Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Charlotte has 964,784 people, so its C is an average across neighborhoods that differ more from each other than most towns do. Within North Carolina, that puts it 165th of 286. It is healthier than 81% of U.S. towns and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. What weighs on its grade: its police reported 5,787 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 95% of U.S. towns, and the typical home is worth about $390K, 4.7 years of the Charlotte metro’s $83K median household income. 64% of working residents work locally in Charlotte, above both the North Carolina town median (6.8%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Myers Park Historic District and Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden.
Where Charlotte beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Hezekiah Alexander House| College | Students |
|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 27,318 |
| Central Piedmont Community College | 12,139 |
| Queens University of Charlotte | 1,509 |
Its 87 National Register listings are more than in 99% of North Carolina towns with a listing.
Census counts: 122 in 1800, 874,579 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1830 and 4 maps from 1905 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Charlotte is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Charlotte. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town Stadium & arenaBank of America Stadium
10 mi Theme parkCarowindsin town MuseumSullenberger Aviation Museum70K visitors a year
in town Stadium & arenaBojangles Coliseum
20 mi LakeLake Normanin town TheatreTruliant AmphitheaterBank of America Stadium: HangingCurve, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Carowinds: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bojangles Coliseum: James Willamor, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Norman: Prince Grobhelm, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Charlotte, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Charlotte.
Charlotte draws workers from Concord and beyond and fares better on crime within North Carolina than nationally, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
At 63.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 81% of North Carolina’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 44,676 to 41,052 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Charlotte is 34.1 per 1,000 residents. Charlotte reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 95% report less. The violent crime rate in Charlotte is 5.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Charlotte | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 34.1 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.6 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Three of its 225 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community House MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,425 | A |
| Myers Park High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,225 | A |
| Metrolina Reg Scholars AcademyTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 396 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
667,200 jobs are based in Charlotte, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 501,026 in 2013 to 667,200.
29% of workers work from home in Charlotte. Since 2013, Charlotte has added 166,174 jobs, to 667,200 in 2023. The top destinations are Raleigh (2%), Concord (2%) and Huntersville (2%).
| Charlotte | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 29% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 13% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
139 miles of trail in 180 parks and preserves. Reedy Creek Regional Park, at 299 acres with 4.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Charlotte | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.7% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mallard Creek Community Park | 4.6 mi | 242 |
| 2. Reedy Creek Regional Park | 4.2 mi | 299 |
| 3. Park Road Park | 3.1 mi | 97 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
30% of Charlotte adults have high blood pressure. Charlotte beats the North Carolina average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 11% of Charlotte adults report frequent physical distress.
| Charlotte | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 38% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Charlotte | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 5% | 7.1% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.7% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Charlotte has mild winters and warm summers. Charlotte’s July high is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Charlotte home is worth about $390,000, down 1.3% in a year, 17% above the North Carolina typical home.
| Charlotte | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,612 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2,023 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 307 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 2,023 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Charlotte.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
9 within 15 miles of the center of Charlotte
About 6 of every 100 Charlotte residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
731,424 counted in 2010 and 874,579 in 2020; an estimated 964,784 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 10.3% since 2020, after 19.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
87 places in Charlotte on the National Register of Historic Places.
36 notable people were born in Charlotte.
Most populous city in North Carolina, United States
Charlotte is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. With a population of 874,579 at the 2020 census, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., seventh-most populous city in the South, and second-most populous city in the Southeast (after Jacksonville, Florida). The Charlotte metropolitan area, with an estimated 2.88 million residents, is the 21st-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of an 18-county combined statistical area with an estimated population of 3.47 million as of 2024. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. Between 2004 and 2014, Charlotte was among the country's fastest-growing metropolitan areas, with 888,…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Charlotte.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | #165 | C | C− | D | B− | A− |
| Matthews | #107 | B− | C− | C− | B− | A+ |
| Pineville | #199 | C− | D | D− | B− | B+ |
| Mint Hill | #58 | B | C | B+ | B− | A− |
| Marvin | #25 | A− | C− | — | A− | A+ |
| Weddington | #21 | A− | D | — | A− | A+ |
| Huntersville | #45 | B+ | C− | B− | B− | A+ |
| Harrisburg | #12 | A | C− | — | B+ | A |
Marvin, Weddington and Harrisburg report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Charlotte with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Charlotte grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #165 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades A− for health, D for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
36 notable people were born here, including Billy Graham and Chyler Leigh.
