Charlotte Homes and Property Guide

Charlotte area, although settled by the Scotch Irish in the 1740s, also felt the strong influence of German colonists who came south about the same time.  In 1768, Charlotte was named in honor of the wife of King George III of England, Queen Charlotte from Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany. But on May 20, 1775, Thomas Polk declared Mecklenburg free from English rule with the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Cornwallis later condemned Mecklenburg County as a "Hornets' Nest" of anti-British hostility.   The economic history of the Queen City was founded in textiles, transportation, and commerce, symbolically represented by three of the four sculptures at "The Square", the intersection of Trade and Tryon in the center city. The fourth sculpture represents The Future. From its modest beginnings as a small village, Charlotte abruptly attained city status with America's first discovery of gold in 1799. It was also the first small step in establishing the city as a financial center.  Charlotte quickly became the gold mining capital of the country until the California Gold Rush fifty years later. It was about that time that the cotton industry moved south from New England. By 1903, the Charlotte area was clearly defined as a textile leader. But the real driving force propelling business activities was the arrival of the railroad. Today, Charlotte is a major distribution hub and is at the center of the largest consolidated rail system in the U.S. Charlotte is the center of the nation's fifth largest urban region. Charlotte, with a population of 520,317, is the largest city within the region. Of the major distribution centers in the southeast, Charlotte and Atlanta have the most people living within a 100-mile radius. As a result, Charlotte has emerged in this new millennium as a financial, distribution and transportation center for the entire urban region.  Charlotte ranks as the nation's 2nd largest banking center and 6th largest wholesale trade center. Quick Facts on Charlotte Population   2004 2013 City 614,330 832,049 County 801,137 1,101,400 MSA 1.5 mil 2.1 mil 100 Mile 6.9 mil 8.6 mil Employment County 391,979 5.2% Unemployed MSA 814,621 6.2% Unemployed Air Travel Enplaned Passengers 11.5 million Enplaned Cargo 72,744 Tons Construction Residential Units 12,612 $1.6 billion Non-Residential Permits 3,953 $841.5 billion More Facts... Cost of living below the national average City, County and State AAA bond ratings Average of 525 airline flights daily 286 Fortune 500 firms represented 16,171 new jobs for 2003 $15.6 billion in annual retail sales 2nd largest banking center (controls over $1.2 trillion in assets) 3rd best metro area for business location 4th largest attended sporting event in the U.S. , The Coca-Cola 600 5th largest urban region 6th largest trading area in U.S. 6th largest wholesale center in U.S. 6th in number of Fortune Headquartered Companies 7th best city for business development 7th highest new & expanded business activity 7th largest University Research Park 8th best city for entrepreneurship 14th best place to live 19th best real estate market 21st most active airport in the country 21st largest city Cost of Living Index Rank City All Items Index 1 Memphis, TN 91.1 2 Fort Worth, TX 92.2 3 Jacksonville, FL 92.3 4 Oklahoma City, OK 92.7 5 El Paso, TX 93.8 6 Nashville, Metro, TN 94.7 7 Charlotte, NC 94.8 8 Tucson, AZ 96.1 9 Indianapolis, IN 97.3 10 New Orleans, LA 97.8 11 Atlanta, GA 98.7 12 Hampton Roads/SE, VA 100.2 13 Austin, TX 100.3 14 Milwaukee, WI 102.1 15 Albuquerque, NM 105.0 16 Denver, CO 105.5 17 Cleveland, OH 105.6 18 Detroit, MI 109.1 19 Las Vegas, NV 109.3 20 Baltimore, MD 110.3 21 Portland, OR 114.3 22 Fresno, CA 117.6 23 Seattle, WA 119.1 24 Washington, DC 137.4 25 Boston, MA 138.0 26 San Francisco, CA 173.3 SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Census, 2000; ACCRA - Cost of Living Index, 2004 NOTE: Five cities within this population range did not report Cost of Living data to ACCRA.