Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Earnings per share - diluted:
Preferred Stock Dividends, Income Statement Impact		$ 0	$ 0
Parent Company [Member]
Operating revenues:
Rental revenues	$ 1,033,609,000	952,196,000	902,177,000
Other property revenues	(91,739,000)	(90,583,000)	(90,001,000)
Total property revenues	1,125,348,000	1,042,779,000	992,178,000
Management fee income	0	0	154,000
Total operating revenues	1,125,348,000	1,042,779,000	992,332,000
Property operating expenses:
Personnel	106,745,000	103,000,000	101,591,000
Building repairs and maintenance	31,296,000	30,524,000	30,715,000
Real estate taxes and insurance	142,784,000	129,618,000	123,419,000
Utilities	93,000,000	89,769,000	89,150,000
Landscaping	19,816,000	19,458,000	20,113,000
Other operating	29,715,000	28,276,000	28,360,000
Depreciation and amortization	322,958,000	294,520,000	301,812,000
Total property operating expenses	746,314,000	695,165,000	695,160,000
Acquisition expenses	2,928,000	2,777,000	2,388,000
Property management expenses	34,093,000	30,990,000	32,095,000
General and administrative expenses	29,040,000	25,716,000	20,909,000
Merger related expenses	39,033,000	0	3,152,000
Integration related expenses	1,790,000	0	8,395,000
Income from continuing operations before non-operating items	272,150,000	288,131,000	230,233,000
Interest and other non-property income	724,000	(368,000)	770,000
Interest expense	(129,947,000)	(122,344,000)	(123,953,000)
Loss on debt extinguishment	(83,000)	(3,602,000)	(2,586,000)
Net casualty gain (loss) after insurance and other settlement proceeds	448,000	473,000	(476,000)
Gain on sale of non-depreciable real estate assets	2,171,000	172,000	350,000
Gain on sale of depreciable real estate assets excluded from discontinued operations	80,397,000	189,958,000	42,649,000
Income before income tax expense	225,860,000	352,420,000	146,987,000
Income tax expense	(1,699,000)	(1,673,000)	(2,050,000)
Income from continuing operations before joint venture activity	224,161,000	350,747,000	144,937,000
Gain (loss) from real estate joint ventures	241,000	(2,000)	6,009,000
Income from continuing operations	224,402,000	350,745,000	150,946,000
Discontinued operations:
Loss from discontinued operations before gain on sale	0	0	(63,000)
Gain on sale of discontinued operations	0	0	5,394,000
Consolidated net income	224,402,000	350,745,000	156,277,000
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	12,180,000	18,458,000	8,297,000
Net income available for MAA common shareholders	$ 211,915,000	$ 332,287,000	$ 147,980,000
Earnings Per Share, Basic [Abstract]
Income from continuing operations available for common shareholders (dollars per share)	$ 2.69	$ 4.41	$ 1.90
Discontinued property operations (dollars per share)	0.00	0.00	0.07
Net income available for common shareholders (dollars per share)	2.69	4.41	1.97
Earnings per share - diluted:
Income from continuing operations available for common shareholders (dollars per share)	2.69	4.41	1.90
Discontinued property operations (dollars per share)	0.00	0.00	0.07
Net income available to common shareholders (dollars per share)	$ 2.69	$ 4.41	$ 1.97
Net Income (Loss) Available to Shareholders	$ 212,222,000	$ 332,287,000	$ 147,980,000
Preferred Stock Dividends, Income Statement Impact	307,000
Limited Partner [Member]
Operating revenues:
Rental revenues	1,033,609,000	952,196,000	902,177,000
Other property revenues	(91,739,000)	(90,583,000)	(90,001,000)
Total property revenues	1,125,348,000	1,042,779,000	992,178,000
Management fee income	0	0	154,000
Total operating revenues	1,125,348,000	1,042,779,000	992,332,000
Property operating expenses:
Personnel	106,745,000	103,000,000	101,591,000
Building repairs and maintenance	31,296,000	30,524,000	30,715,000
Real estate taxes and insurance	142,784,000	129,618,000	123,419,000
Utilities	93,000,000	89,769,000	89,150,000
Landscaping	19,816,000	19,458,000	20,113,000
Other operating	29,715,000	28,276,000	28,360,000
Depreciation and amortization	322,958,000	294,520,000	301,812,000
Total property operating expenses	746,314,000	695,165,000	695,160,000
Acquisition expenses	2,928,000	2,777,000	2,388,000
Property management expenses	34,093,000	30,990,000	32,095,000
General and administrative expenses	29,040,000	25,716,000	20,909,000
Merger related expenses	39,033,000	0	3,152,000
Integration related expenses	1,790,000	0	8,395,000
Income from continuing operations before non-operating items	272,150,000	288,131,000	230,233,000
Interest and other non-property income	724,000	(368,000)	770,000
Interest expense	(129,947,000)	(122,344,000)	(123,953,000)
Loss on debt extinguishment	(83,000)	(3,602,000)	(2,586,000)
Net casualty gain (loss) after insurance and other settlement proceeds	448,000	473,000	(476,000)
Gain on sale of non-depreciable real estate assets	2,171,000	172,000	350,000
Gain on sale of depreciable real estate assets excluded from discontinued operations	80,397,000	189,958,000	42,649,000
Income before income tax expense	225,860,000	352,420,000	146,987,000
Income tax expense	(1,699,000)	(1,673,000)	(2,050,000)
Income from continuing operations before joint venture activity	224,161,000	350,747,000	144,937,000
Gain (loss) from real estate joint ventures	241,000	(2,000)	6,009,000
Income from continuing operations	224,402,000	350,745,000	150,946,000
Discontinued operations:
Loss from discontinued operations before gain on sale	0	0	(63,000)
Gain on sale of discontinued operations	0	0	5,394,000
Consolidated net income	224,402,000	350,745,000	156,277,000
Preferred Stock Dividends, Income Statement Impact	307,000	0	0
Net income available for Mid-America Apartments, L.P. common unitholders	$ 224,095,000	$ 350,745,000	$ 156,277,000
Earnings Per Share, Basic [Abstract]
Income from continuing operations available for common shareholders (dollars per share)	$ 2.70	$ 4.41	$ 1.90
Discontinued property operations (dollars per share)	0.00	0.00	0.07
Net income available for common shareholders (dollars per share)	2.70	4.41	1.97
Earnings per share - diluted:
Income from continuing operations available for common shareholders (dollars per share)	2.70	4.41	1.90
Discontinued property operations (dollars per share)	0.00	0.00	0.07
Net income available to common shareholders (dollars per share)	$ 2.70	$ 4.41	$ 1.97