Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 114,598, Concord does well: it grades B, ranked 59th of 286 in North Carolina. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 74% of the country. The trade-off: the typical home is worth about $378K, 4.5 years of the Charlotte metro’s $83K median household income. Its National Register listings include Odell-Locke-Randolph Cotton Mill and Barber-Scotia College. 19% of working residents work locally in Concord, against 6.8% in North Carolina’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Concord is home to Cabarrus College of Health Sciences.
Where Concord beats most towns.
Cabarrus County Courthouse| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| W R Odell Elementary | 3–5 | 1,052 |
| Weddington Hills Elementary | K–5 | 1,038 |
| Pitts School Road Elementary | K–5 | 885 |
Census counts: 878 in 1870, 105,240 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1839 and 3 maps from 1950 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Concord is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Concord. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaBank of America Stadium
26 mi Theme parkCarowinds
18 mi LakeLake Norman21 mi MuseumSullenberger Aviation Museum70K visitors a year
16 mi Stadium & arenaBojangles Coliseum6 mi TheatreTruliant AmphitheaterBank of America Stadium: HangingCurve, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Carowinds: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Norman: Prince Grobhelm, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bojangles Coliseum: James Willamor, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Concord, 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 Concord.
Concord fares better on crime within North Carolina than nationally and trades workers with Charlotte and other neighbors.
32 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Weddington Road Park, at 70 acres.
| Concord | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brown Mill Mountain Bike Trail | 4.3 mi | 40 |
| 2. James L. Dorton Park | 1.6 mi | 35 |
| 3. Flowe Park | 0.7 mi | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Cabarrus County Schools. Three of its 32 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harold E. Winkler MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,094 | B |
| Cox Mill High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,772 | A |
| Cabarrus Early College of TechnologyTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 236 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
12% of adults report frequent physical distress in Concord. Concord beats the North Carolina average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 34% of adults have high blood pressure in Concord.
| Concord | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 38% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Concord | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 5.8% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Concord has mild winters and warm summers. Concord’s July high is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Concord has about as many jobs (56,027) as working residents, but only 9,032 people both live and work here.
Jobs based in Concord grew to 56,027 in 2023, 12,634 more than in 2013. 17% of Concord workers work from home. The top destinations are Charlotte (38%), Kannapolis (4%) and Huntersville (2%).
| Concord | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 17% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.6% | 13% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median rent in Concord is $1,451 a month. The typical Concord home is worth about $378,000, down 0.5% in a year, 14% above the North Carolina typical home.
| Concord | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,451 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 67% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 52% | 49% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 12% of residents (17% statewide); children under 18 are 27% of residents (22% statewide). Concord has grown 8.8% since 2020, to 114,598 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 41% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across North Carolina.
| Concord | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 27% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 36.5 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
51.0% women, 49.0% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.0, men 34.1.
| Concord | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.8% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.2% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.6% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.3% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.1% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.9% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 15.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 86% of North Carolina’s graded towns. Its B tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Huntersville (B−) comes closest.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 21 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Concord.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Concord
About 5 of every 100 Concord residents are enrolled in college, about the same as North Carolina.
79,066 counted in 2010 and 105,240 in 2020; an estimated 114,598 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8.8% since 2020, after 33.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
13 places in Concord on the National Register of Historic Places.
37 notable people were born in Concord.
City in North Carolina, United States
Concord ( kon-KORD) is the most populous city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 105,240 at the 2020 census. Concord is the second-most populous city in the Charlotte metropolitan area, tenth-most populous city in North Carolina and 287th-most populous city in the U.S. The city was a winner of the All-America City Award in 2004. Located near the center of Cabarrus County in the Piedmont region, it is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Uptown Charlotte. Concord is the home to some of North Carolina's top tourist destinations, including NASCAR's Charlotte Motor Speedway and Concord Mills.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Concord.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concord | #59 | B | C− | B | B+ | B+ |
| Kannapolis | #125 | C+ | C+ | C+ | B+ | B− |
| Harrisburg | #12 | A | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Huntersville | #45 | B+ | C− | B− | B− | A+ |
| Charlotte | #165 | C | C− | D | B− | A− |
| Mount Pleasant | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | A− |
Mount Pleasant has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Harrisburg and Mount Pleasant report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Concord with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Concord grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #59 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
37 notable people were born here, including Israel Pickens and Jody Hill.
