Davidson, North Carolina

Area Profile

15,660 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Davidson, in Mecklenburg County.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 28% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 30% of 4,199 cities measured66
SchoolsTop 9% of 4,162 cities measured82
Growth2,437th of 4,224 cities measured47
Housing affordabilityTop 36% of 4,218 cities measured71
ClimateTop 39% of 4,225 cities measured72
Physical resilience2,463rd of 4,226 cities measured49
Access2,383rd of 4,226 cities measured91
Economic stabilityTop 47% of 4,226 cities measured60
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.7% and median household income $166,556, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Mecklenburg County, NC, which contains Davidson, rather than for Davidson alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 67% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 9% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 5,025 units authorized over the past twelve months, 51% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Mecklenburg County, NC, which contains Davidson, rather than for Davidson alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
15,660
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$166,556
Top 3% nationally
Density
2,410/sq mi
6.5 sq mi of land
Median age
41.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
North Carolina
Nearest major airport
CLT
20 mi · Charlotte/Douglas Intl
Median home value
$687,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Mecklenburg County, NC, which contains Davidson, is 3.7%, lower than in 74% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Mecklenburg County, NC, which contains Davidson, fell 1.8% over the past year, to 631,050 employed residents.

76% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 98% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $166,556 is higher than in 97% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$28,3472024 ACS 5-Year$166,556Top 3%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$10,1482024 ACS 5-Year$86,576Top 3%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year6.4%Top 30%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.7 minTop 44%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year75.8%Top 2%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year55.3%9th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMecklenburg County, NC’s figureJuly 2026631,050Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Mecklenburg County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−1.4%Bottom 33%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Mecklenburg County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−1.8%Bottom 26%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceMecklenburg County, NC’s figureJuly 2026655,46589th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year81.0%Top 40%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$68,900Top 49%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,990Bottom 40%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%86th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Mecklenburg County, NC’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Top 25%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateMecklenburg County, NC’s figureJuly 20263.7%Top 26%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year30.7%95th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024167k141k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $166,556 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand40,540$38,850
Retail Salespersons35,150$33,580
Cashiers27,350$29,610
Fast Food and Counter Workers27,050$28,880
Registered Nurses27,010$90,620
Customer Service Representatives26,120$44,980

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Mecklenburg County, NC, which contains this city.

67% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 70% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.7 students for every full-time teacher across 2 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
2
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
67.0%
Top 6% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
69.9%
Top 3% in North Carolina
All 2 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Community School of Davidson · charterCommunity School of Davidson1,63119.067%72%
Davidson K-8 SchoolCharlotte-Mecklenburg Schools1,18516.267%67%

11.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against North Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 3% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 97.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area is up 50% over five years, and up 1.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,668 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.68% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,940, some 17% above the $1,652 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,940 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $77,600 a year, about 47% of the median household income here of $166,556.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,652 a month.

A median home at $687,700 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $216,298, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
97.3

Prices here run about 3% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,940
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,652
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$687,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Davidson’s median household income of $166,556, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure202397.3Top 34%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.5%30th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+49.9%78th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+124.2%91st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.82024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 31%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year80.0%59th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3122024 ACS 5-Year6,29491st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,770Bottom 30%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,410Bottom 38%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,940Bottom 34%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$2002024 ACS 5-Year$1,652Bottom 16%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$49,0942024 ACS 5-Year$687,70094th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2572024 ACS 5-Year$4,66888th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$49,8572024 ACS 5-Year$216,298Top 1%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.68%27th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year29.6%Bottom 43%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1282024 ACS 5-Year17993rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.8%74th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.4%57th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2432024 ACS 5-Year70593rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

47/ 100
Ranks 2,437 of 4,224 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 10% since 2020, reaching 16,276 in 2024.

79% of the 5,025 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Mecklenburg County, NC, which contains Davidson, rather than for Davidson alone.

At 4.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Mecklenburg County, NC, which contains Davidson, rather than for Davidson alone.

Units permitted
5,025
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.4
Top 33% nationally
Year over year
−51%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
79.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202416k15k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Davidson, NC is not one. This is the figure for Mecklenburg County, NC, which contains this city.

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.

Air quality measures a median index of 51, in the Moderate band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AP, 19.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year662024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals43.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals3.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year512024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
51
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
66
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

49 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 77% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Inland floodingElevated
Ice stormModerate
EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, lightning, strong wind, heat wave, winter weather, hail, cold wave, wildfire, drought, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

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.

Violent crime
24
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
282
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Davidson's police department reported 24 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 282.

Mecklenburg County records 8.4 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.4 per 100,000 residents in Mecklenburg County.

Homicide
8.4
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
10.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Davidson’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Davidson (Mecklenburg County) rather than Davidson itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Charlotte/Douglas Intl at 20 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year96.8%Top 17%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle20 miBottom 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%Top 23%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT20 mi10,000 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO65 mi10,001 ft
Asheville RgnlAVL97 mi8,002 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
65
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Other cities in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
CharlotteMecklenburg County903,84459Charlotte vs Davidson
ConcordCabarrus County108,71960Concord vs Davidson
GastoniaGaston County82,88458Gastonia vs Davidson
Rock HillYork County75,25967
HuntersvilleMecklenburg County63,96966
KannapolisCabarrus County57,89054
MooresvilleIredell County52,38165
Indian TrailUnion County42,03666
MonroeUnion County36,75961
SalisburyRowan County35,82553
CorneliusMecklenburg County32,78366
Fort MillYork County30,77581

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Davidson side by side with a similar place.

Davidson vs Timberwood ParkDavidson vs Cornelius

Moving to Davidson from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Davidson

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Davidson with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Davidson closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2803622,963$156,496$630,900—