Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 48/100
D+
Median home value$385,700
Charlotte $356,400
Median rent$1,612/mo
Charlotte $1,473/mo
Cost-burdened households35%
Charlotte 29%
Charlotte
Mecklenburg County903,844 residentsCharlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
65
C+
Suburbgrade score
4th of 28 Charlotte suburbs. Strong on amenities and commute & transport, held back by housing & affordability.
65
Charlotte median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Charlotte yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 65 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Charlotte is like to live in, by category
Bars show Charlotte against Charlotte. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 52/100
D+
Within-state proficiency44th pct
Charlotte median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio16.6
Charlotte median 16.4
Graduation rate85%
Charlotte median 87%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 72/100
B−
Housing cost index106
Charlotte 100
Eff. tax rate0.71%
Charlotte 0.65%
Local sales tax7.00%
Charlotte median 7.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 75/100
B
Mean commute24.7 min
Charlotte 26.6 min
Under 30 minutes66%
Charlotte 60%
Transit stops / sq mi6.9
Charlotte median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 93/100
A+
Restaurants & cafés377
Charlotte median 25 · within 2 miles
Groceries9
Charlotte median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks118
Charlotte median 26 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 60/100
C
Median household income$82,068
Charlotte $83,304
Unemployment4.6%
Charlotte 4.4%
Professional occupations47%
Charlotte 44%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Charlotte yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Charlotte on housing & affordability
Charlotte's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Weddington14 mi from CharlotteA− 63 C+ Harrisburg12 mi from CharlotteA− 66 C+ Lake Norman of Iredell24 mi from CharlotteB+ 56 C− Waxhaw19 mi from CharlotteB 62 C Davidson19 mi from CharlotteB 60 C Stallings12 mi from CharlotteB− 64 C+ Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Charlotte
Is Charlotte, NC a good place to live?
Charlotte scores 65 out of 100, 4th of 28 Charlotte suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Charlotte expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $385,700, 8% above the Charlotte median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.71%. $1,612/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Charlotte?
Schools grade D+. The districts serving Charlotte sit at the 44th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 85% graduation rate and a 16.6 student–teacher ratio. Charlotte is served by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Charlotte?
The mean commute is 24.7 min, with 66% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 29% working from home. Transit density is 6.9 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Charlotte?
Within two miles there are 9 groceries, 377 restaurants and cafés and 118 parks, which grades A+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Charlotte old or new?
The median home in Charlotte was built in 1995 — close to the Charlotte median of 1996. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 60% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.