Charlotte area population statistics

[Richhamleigh, DC]

On 1/1/2021 at 9:23 PM, Hushpuppy321 said:

Wow - I am just in amazement because of the growth of both NC & GA.  I didn’t realize just how close both are to equaling and then over taking Ohio in Population (Both States probably will by 2030) and possibly pulling to within striking distance of Pennsylvania (Well after 2030).  The Southeast is totally remaking the Population & Electoral Map.

South Carolina is growing even faster than us (or TN< GA< VA).  Only Florida is growing faster.  Taken together, since the rest of the world doesn't see us as separate anyway, the State of Carolina is the 5th biggest in the US with a population of 15,000,000.  At current rates of growth, we'd be about 18,000,000 in 2030, about 1 million short of New York and the 4th spot.  Georgia would be  sucking our dust. 

 

[Richhamleigh, DC]

Still hot:  

https://www.northamerican.com/migration-map

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2021-01-04/americans-moved-west-and-south-in-2020-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-study-finds

[carolina1792]

Wake County has just released new population estimates. Looks like Raleigh has now joined the 500,000+ club (Census estimates not out yet). South Wake County cities are blowing up like crazy at the moment too. 

 

The fact that neither Charlotte or Raleigh are building an endless stream of condo towers like other major cities is wack tho, I guess we really just love single family housing too much. 

[KJHburg]

NC is a both a state that attracts people to it and also people living here don't want to leave it.

Check these stats out:

Where People Who Want to Relocate Are Going | Realtor Magazine

[Nick2]

3 hours ago, carolina1792 said:

Wake County has just released new population estimates. Looks like Raleigh has now joined the 500,000+ club (Census estimates not out yet). South Wake County cities are blowing up like crazy at the moment too. 

 

The fact that neither Charlotte or Raleigh are building an endless stream of condo towers like other major cities is wack tho, I guess we really just love single family housing too much. 

Cities like apex are annexing anything and everything that they can get their hands on so although they are actually growing rapidly by migration in, their massive growth is moreso fulled by the city limits growth.

[mjcatl2]

Why is Gaston county growth more modest relative to other bordering counties?

[CLT2014]

3 hours ago, mjcatl2 said:

Why is Gaston county growth more modest relative to other bordering counties?

Perception of being the rust belt of metro Charlotte, adjacent to West Charlotte, and so so public school system that isn't really any better than CMS. Schools are a major driver of people moving across county lines to Union, York, and Cabbarus.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2021/01/14/apartment-construction-leaders-2020-new-starts.html

Only NC and TX represented by more than one city, and the Raleigh numbers don't include Durham.  13K+ units isn't too shabby.  More indication that NC is growing fast.

[KJHburg]

5 hours ago, mjcatl2 said:

Why is Gaston county growth more modest relative to other bordering counties?

well that is finally changing as affordability issues drive growth into Gaston.  the Belmont Mt Holly is en feugo.   Check out the new neighborhoods south of Belmont.  this decade is the Gaston decade in my thoughts with revitalization in downtown Gastonia.

Ironically Gaston County  property taxes are not as low as Cabarrus and Union and all surrounding counties.  

check out McClean by the Stowe gardens

https://discovermclean.com/

[KJHburg]

Carolina Demography in Chapel Hill as reported in Triangle Biz Journal reported this about NC's population

In 1970 78% of the states population was born in NC.  By 1990 it had dropped to 63% and by 2019 it was 56% of the people living in NC were born in NC.

I am part of the 56%!  and as our family history book shows I go back to the mid 1770s in NC. 

[JRNYP2C]

23 hours ago, mjcatl2 said:

Why is Gaston county growth more modest relative to other bordering counties?

There is a stigma with "The County" that goes back a long time - well before I experienced that perception over 30 years ago.  Even though native Charlotteans are outnumbered by influxes of people from all over, there is still a prevailing mentality about Gaston County that was not shared by other neighboring counties (i.e. Union, Cabarras, Iredell & York).  I have always likened it to SC being the so described poor cousin of NC.  There are still perceptions about some of the smaller towns in the county that are not as populated as Belmont and Mt. Holly.  Gastonia (city limits) is actually pretty big and does incorporate a good portion of the county.  Most of it is in the process of being developed.

As KJHburg mentioned, it is changing - albeit slowly.  The driving factor that has people moving here are lower taxes.  The bigger problem, especially in the southeast portion of the county, is that the overbuild of subdivisions is taxing, and outpacing the infrastructure rapidly.  The archaic ways of the state with regards to roads, building and widening, is painful in so many aspects that the cart is before the horse in so many instances.  Subdivision builders get the say so to drop 1,000 or more houses on a property that has been in a family's hands for generations.  With many factors coming into play, the surviving family or beneficiaries of the land have no desire to deal with taxes and such, and just sell - i.e. McLean Homes by the Botanical Garden.  The Stowe Family sold the land before the 2008 market downfall, for whatever reason, and the initial investment company that bought it knew that the number of homes that they could build was not a possibility at that time.  Several years later, McLean gets into a deal with them, and still jams way more houses down in that portion of the county with no regard to infrastructure.  I'm talking more than just roads.  Belmont is not part of Two Rivers and its water system is already overtaxed as it is.  The amount of growth in Belmont is at lightning pace and it is going to only get worse from here on out.  The city council either has no regard to anything but a build at all cost mentality, or they are truly held hostage to the states building codes and structure.  They cannot tell a builder no.  They can only put into place some guidelines that conform to city standards - which are ascetic at best.  For those that live in this part of the county, or use Belmont as their connection to 85 or 485 to go to work in Mecklenburg County are seeing such incredible gridlock during rush hour that it can take 30 - 45 minutes to get from SC to 85 - depending on when you leave.  The new school and subdivisions are only adding to the congestion.

I have lived in Gaston County for almost 18 years now, and overall, it is a slower pace than going over the Catawba into Charlotte, and I do appreciate it.  I have embraced (and at times made jabs at the county I live in, in jest) the county and all it has to offer.  There is good here, but it is getting tied up in overdevelopment that is running rampant in Union, Cabarras and Iredell Counties in NC, and York and Lancaster Counties in SC.  

Growth is inevitable.  What we have to do here in Gaston County is hold our elected officials accountable to what is best for everyone and steer the growth in a manageable and logical direction.  

[KJHburg]

I have often said if Gaston County was elsewhere in the state it would be revered as a leader and growing vibrant place.  But when it is up against high flying, skyscraper building, very affluent Meck it looks old and tired.  However I do truly believe the next decade will bring problems of fast growth rather than stagnation.  A new day is dawning over the river.  And I think accessibility of Gaston County is far superior than Lancaster County SC for example.  10-15 years ago many Charlotte builders would not build homes over there then an influx of out of state builders came in and said why not?  downtown Gastonia is really starting to bloom after decades of stagnation.  wait until the baseball stadium and FUSE opens.  

Industrial growth is very good there and just announced is a very large distribution and light manufacturing park off I-85 north of Franklin Square.  Long time Charlotteans may look down on Gaston County as a bunch of mill towns but I remember when 4th Ward was a red light district and Southend was a scary dump of a place that was quite scary at night.  Things change and do change and Gaston County believe me is on an upswing.  

NorthPoint Development spends $22.1M to buy land for huge Gaston County industrial project - Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

City of Gastonia - BUILD

and Tony's Ice cream is one of the best ice cream shops in the state! 

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2021 by KJHburg

[JRNYP2C]

16 hours ago, KJHburg said:

I have often said if Gaston County was elsewhere in the state it would be revered as a leader and growing vibrant place.  But when it is up against high flying, skyscraper building, very affluent Meck it looks old and tired.  However I do truly believe the next decade will bring problems of fast growth rather than stagnation.  A new day is dawning over the river.  And I think accessibility of Gaston County is far superior than Lancaster County SC for example.  10-15 years ago many Charlotte builders would not build homes over there then an influx of out of state builders came in and said why not?  downtown Gastonia is really starting to bloom after decades of stagnation.  wait until the baseball stadium and FUSE opens.  

Industrial growth is very good there and just announced is a very large distribution and light manufacturing park off I-85 north of Franklin Square.  Long time Charlotteans may look down on Gaston County as a bunch of mill towns but I remember when 4th Ward was a red light district and Southend was a scary dump of a place that was quite scary at night.  Things change and do change and Gaston County believe me is on an upswing.  

NorthPoint Development spends $22.1M to buy land for huge Gaston County industrial project - Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

City of Gastonia - BUILD

and Tony's Ice cream is one of the best ice cream shops in the state! 

 

 

 

Totally agree about FUSE.  In all honesty, I have wanted to attend the college baseball games for years (Grizzlies), but never went.  This, since it is going to be closer to everything else, makes it more enticing.  I did read about the industrial aspect of Lowell, and what it will bring to that area.  

Lest anyone think I'm down on the county in which I chose to live, I'm not.  Its just that the stigma still lingers, and we accept.  There are naysayers to both FUSE and the industrial park in Lowell.  FUSE b/c there is always some sort of shady aspect that people will toss up as to why it is even happening.  Yes, there are other problems that the city of Gastonia should be working on, and I'm sure they are.  This is going to have a long-term impact on that side of downtown that is still VERY run down and seedy.  It takes years for this kind of development to spur on more development and growth.  For Lowell, what I have read is that the overall parcel of land that is going to be dedicated to this is bigger than the CBD (if you want to call 3-4 blocks big).  The interchanges there would need to be redone to accommodate the level of traffic and it would hopefully, coincide with the widening of 85 that is so desperately needed.

The other good piece of news is that work is continuing on the I85-US321 exchange, and what a difference it is already!  I can only imagine what a difference it will make when things get back to normal and people are in their cars commuting once again.

And I just realized that when I go hiking off of exit 5 in NC and SC, that huge piece of land that was clear cut was for the new casino.  In all honesty, it really bummed me out b/c it is going to be so close to so much wilderness.  The congestion that will now bog down that interchange will be another hurdle to make it easy to go hiking in that part of the county.  But it is progress regardless, and it can only help the tax base for Gaston & Cleveland Counties.

[mjcatl2]

Wow, thanks for all of the feedback everyone. It was curious to me.

Down the road, moving out of Atlanta might happen for me and the family. Charlotte covers a lot bases (including geography for several reasons for us). Because of this (and general regional city interest), I've tried to keep up somewhat with Charlotte and Belmont looked like a decent place.

[davidclt]

From the Twitter today (chris evans on Twitter: "110k people left NYC in 2020. That’s nearly a 500% increase over 2019." / Twitter):

[tozmervo]

3 hours ago, davidclt said:

From the Twitter today (chris evans on Twitter: "110k people left NYC in 2020. That’s nearly a 500% increase over 2019." / Twitter):

I am highly suspicious of this number and how many of those are permanent relocations. It also infers a population decrease when it doesn't mention how many people may have moved in during that period. 

[CLT2014]

1 hour ago, tozmervo said:

I am highly suspicious of this number and how many of those are permanent relocations. It also infers a population decrease when it doesn't mention how many people may have moved in during that period. 

Many are the 20 - 30 something's that moved back home with mom and dad to save money while working remote and NYC is no fun. I suspect many will return when their employer asks them to or when the fun things that make New York rent worth paying go back to normal.

Edited January 28, 2021 by CLT2014

[KJHburg]

I know Charlotte is way down this list of the most densely populated city in the country but this is interesting.  Miami is now the 4th most densely populated city in the country due to their massive high rise construction over the last decade.  I am surprised Detroit even made the list with their acres of vacant property in the city.  

Miami Is Now The Fourth Most Densely Populated Major City In America After Rapid Growth Last Decade – The Next Miami

some shots I took in early Jan of Miami density and there is a lot of it.

 

[CLT2014]

20 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

I know Charlotte is way down this list of the most densely populated city in the country but this is interesting.  Miami is now the 4th most densely populated city in the country due to their massive high rise construction over the last decade.  I am surprised Detroit even made the list with their acres of vacant property in the city.  

Miami Is Now The Fourth Most Densely Populated Major City In America After Rapid Growth Last Decade – The Next Miami

It is very interesting that an online air filter retailer was the one that crunched the source numbers from the Census hahaha: https://filterbuy.com/resources/most-and-least-densely-populated-cities/

Not sure if the marketing team's thought process was more people = more pollution = more air filters to sell? 

Edited January 28, 2021 by CLT2014

[QCxpat]

According to World Population Review, Concord has topped the 100,000 population mark.

"Concord is a city located in North Carolina.  With a 2021 estimated population of 100,639,  it is the 10th largest city in North Carolina and the 321st largest city in the United States.  Concord is currently growing at a rate of 2.18% annually and its population has increased by 27.28% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 79,066 in 2010.  Concord reached it's highest population of 100,639 in 2021.  Spanning over 64 square miles, Concord has a population density of 1,585 people per square mile."

Concord is now bigger than Greenville (2021 pop. est. 94,822) or Asheville (2021 pop. est. 93,350).

 

 

Link:  https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/concord-nc-population

Edited February 20, 2021 by QCxpat

[Owenorange]

4 hours ago, QCxpat said:

According to World Population Review, Concord has topped the 100,000 population mark.

"Concord is a city located in North Carolina.  With a 2021 estimated population of 100,639,  it is the 10th largest city in North Carolina and the 321st largest city in the United States.  Concord is currently growing at a rate of 2.18% annually and its population has increased by 27.28% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 79,066 in 2010.  Concord reached it's highest population of 100,639 in 2021.  Spanning over 64 square miles, Concord has a population density of 1,585 people per square mile."

Concord is now bigger than Greenville (2021 pop. est. 94,822) or Asheville (2021 pop. est. 93,350).

 

 

Link:  https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/concord-nc-population

Wow, I would never have guessed it was larger than Asheville. 

[Third Strike]

18 hours ago, Owenorange said:

Wow, I would never have guessed it was larger than Asheville. 

Not to take anything away from Concord, but Asheville is geographically smaller than Concord. Concord has a larger population, but Asheville is more densely populated. 

[KJHburg]

In the last 10 years Cabarrus County has grown 2x the rate of Buncombe home of Asheville 21.5% vs. 9.6% for Buncombe according to the US Census.  Buncombe 261,xxx and Cabarrus 216,xxx.

[krazeeboi]

On 1/16/2021 at 11:39 AM, mjcatl2 said:

Why is Gaston county growth more modest relative to other bordering counties?

For one, the presence of the Catawba River is a big reason. This article sums it up pretty well. An excerpt:

Why not put the new settlement on the river? Well, the river was miles from the trading path, and - worse by far - not a navigable passage for trading craft...

“The river was of negligible importance - until James Buchanan Duke figured out how to dam it up,” said Hanchett. When the company that would eventually become Duke Energy began building dams to supply textile mills with hydroelectric power in the early 1900s, it kicked off a major economic boom. And as Duke grew, so did the dams and lakes, until the biggest, at Cowans Ford, established Lake Norman in the early 1960s. 

The dams created huge bodies of water near Charlotte that were now available for recreation and lakefront homebuilding, including Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake. Duke owned much of the waterfront, and its subsidiary Crescent Resources (since spun off, and now Crescent Communities) developed much of that land into luxury subdivisions like The Sanctuary at Lake Wylie. Most of the waterfront near Charlotte has thus remained in private hands with limited public access points, with the exception of a few areas such as Lake Norman State Park. 

Another reason Charlotte can feel disconnected from the water is the way the city’s airport grew and effectively blocked a lot of development from moving west. The least developed part of the county now is the stretch of land between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the river, most of which is still forested or farmland and looks like it’s from another decade (There were goats wandering one of the roads the last time I drove through there). Most of the land still doesn’t have sewer lines, another major roadblock to development.

Add to this the relative lack of east/west road connections between Gaston and Mecklenburg counties, the western portion of I-485 being the last to get built, and the move to conserve land in the Catawba River Basin starting in the early 90's that gave birth to what is now the Catawba Lands Conservancy; because of its efforts, nearly 17,000 acres of land within the vicinity of the river in NC is preserved, with a nice chunk being located in eastern Gaston County.  

Also Gaston County has historically had the largest textile industry within a textile-rich region which made it a bit more economically independent than other surrounding counties--which also means it got hit a bit harder with the decline of the industry, especially without any other sizable industries, institutional anchors, or spillover economic growth from Mecklenburg to help cushion the blow.  York and Lancaster counties have the advantage of being located in SC and the ability to leverage differences in costs and regulatory structures with NC to lure jobs and residents, which is made easier by their proximity to I-485 early on, Ballantyne, and Lake Wylie; York County also has Winthrop as an institutional anchor. Union County benefits from proximity to booming, affluent southeast Charlotte and the earliest segments of I-485 to open. Cabarrus County was able to capture spillover growth from University and build upon that, especially with respect to retail, as well as the Speedway and motorsports industry. Iredell County attributes its growth to Lake Norman, the motorsports industry, and Lowe's HQ.  Gaston is at a relative disadvantage with western Mecklenburg being the last frontier for development in the county due to land use patterns and lack of infrastructure, so there's no type of spillover Gaston could've benefited from due to increasing development on the other side of the county line (which resulted in more undeveloped land near the Catawba River that could be more easily put into conservation). Aside from that, it doesn't have the motorsports presence, a legacy corporate headquarters like Lowe's, or a sizable university like Winthrop to help drive growth (Belmont Abbey is nice, but rather small). 

Obviously things have changed within the past 10+ years as bordering counties get more crowded and congested in the parts closest to Mecklenburg and folks have realized how nice places in eastern Gaston (Belmont, Mount Holly) are, plus you have I-485 attracting more development to west Mecklenburg like the Whitewater Center, the outlet mall, the Amazon facilities.  With the development of the River District, expect Gaston County to eventually look just like the other bordering counties. 

[Eightane]

6 hours ago, krazeeboi said:

For one, the presence of the Catawba River is a big reason. This article sums it up pretty well. An excerpt:

Why not put the new settlement on the river? Well, the river was miles from the trading path, and - worse by far - not a navigable passage for trading craft...

“The river was of negligible importance - until James Buchanan Duke figured out how to dam it up,” said Hanchett. When the company that would eventually become Duke Energy began building dams to supply textile mills with hydroelectric power in the early 1900s, it kicked off a major economic boom. And as Duke grew, so did the dams and lakes, until the biggest, at Cowans Ford, established Lake Norman in the early 1960s. 

The dams created huge bodies of water near Charlotte that were now available for recreation and lakefront homebuilding, including Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake. Duke owned much of the waterfront, and its subsidiary Crescent Resources (since spun off, and now Crescent Communities) developed much of that land into luxury subdivisions like The Sanctuary at Lake Wylie. Most of the waterfront near Charlotte has thus remained in private hands with limited public access points, with the exception of a few areas such as Lake Norman State Park. 

Another reason Charlotte can feel disconnected from the water is the way the city’s airport grew and effectively blocked a lot of development from moving west. The least developed part of the county now is the stretch of land between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the river, most of which is still forested or farmland and looks like it’s from another decade (There were goats wandering one of the roads the last time I drove through there). Most of the land still doesn’t have sewer lines, another major roadblock to development.

Add to this the relative lack of east/west road connections between Gaston and Mecklenburg counties, the western portion of I-485 being the last to get built, and the move to conserve land in the Catawba River Basin starting in the early 90's that gave birth to what is now the Catawba Lands Conservancy; because of its efforts, nearly 17,000 acres of land within the vicinity of the river in NC is preserved, with a nice chunk being located in eastern Gaston County.  

Also Gaston County has historically had the largest textile industry within a textile-rich region which made it a bit more economically independent than other surrounding counties--which also means it got hit a bit harder with the decline of the industry, especially without any other sizable industries, institutional anchors, or spillover economic growth from Mecklenburg to help cushion the blow.  York and Lancaster counties have the advantage of being located in SC and the ability to leverage differences in costs and regulatory structures with NC to lure jobs and residents, which is made easier by their proximity to I-485 early on, Ballantyne, and Lake Wylie; York County also has Winthrop as an institutional anchor. Union County benefits from proximity to booming, affluent southeast Charlotte and the earliest segments of I-485 to open. Cabarrus County was able to capture spillover growth from University and build upon that, especially with respect to retail, as well as the Speedway and motorsports industry. Iredell County attributes its growth to Lake Norman, the motorsports industry, and Lowe's HQ.  Gaston is at a relative disadvantage with western Mecklenburg being the last frontier for development in the county due to land use patterns and lack of infrastructure, so there's no type of spillover Gaston could've benefited from due to increasing development on the other side of the county line (which resulted in more undeveloped land near the Catawba River that could be more easily put into conservation). Aside from that, it doesn't have the motorsports presence, a legacy corporate headquarters like Lowe's, or a sizable university like Winthrop to help drive growth (Belmont Abbey is nice, but rather small). 

Obviously things have changed within the past 10+ years as bordering counties get more crowded and congested in the parts closest to Mecklenburg and folks have realized how nice places in eastern Gaston (Belmont, Mount Holly) are, plus you have I-485 attracting more development to west Mecklenburg like the Whitewater Center, the outlet mall, the Amazon facilities.  With the development of the River District, expect Gaston County to eventually look just like the other bordering counties. 

This is a really good synopsis of exactly why Gaston's development has been so different (and less) than Cabarrus, Union etc. I was born and raised in Stanley, and honestly it's just within the past year or two that I've seen noticeable acceleration in growth. Without major engines or drivers like Winthrop, HQs and so on, it took people discovering how pleasant and quiet these communities are (AND lower costs of living therein) to finally kick off meaningful explosions in economy and population.

Belmont and Mount holly have hit a good stride with booming suburban growth, and Belmont will one day be larger than Gastonia, maybe in my lifetime. Stanley and Dallas are starting to feel their own booms, adding housing and infrastructure. Bessemer City and Cherryville will likely maintain their small-town, non-suburban character for the rest of my natural life, but who knows about afterwards. we're finally seeing Gaston and Meck try to grow together. Time will tell.