Quick Facts About Charlotte
Named for Queen Charlotte and settled for gold, the so-called Queen City has been a hotspot of finance and trade almost since its inception. But as the longtime financial hub of a coastal, mountain state, Charlotte has sometimes found it hard to prove itself not just as a commercial center but as a cool place to live. After all, it has to compete with artsy Asheville, the college trifecta in the Research Triangle and the beach towns from Wilmington to Ocracoke. But this city of nearly 900,000 is not only the largest in North Carolina, it’s also one of the fastest growing.
More than 20,000 people have moved to Charlotte since 2020, and those new arrivals are greeted with a wealth of cultural resources, from art museums and trendy restaurants to annual concerts and blow-out sporting events. There are great places to learn, like the Discovery Science Center and the Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. There are amazing places to relax, like the beaches of Lake Norman. And there are incredible places to get fired up, like the sidelines of NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 or in the Panther’s Den at Bank of America Stadium.
The Queen City is also a college town — home to UNC-Charlotte, Davidson College, Johnson C. Smith University and others — and the students who graduate from these institutions don’t have to look far to find an industry of interest, from banking to biotech to energy.
So, whether you’re a financier with a passion for mountain biking or an artist with a side hustle in the restaurant biz, Charlotte is a city built for reinvention.
If you’re considering a cross-country move to the Queen City, here are some critical things you need to about Charlotte, North Carolina, before you pack your boxes, from the climate to the best neighborhoods, cost of living, job market, schools and things to do. And, if you’re new to NC, read our Moving Guide to North Carolina to get an inside look at the Tar Heel State.
Charlotte’s Climate and Weather
If you are looking for a Southern city with four true seasons, Charlotte almost fits the bill. With an average annual temperature of 61 F, the climate in Charlotte is decidedly mild, but you’ll never feel stuck in just one kind of season or weather here.
Wintertime in the North Carolina Piedmont doesn’t promise feet of snow — or sometimes even freezing temps — but the leaves will fall, and the nights get nippy, so don’t resell your puffer jackets just yet. From November through February, you can expect lows in the 30s F, and those may dip below 32°F in January. But daytime highs average in the 50s, so even if the city does get its annual dusting of snow (Charlotte averages just 3.5” per year), it’s likely not going to stick or stick around long.
Spring comes on early in Charlotte, and by March, redbuds and daffodils will be brightening the understory of Charlotte’s pine forests, the peach trees will be setting their tiny fruits, and neighborhood gardens will be awakening with forsythia, azaleas and daffodils.
In the autumn, the leafy canopy turns North Carolina’s rolling countryside to a tapestry of red, gold, and orange, drawing leaf-peepers from miles around. Charlotteans do have to watch out for flooding in both seasons, though, and spring can mean severe storms.
But it’s drought that’s plagued the city of late. Charlotte normally receives 44 inches of annual rain, but severe shortages in September and October of 2023 forced the city to institute burn bans and water restrictions.
Because climate change has made highs in the 90s or even the 100s F a possibility from May through September, summer is the season you have to watch out for in Charlotte. By evening time, the humid air usually drops into the upper 60s, so residents do have more of a reprieve than in more southerly regions of the state. Fortunately, if you need a place to cool off, the many rivers and lakes around the region are easy to reach, and there are loads of great spots for a cold drink or a refreshing ice cream cone.
Charlotte’s Cost of Living and Housing
Cost of Living
The Southeastern United States generally enjoys a lower cost of living, and the price of food, transportation, healthcare and personal insurance/pensions all fall below the national level. Housing in this financial hub, however, trends upward, though the median home value in Charlotte has only risen to $312,800 — $30,000 above the national average.
Perhaps owing to the higher price of real estate in Charlotte, far fewer people own their own homes here, which leaves renters squeezed with a higher monthly bill. The median gross rent in Charlotte is just shy of $1,400/mo — roughly the same prices that residents in pricey Chapel Hill pay. Charlotte’s real estate and demographics are most closely aligned with Durham’s, the most affordable city in the Research Triangle, but Raleigh isn’t too far off, either.
Popular Neighborhoods
Uptown Charlotte is the city center. Circumscribed by the city’s major thoroughfares, this buzzing commercial and entertainment district is loaded with fun destinations. Uptown is where you’ll go to see the Carolina Panthers play at Bank of America Stadium, the Bobcats play at the Spectrum Center, and to pay homage to the kings and queens of speed at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. There are gorgeous city greenspaces like Romare Bearden Park, Frazier Park and the Historic Elmwood Pinewood Cemetery. And there are major cultural attractions, like the Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, the Levine Museum of the New South and the Mint Museum Uptown — a bastion for contemporary art. High-rise and low-rise condominiums dominate the real estate market in Uptown, but there are a handful of townhomes for those looking for more spacious dwellings.
The North Davidson neighborhood, familiarly known as NoDa, is a tight-knit, community-centric enclave where arts and individuality shine bright. Start your day with a dirty chai and a breakfast burrito from Smelly Cat Coffeehouse, stop by Milk Money Vintage for some throwback housewares, grab a craft brew from Heist and then take in a film at the Independent Picture House, one of historic Charlotte’s newest treasures. The walkable, bikeable area of NoDa also easily connects to the CATS blue line, so it’s a great place to live if you want an easy commute. Housing in NoDa ranges from modest ranch houses to brand-new townhouses and 21st-century single-family clapboards, which have vintage charm but modern amenities. Pricing is steep in this popular area, and an empty lot could easily cost a quarter of a million dollars.
Charlotte’s South End and Dilworth neighborhoods offer city living with residential conveniences. These upscale neighborhoods have a wide range of architectural styles, from prairie bungalows to farmhouse revivals and sleek condominiums. Dilworth is Charlotte’s oldest suburb, so both homes and commercial buildings have style in surplus. Creative, international cuisine complements the scene, where restaurants like Copper and 300 East have repurposed beautiful, turn-of-the-last-century homes into cozy, inviting dining spaces. South End has eclectic attractions, from beer gardens to the Rail Trail to art spaces like the Elder Gallery. And the food here is also stellar. There are popular Southern chains like Superica and Brown Bag Seafood, and locally grown restaurants like Futo Buta.
Adjacent to Dillworth but sprawling far south is the suburb of Myers Park. The tree-lined streets of this tony, residential area have many historic mansions, and for any of these well-appointed spreads you can expect to pay upwards of $2 million. In the nearby Eastover neighborhood, you can visit one of Charlotte’s best art institutions — the Mint Museum Randolph — which occupies the defunct U.S. Mint Building. If you’re feeling outdoorsy, pack yourself a picnic lunch with some provisions from Reid’s Fine Foods, or take the day off at the Myers Park Country Club, where you can get in a round of golf or just relax by the pool.
Note: If you’re thinking of moving to the Charlotte area, it’s important to thoroughly research neighborhoods you might be interested in living. Before you decide where you are going to live, make sure you understand the area’s cost of living, commute time, tax rates, safety statistics and schooling information.
Charlotte’s Job Market and Education
As the headquarters of Bank of America and Truist, Charlotte is well-known financial hub, but the largest industries in the city may surprise you. The financial activities sector does employ a substantial number of Charlotteans — 120,000, in fact — but finance is only the 5th-largest sector in the bi-state region. The largest industry in this longtime railroad hub is trade, transportation and utilities, which employed 274,300 as of March 2024 — a sizable chunk of the 1.4 million non-farm civilian workers in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area. Professional and business services, with its 228,000 workers, is a close second. Leisure and hospitality and education and health services are neck-and-neck for third.
Charlotte is home to 13 Fortune 500 companies, so those moving to Charlotte for a new career will have a diverse array of industries and corporations to choose from. Honeywell, Electrolux, Lowe’s, Wells Fargo, Duke Energy and American Airlines all have headquarters or major hubs in the Queen City.
Income and wages in Charlotte fall insignificantly below the national average, with Charlotte households earning a median of $74,070, compared to the U.S. average of $75,149 between 2018 and 2022. The average hourly wage in the Queen City is $29.11 — only 60 cents off the average national hourly wage. Financial managers, computer systems analysts and credit analysts all earn more per hour than their national counterparts.
Several area colleges support Charlotte’s robust array of high-profile companies, including UNC-Charlotte (go 49ers!), Davidson College, Johnson C. Smith University — an HBCU founded in 1867 — Queens University of Charlotte, Johnson & Wales University, and Central Piedmont Community College.
At the secondary school level, Providence High School and Ardrey Kell High School are ranked 12th and 13th in the state, respectively. Both are part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) district — one of the largest in the state.
Commute and Transportation in Charlotte
For a mid-size Southern city, the Charlotte Area Transit System, or CATS, is surprisingly robust. The light rail service provides essential east-west coverage across the city between the I-485 beltway and includes the LYNX Blue Line and the CityLYNX Gold line, a streetcar service. Buses fill in the gaps, offering express, non-stop service to far-flung neighborhoods in every direction from Uptown Charlotte. A one-way standard fare is $2.20, and an unlimited monthly pass is $88.00, but express and regional services do cost more.
Cyclists can beat the traffic by riding the Blue Line Rail Trail — a greenway that runs alongside the LYNX light rail line and is lined with dining spots and shops. From this main artery, you can connect with more than a dozen additional bike routes, like the Little Sugar Creek Greenway, and the city is investing in even more as we speak. When it’s complete, the Cross Charlotte Trail will connect the city end to end and provide an additional 30 miles of bikeways within walking distance of 140,000 city residents.
Charlotte’s easy to navigate by car, as well. Atlanta is less than 4 hours away on I-85, Charleston is only 200 miles south on I-77 and I-26, and Raleigh is an easy 160-mile jaunt east on I-85 and I-40.
One of the busiest airports in the world, Charlotte Douglas International Airport is served by 15 air carriers and offers non-stop service to 181 destinations from Honolulu to Munich, making easy to travel anywhere from your home base.
Explore CLT Like a Local
Sports
Charlotte may be all business from 9-5, but it’s all fun and games in the off-hours. Charlotte has three pro sports teams: the Carolina Panthers (NFL), the Charlotte Hornets (NBA) and the Charlotte FC (MLS), the newest arrival, who played their first match in 2022. The Panthers have had a turbulent record since their establishment in 1995, and although they’ve made two Super Bowl appearances, they’ve never quite clinched a victory. Baseball fans have the minor-league Charlotte Knights (a feeder team for the White Sox) to cheer on at Truist Field, and college sports enthusiasts have the UNC-Charlotte 49ers.
Events and Festivals
Supplementing the large-crowd category of entertainment in the Queen City, Charlotte’s annual events offer a wide variety of entertainment. The Charlotte Motor Speedway plays host to high-octane activities all year long, from the SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs to the Monster Truck Bash. But during the Coca-Cola 600 weekend, the venue where cars seem to move at the speed of sound transforms into a jam-packed music festival — the Circle K Speed Street — whose 2024 headliners include Flo Rida and the Steve Miller Band.
The annual Taste of Charlotte gives Queen City’s culinary kings a chance to show off their cooking chops. Enjoy a slice of 800° Carolinas’ honey badger pizza, Mr. 3’s Cajun crawfish or a beef sambusa from Enat while your kids are careening down the giant slide or bouncing off the walls of one of the festivals many inflatables.
The Charlotte Film Festival, now in its second decade, brings the best in independent cinema to the Queen City’s screens. From student shorts to documentaries and feature-length dramas, you’ll see some of the year’s most innovative moving pictures at this annual fall event.
Outdoors
Charlotte’s outdoor attractions beg to be explored, too. The Catawba River, which flows from Asheville through South Carolina, is a playground for paddleboarding, tubing, boating and even swimming. Check the local swim guide to make sure the waters are safe that day. The area’s hydroelectric dams created both Lake Wylie and the vast recreational reservoir that is Lake Norman. Plan a camping escape for the weekend and spend your days soaking up the sun on the sand beach or rent a boat and go fishing. You can even learn to scuba dive here.
One of the state’s most perfect swimming holes is at Carrigan Farms. This apple- and pumpkin-picking paradise (which also has a genuinely terrifying “haunted trail” around Halloween) turns into an aquatic Eden in the summer, with a deep swimming quarry, a great snack stand and all the fresh, cool water you need to revive yourself from the city’s sweltering heat.
Located just east of the Catawba, the U.S. National Whitewater Center is one of the most action-packed nature compounds you could ever hope to visit. Ropes courses, mountain biking trails and a deep-water solo climbing area augment the manmade whitewater course open to intrepid kayakers and rafters. If you’re not looking for an adrenaline surge, skip the freefall ziplines and hit the yoga classes and hiking trails instead. A section of the river is converted into an ice-skating rink for the winter months, and you can warm those frozen fingers and toes with a cup of hot chocolate from the mid-rink Airstream refreshment bar.
When the weather isn’t so fine, you can visit the city’s many museums and historic sites. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the Charlotte Museum of History offers great opportunities like bilingual story time, family history classes and guided tours of the 1774 Alexander Rock House, where you can get a first-hand look at 18th-century life in south-central North Carolina. Other must-see historic houses in the area include the President James K. Polk State Historic Site, the boyhood home of the 11th U.S. president, and Historic Rosedale, the 1815 home of Charlotte postmaster Archibald Frew. Both sites have launched research projects about the enslaved individuals who lived and worked on the properties.
Charlotte has three major art museums — the Mint Museum Uptown, the Mint Museum Randolf and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.
But if you’re looking for something more kid-centric, the Schiele Museum of Natural History & Planetarium’s Catawba Indian Village will transport them to the region’s earliest settlements. Meanwhile, the Farm at Schiele gives them free rein to “pat the bunny,” plus the goats, pigs and mini-Hereford steers. The farm also keeps bees, but we don’t recommend petting those.
If you think Charlotte sounds like the right place for your family, see below how United Van Lines can make your relocation to the Queen City a snap.
Prepare for Your Move to Charlotte With America’s #1 Mover®
As America’s #1 Mover, United Van Lines understands what it takes to simplify the moving process for busy families like yours. We’ve moved more than 1 million families and earned our customers’ high-rated reviews by providing exceptional relocation services. United Van Lines’ professional long-distance movers can help you move to Charlotte from anywhere in the country. You can choose full-service moving packages or custom moving options to make your move easier. Hiring a licensed, long-distance moving company like United Van Lines can help ensure your move goes smoothly. If you need help packing and unpacking, shipping your car, storing your belongings or removing debris from your current residence, we can handle all those things and more.
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