Charlotte, North Carolina
Area Profile
903,844 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County.
Missing required signal: growth. AreaProfile withholds a score rather than inferring the missing dimensions.
Charlotte ranks in the top 15% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.6% and median household income of $82,068.
A major airport is 7 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.6% is lower than 90% of the 140 measured US cities.
Employment fell 0.5% over the past year, to 498,831 employed residents.
48% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 87% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$1,299 | $82,068 | Top 32% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$879 | $51,814 | Top 16% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate | 11.7% | Top 47% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute | 26.4 min | Bottom 48% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 48.0% | Top 13% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Employment | 498,831 | Top 9% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years) | -0.3% | Bottom 44% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year) | -0.5% | Top 37% | June 2026 |
| Labor force | 517,690 | Top 9% | June 2026 |
| Labor force participation | 72.6% | Top 12% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wage | $68,900 | Top 44% | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wage | $49,990 | Bottom 47% | 2025 OEWS |
| Unemployment change (year over year) | -0.5% | Bottom 24% | June 2026 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.6% | Bottom 10% | June 2026 |
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 40,540 | $38,850 |
| Retail Salespersons | 35,150 | $33,580 |
| Cashiers | 27,350 | $29,610 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 27,050 | $28,880 |
| Registered Nurses | 27,010 | $90,620 |
| Customer Service Representatives | 26,120 | $44,980 |
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated →Population has grown 8% since 2020, reaching 943,476 in 2024.
No building-permit activity is published for this location by the Census Building Permits Survey.
Weather & climate
6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 32°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 43.6 inches, including 3.5 inches of snow.
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation | 43.6" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall | 3.5" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low | 32°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high | 90°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months | 6 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing | 38°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and hurricane.
Low or minimal exposure: tornado, ice storm, lightning, hail, heat wave, strong wind, winter weather, cold wave, wildfire, drought.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Taxes
AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.
Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.
Access
5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 7 miles away.
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte/Douglas Intl | CLT | 7 mi | 10,000 ft |
| Piedmont Triad Intl | GSO | 79 mi | 10,001 ft |
| Columbia Metro | CAE | 89 mi | 8,601 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle | 28-day NASR cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) | Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals | Every ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period) |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS | Annual (spring release) |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | June 2026 | Monthly |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate | Annual (vintage released each spring) |
| Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year | Annual (5-year estimates released each December) |
Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.