Charlotte, North Carolina had 964,784 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #14 nationally and #1 in North Carolina. cost of living runs 2.7% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $105,654/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
Population grew 10.3% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 874,708 → 2025: 964,784 (+10.3%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
874,708
April 1, 2020
2020
874,907
July 1, 2020
2021
882,504
July 1, 2021
2022
898,017
July 1, 2022
2023
918,270
July 1, 2023
2024
944,053
July 1, 2024
2025
964,784
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 20.4% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 735,607 → 2019: 885,708 (+19.9%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
735,607
April 1, 2010
2010
738,444
July 1, 2010
2011
754,829
July 1, 2011
2012
773,264
July 1, 2012
2013
792,047
July 1, 2013
2014
807,400
July 1, 2014
2015
825,668
July 1, 2015
2016
843,117
July 1, 2016
2017
860,002
July 1, 2017
2018
872,514
July 1, 2018
2019
885,708
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Charlotte?
Median household income is 6% above the U.S. median ($82,068 vs $77,719); 11.7% live in poverty — 0.8 points below the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Charlotte from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
82,068+5.6% vs US
±1,299
Per capita income
51,814+19.7% vs US
±879
Population in poverty
11.7%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 27% above the U.S. median ($385,700 vs $303,400); median rent is 20% above ($1,612 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 4.7×, making it 1.2× as cost-burdened as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Charlotte. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
3.7%
Charlotte (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
518,198
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
28.8%+105.5% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Charlotte sits in Mecklenburg County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Mecklenburg County
10.6%
$90,698
3.7%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Charlotte's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Finance and insurance (52)
87,476
$3,144 / wk
#2
Professional and technical services (54)
70,770
$2,294 / wk
#3
Accommodation and food services (72)
68,068
$608 / wk
#4
Health care and social assistance (62)
65,902
$1,366 / wk
#5
Retail trade (44-45)
64,565
$859 / wk
What workers earn in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
41,320
$36,720
$17.65
Cashiers
29,200
$28,830
$13.86
Customer Service Representatives
27,730
$44,480
$21.39
Fast Food and Counter Workers
24,400
$29,070
$13.98
Stockers and Order Fillers
23,010
$37,420
$17.99
Waiters and Waitresses
20,100
$28,990
$13.94
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
34,980
$31,440
$15.12
Registered Nurses · benchmark
25,440
$84,780
$40.76
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
20,380
$108,600
$52.21
Software Developers · benchmark
20,010
$132,100
$63.51
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
19,280
$51,930
$24.97
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 2.7% below the U.S. average (RPP 97.3); utilities run 10.8% below (RPP 89.2) — the metro's utility affordability is the main driver.
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 97.3
−2.7% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,686/mo
FY2026 · Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
4.25%
flat · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$8,805/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$5,747/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in North Carolina · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
18.7% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (14.8% of residents 5+).
Where Charlotte's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
18.7%+33.3% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
75.9%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish14.8%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
Hottest month: July (90°F avg high). Coldest: January (31°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 44.6 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Charlotte from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk score: 97.1/100 — Relatively High nationally; top hazard: Riverine Flooding (99.0).
Natural-hazard exposure for Charlotte from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Mecklenburg County
97.1
Relatively High
Riverine Flooding · score 99.0 · Relatively High
Tornado · score 97.4 · Relatively High
Lightning · score 94.9 · Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
20 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 63% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Charlotte from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
20 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
18
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
65.3%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
63.3%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
437,587
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Charlotte sits at state rank #1 among 549 cities in North Carolina. Nearby in the state ranking:
Charlotte is ranked #14 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
Just above in the profiled set: San Jose, CA · #13 · 989,814 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Columbus, OH · #15 · 938,396 residents.
Quick travel facts for Charlotte
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Charlotte Douglas International Airport(CLT) ·
6 mi 10 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
May, Oct · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Charlotte is 3712000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
