Charlotte metropolitan area
Charlotte metropolitan area | |
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EDT | |
Zip Codes | 280xx,281xx,282xx,286xx,297xx |
Area code(s) | 704, 803,828,980 |
The Charlotte metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as Metrolina, is a metropolitan area of the U.S. states of North and South Carolina, containing the city of Charlotte. The metropolitan area also includes the cities of Gastonia, Concord, Huntersville, and Rock Hill as well as the large suburban area in the counties surrounding Mecklenburg County, which is at the center of the metro area. Located in the Piedmont, it is the largest metropolitan area in the Carolinas, and the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States. The Charlotte metropolitan area is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States.[2]
There are two official metropolitan boundaries for the Charlotte metropolitan area: the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC issued new revised delineations for Combined Statistical Areas that included a 2022 population estimate of 3,333,992 for the new Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA (that now includes the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Marion, Albemarle and Shelby Micropolitan Statistical Areas). The metropolitan area is slightly larger than 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2). The new Combined Statistical Area definition is approximately 8,536 square miles (22,108 square km) in size.
The Charlotte metro area is a major financial center, transportation hub, and entertainment destination. Charlotte is the second largest financial hub in the United States behind New York City, being the headquarters for Bank of America and Truist Financial as well as housing the East Coast headquarters and largest employment hub of Wells Fargo. Other Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the metro area include Brighthouse Financial, Duke Energy, Honeywell, Lowe's, Nucor, Sonic Automotive, Albemarle and CommScope in the Hickory area. The Charlotte metro area is the largest manufacturing region in the Carolinas. The estimated gross metropolitan product (GMP) of the metro area is over $170 billion.[8] Located in Mecklenburg County, Charlotte Douglas International Airport is the seventh-busiest airport in the world by aircraft movements and the city's location at the junction of I-85 and I-77 makes it a highway logistics center. The Charlotte metro is also one of the centers of American auto racing and is home to the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets, and Charlotte FC.
The Charlotte metro is home to a number of prominent higher education institutions, including the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Queens University of Charlotte, Davidson College, Belmont Abbey College, Winthrop University and many more. The larger region is also home to respected institutions such as Gardner-Webb University, Lenoir–Rhyne University, Wingate University, and the Hickory campus of Appalachian State University. The primary community college for the area is Central Piedmont Community College, which has several campuses throughout Charlotte and the surrounding region.
Nicknames and regional identity
The regional area around the city was at one time called Metrolina, a portmanteau of Metropolis and Carolina. The term has fallen out of widespread general use, though it still maintains a presence and is used by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The term does retain a marketing value, and is thus also used by many businesses in the area. Metrolina refers to the region that includes the cities of Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia and Rock Hill. The name Metrolina came into fashion when North Carolina's other two large metropolitan areas took on nicknames—the Triangle for Raleigh/Durham/Cary/Chapel Hill and the Triad for Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point. (The Triad now goes by the name Piedmont Triad to distinguish it from other tri-cities.)
Charlotte's most common nickname is the Queen City, often abbreviated as Q.C., a name derived[
The term "Charlotte USA" referred to the 16-county region, which includes 12 counties in North Carolina and 4 counties in South Carolina. The term was championed during a marketing campaign by the Charlotte Regional Partnership, a non-profit organization made up of both private- and public-sector members from throughout the Charlotte region. This organization represents one of seven officially designated economic development regions in North Carolina.[9]
Region J of the
Geography
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1950 | 197,052 | — | |
1960 | 272,111 | 38.1% | |
1970 | 409,370 | 50.4% | |
1980 | 637,218 | 55.7% | |
1990 | 1,162,093 | 82.4% | |
2000 | 1,499,293 | 29.0% | |
2010 | 2,243,960 | 49.7% | |
2020 | 2,660,329 | 18.6% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1790–1960[11] 1900–1990[12] 1990–2000[13] 2010[14] 2020[15] |
Counties
The official Charlotte metropolitan area includes the Charlotte–Concord–Gastonia MSA (
The Charlotte Regional Partnership also identifies three additional counties to what they refer to as the "Charlotte Region"—
County[17] | 2022 Estimate | 2020 Census | Change | Area | Density |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mecklenburg County | 1,145,392 | 1,115,482 | +2.68% | 523.84 sq mi (1,356.7 km2) | 2,187/sq mi (844/km2) |
York County | 294,248 | 282,090 | +4.31% | 680.60 sq mi (1,762.7 km2) | 432/sq mi (167/km2) |
Union County | 249,070 | 238,267 | +4.53% | 631.52 sq mi (1,635.6 km2) | 394/sq mi (152/km2) |
Cabarrus County | 235,797 | 225,804 | +4.43% | 361.75 sq mi (936.9 km2) | 652/sq mi (252/km2) |
Gaston County | 234,215 | 227,943 | +2.75% | 356.03 sq mi (922.1 km2) | 658/sq mi (254/km2) |
Iredell County | 195,897 | 186,693 | +4.93% | 573.83 sq mi (1,486.2 km2) | 341/sq mi (132/km2) |
Rowan County | 149,645 | 146,875 | +1.89% | 511.37 sq mi (1,324.4 km2) | 293/sq mi (113/km2) |
Lancaster County | 104,577 | 96,016 | +8.92% | 549.16 sq mi (1,422.3 km2) | 190/sq mi (74/km2) |
Lincoln County | 93,095 | 86,810 | +7.24% | 297.94 sq mi (771.7 km2) | 312/sq mi (121/km2) |
Chester County | 31,931 | 32,294 | −1.12% | 580.66 sq mi (1,503.9 km2) | 55/sq mi (21/km2) |
Anson County | 22,202 | 22,055 | +0.67% | 531.45 sq mi (1,376.4 km2) | 42/sq mi (16/km2) |
Total | 2,756,069 | 2,660,329 | +3.60% | 5,598.15 sq mi (14,499.1 km2) | 492/sq mi (190/km2) |
County | 2022 Estimate | 2020 Census | Change | Area | Density |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Catawba County | 163,462 | 160,609 | +1.78% | 401.40 sq mi (1,039.6 km2) | 407/sq mi (157/km2) |
Cleveland County | 100,670 | 99,519 | +1.16% | 464.25 sq mi (1,202.4 km2) | 217/sq mi (84/km2) |
Burke County | 87,881 | 87,573 | +0.35% | 514.24 sq mi (1,331.9 km2) | 171/sq mi (66/km2) |
Caldwell County | 80,492 | 80,664 | −0.21% | 474.61 sq mi (1,229.2 km2) | 170/sq mi (65/km2) |
Stanly County | 64,153 | 62,504 | +2.64% | 395.09 sq mi (1,023.3 km2) | 162/sq mi (63/km2) |
McDowell County | 44,753 | 44,577 | +0.39% | 445.35 sq mi (1,153.5 km2) | 100/sq mi (39/km2) |
Alexander County | 36,512 | 36,491 | +0.06% | 260.00 sq mi (673.4 km2) | 140/sq mi (54/km2) |
Total for Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, McDowell and Stanly counties |
577,923 | 571,937 | +1.05% | 2,954.94 sq mi (7,653.3 km2) | 195/sq mi (75/km2) |
Total for entire Charlotte CSA | 3,333,992 | 3,232,266 | +3.15% | 8,556.00 sq mi (22,159.9 km2) | 390/sq mi (150/km2) |
Largest cities and towns
Rank | City / town[17] | County | 2022 Estimate | 2020 Census | Change |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Charlotte | Mecklenburg County | 897,720 | 874,579 | +2.65% |
2 | Concord | Cabarrus County | 109,896 | 105,240 | +4.42% |
3 | Gastonia | Gaston County | 82,653 | 80,411 | +2.79% |
4 | Rock Hill | York County | 75,349 | 74,372 | +1.31% |
5 | Huntersville | Mecklenburg County | 63,035 | 61,376 | +2.70% |
6 | Kannapolis | Cabarrus County / Rowan County | 55,448 | 53,114 | +4.39% |
7 | Mooresville | Iredell County | 52,656 | 50,193 | +4.91% |
8 | Hickory | Catawba County | 44,084 | 43,491 | +1.36% |
9 | Indian Trail | Union County | 41,724 | 39,997 | +4.32% |
10 | Monroe | Union County | 36,018 | 34,562 | +4.21% |
11 | Salisbury | Rowan County | 35,808 | 35,540 | +0.75% |
12 | Cornelius | Mecklenburg County | 32,294 | 31,412 | +2.81% |
13 | Fort Mill | York County | 30,940 | 24,521 | +26.18% |
14 | Matthews | Mecklenburg County / Union County | 30,124 | 29,435 | +2.34% |
15 | Statesville | Iredell County | 29,681 | 28,419 | +4.44% |
16 | Mint Hill | Mecklenburg County / Union County | 27,143 | 26,450 | +2.62% |
17 | Waxhaw | Union County | 22,533 | 20,534 | +9.74% |
18 | Shelby | Cleveland County | 21,855 | 21,913 | −0.26% |
19 | Harrisburg | Cabarrus County | 19,822 | 18,967 | +4.51% |
20 | Mount Holly | Gaston County | 18,255 | 17,703 | +3.12% |
21 | Lenoir | Caldwell County | 18,170 | 17,703 | +2.64% |
22 | Morganton | Burke County | 17,602 | 17,473 | +0.74% |
23 | Stallings | Union County / Mecklenburg County | 16,768 | 16,112 | +4.07% |
24 | Albemarle | Stanly County | 16,766 | 16,422 | +2.09% |
25 | Davidson | Mecklenburg County / Iredell County | 15,771 | 15,106 | +4.40% |
26 | Belmont | Gaston County | 15,353 | 15,010 | +2.29% |
27 | Weddington | Mecklenburg County / Union County | 13,717 | 13,181 | +4.07% |
28 | Tega Cay | York County | 13,689 | 12,832 | +6.68% |
29 | Newton | Catawba County | 13,337 | 13,146 | +1.45% |
30 | Lincolnton | Lincoln County | 11,818 | 11,091 | +6.55% |
31 | Kings Mountain | Cleveland County / Gaston County | 11,638 | 11,142 | +4.45% |
32 | Pineville | Mecklenburg County | 10,886 | 10,602 | +2.68% |
Cities and Towns: 5,000 to 10,000 in Population
Rank | City / Town | County | 2022 Estimate | 2020 Census | Change |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wesley Chapel | Union County | 9,040 | 8,681 | +4.14% |
2 | Lancaster | Lancaster County | 8,829 | 8,460 | +4.36% |
3 | York | York County | 8,648 | 8,503 | +1.71% |
4 | Conover | Catawba County | 8,571 | 8,424 | +1.75% |
5 | Marion | McDowell County | 7,492 | 7,711 | −2.84% |
6 | Clover | York County | 7,405 | 6,671 | +11.00% |
7 | Unionville | Union County | 6,875 | 6,643 | +3.49% |
8 | Marvin | Union County | 6,624 | 6,358 | +4.18% |
9 | Cherryville | Gaston County | 6,207 | 6,078 | +2.12% |
10 | Dallas | Gaston County | 6,084 | 5,927 | +2.65% |
11 | Bessemer City | Gaston County | 5,563 | 5,428 | +2.49% |
12 | Cramerton | Gaston County | 5,441 | 5,296 | +2.74% |
13 | Chester | Chester County | 5,187 | 5,269 | −1.56% |
14 | Long View | Catawba County | 5,172 | 5,088 | +1.65% |
15 | Sawmills | Caldwell County | 5,019 | 5,027 | −0.16% |
Suburban towns and cities under 5,000 in population
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Unincorporated communities
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Changes in
Transportation
Mass transit
The
Gastonia Transit, Concord Kannapolis Area Transit, My Ride Transit in Rock Hill, Western Piedmont Regional Transit Authority in Hickory, Salisbury Transit, and Iredell Area Transit System in Iredell County also provide fixed route bus services within the Greater Charlotte metropolitan region as well.
Roads
The Charlotte region is also served by 2 major interstate highways (
Other important US highways in the region include: US 74 (east to Wilmington, west to Asheville and Chattanooga), US 52 (through the far eastern part of the region), U.S. Route 321 (through Chester, York, Gastonia, Dallas, Lincolnton and Hickory), US 601 (passing east of Charlotte) and US 70 (through Salisbury, Statesville and Hickory).
Primary state routes include NC/SC 49, NC 16 (which extends north to West Virginia), NC 73, NC 150, NC 18, NC 24, NC 27, SC 9 and SC 5.
Air
Higher education
Four-year institutions
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Clinton College
- Winthrop University
- University of South Carolina-Lancaster
Two-year institutions
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
Defunct institutions
- Charlotte School of Law (2006–2017, private for-profit law school)
- King's College (1901–2018, private for-profit two-year college)
Healthcare
- Hospitals of the Atrium Health system
- Carolinas Medical Center (Charlotte)
- Levine Children's Hospital (Charlotte)
- Carolinas Medical Center-Mercy(Charlotte)
- Atrium Health Cabarrus (Concord)
- Atrium Health Pineville (Pineville)
- Atrium Health University City (Charlotte)
- Atrium Health Union (Monroe)
- Atrium Health Cleveland (Shelby)
- Atrium Health Lincoln (Lincolnton)
- Atrium Health Kings Mountain (Kings Mountain)
- Atrium Health Stanly (Albemarle)
- Hospitals of the Novant Health system
- Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center (Charlotte)
- Novant Health Hemby Children's Hospital (Charlotte)
- Novant Health Rowan Medical Center (Salisbury)
- Novant Health Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital (Charlotte)
- Novant Health Matthews Medical Center (Matthews)
- Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center (Mint Hill)
- Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center (Huntersville)
- Other hospitals
- CaroMonth Regional Medical Center (Gastonia)
- Iredell Memorial Hospital (Statesville)
- Lake Norman Regional Medical Center (Mooresville)
- W. G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center (Salisbury)
- Duke Lifepoint Frye Regional Medical Center (Hickory)
- Catawba Valley Medical Center (Hickory)
- UNC Health Blue Ridge (Morganton)
- Broughton Hospital (Morganton)
- UNC Health Caldwell (Lenoir)
- Mission Hospital McDowell (Marion)
- Piedmont Medical Center (Rock Hill)
- Piedmont Medical Center (Fort Mill)
- Medical University of South Carolina Health - Lancaster Medical Center (Lancaster)
- Medical University of South Carolina Health - Chester Medical Center (Chester)
Attractions
Nature and geography
The foothills of the
Cultural attractions
Attractions in Charlotte include the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Cultural,
Other places of interest in the surrounding area include the
Entertainment
The
The USNWC is only 10 minutes from downtown Charlotte and provides roughly 400 acres (1.6 km2) of woodlands along the scenic Catawba River. Olympic-caliber athletes, weekend warriors and casual observers share this world-class sports and training center.
Inspired by the successful Penrith Whitewater Stadium built for the 2000 Olympics and the stadium built for the 2004 Athens Games, the USNWC is the world's largest multi-channel recirculating whitewater river. The USOC has designated the USNWC an official Olympic Training Site.
Shopping
Other large regional-scale
Concord Mills is unique in that it does not feature the typical
Alongside enclosed malls and strip centers are several other shopping districts. Several downtowns can claim an abundance of shopping options, along with restaurants and other entertainment, and a few other specific districts have emerged: Central Avenue, especially in the
Sports
In addition to
Economy
Name | Industry | Based in | Number of employees |
---|---|---|---|
1. Atrium Health | Health Care and Social Assistance | Charlotte | 35,700 |
2. Wells Fargo | Finance and Insurance | San Francisco
|
26,000 |
3. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools | Educational Services | Mecklenburg County | 18,495 |
4. Walmart | Retail Trade | Bentonville, Arkansas | 16,100 |
5. Bank of America | Finance and Insurance | Charlotte | 15,000 |
6. Novant Health | Health Care and Social Assistance | Winston-Salem, NC | 12,172 |
7. American Airlines | Transportation and Warehousing | Dallas, Texas
|
11,000 |
8. Lowe's | Retail Trade | Mooresville, North Carolina | 9,233 |
9. Food Lion | Retail Trade | Salisbury, North Carolina | 8,465 |
10. Harris Teeter | Retail Trade | Matthews, North Carolina | 8,239 |
11. Duke Energy | Utilities | Charlotte | 7,700 |
12. Government of North Carolina | Public Administration | Raleigh, North Carolina | 7,600 |
13. Compass Group | Manufacturing | Chertsey, England, UK | 7,500 |
14. City of Charlotte | Public Administration | Charlotte | 6,800 |
15. Mecklenburg County Government | Public Administration | Mecklenburg County | 5,512 |
16. Union County Public Schools | Educational Services | Union County | 5,427 |
17. U.S. Federal Government | Public Administration | Washington, D.C. | 5,300 |
18. YMCA of Greater Charlotte | Arts, Entertainment and Recreation | Charlotte | 4,436 |
19. CaroMont Health | Healthcare | Gastonia, North Carolina | 4,223 |
20. AT&T Inc.
|
Utilities | Dallas, Texas
|
4,100 |
Companies with headquarters in the region include
Charlotte has gained fame as the second largest banking and finance center in the U.S., and the area's orientation towards emerging industries is seen in the success of the University Research Park (the 7th largest research park in the country) and the redevelopment of part of the
Reflections Studios in Charlotte played an important role in the emergent late-20th-century American musical underground –
, and many others.Notable residents
Notable people from the Charlotte metro area include:
- Artists – Romare Bearden
- Astronauts – Charles Duke and Susan Helms
- Religious figures – Billy Graham and Steven Furtick
- Musicians – Dababy, George Clinton, Fred Durst, Prairie Prince, Blind Boy Fuller, The Avett Brothers, and Randy Travis
- Independent filmmakers – Tim Kirkman and Ross McElwee
- Actors – Randolph Scott, Dwayne Johnson, Nick Cannon, Chyler Leigh, Lauren Holt and Berlinda Tolbert
- Media – Jim Nantz
- Politicians – Sue Myrick, Harvey Gantt, Elizabeth Dole, Mick Mulvaney, Jesse Helms; U.S. presidents Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk
- Professional wrestlers – Ric Flair, Charlotte Flair, Tessa Blanchard, Cedric Alexander, Cody Rhodes and R-Truth
- NASCAR drivers – Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and William Byron
- Professional athletes – Stephen Curry, Seth Curry, Kyle Seager, Corey Seager, Hakeem Nicks, Daniel Jones, Chris Canty, Dwight Clark, Luke Maye, Stephon Gilmore, Ish Smith, Hoyt Wilhelm, Kennedy Meeks, Benjamin Watson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Rayjon Tucker, Jadeveon Clowney, Wendell Moore Jr., Jaden Springer, Patrick Williams, Grant Williams, Devon Dotson, Hassan Whiteside and James Worthy
- R&B singers – Anthony Hamilton, Calvin Richardson, Stephanie Mills and K-Ci & JoJo of Jodeci
- Writers – Carson McCullers and Ayesha Curry
Government
A majority of the municipalities and counties in the North Carolina parts of the Charlotte metropolitan area belong to the Centralina Council of Governments. Cleveland County belongs to the Isothermal Planning and Development Commission and Alexander and Catawba counties belong to the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.
See also
- North Carolina statistical areas
- Catawba Nuclear Station
- Interstate 85
- Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion
- Piedmont Crescent
- Upstate South Carolina
References
- ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC (MSA)". fred.stlouisfed.org.
- ^ "Top ten fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States from 2010-2019". Statista. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- National Archives.
- ^ "U.S. Census Bureau CSAs".
- ^ "Census profile: Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area". Census Reporter. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ "Census profile: Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA". Census Reporter. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ "OMB BULLETIN NO. 23-01 Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas" (PDF).
- ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC (MSA)". Federal Reserve Economic Research. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. January 2001. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ Charlotte USA – Charlotte Regional Partnership Archived January 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals and Components of Change: 2010-2019". United States Census Bureau. US Census Bureau. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ "Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area". censusreporter.org. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- ^ "Census Bureau CSA List".
- ^ a b c "2022 Census Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "Fastest Growing". USA Today. 2007-04-19. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ "Major Employers in Charlotte Region - Charlotte Area Major Employers (Q2 2018)" (PDF). Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ Shapiro, Amy. "Charlotte's largest employers". Charlotte Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 25 June 2020.