200
Restricted Stock [Member]
Earnings Per Share Disclosure [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount		200

[1] (1) For the three months ended September 30, 2016 and for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, 4.2 million OP Units and their related income are not included in the diluted earnings per share calculations as they are not dilutive.

[2] (2) For the three months ended September 30, 2016 and for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, 0.2 million potentially dilutive securities and their related income are not included in the diluted earnings per share calculations as they are not dilutive.