Charlotte area population statistics

[ah59396]

Here is a list of 18-26 in metro populations:

 

We need about 13 years of consistent growth to catch Baltimore and St Louis.  And that's assuming they stay at their current growth rates.  Denver is exploding and everything right now points to them moving farther away from us.  Pittsburgh is going to get passed by Portland, San Antonio and Orlando next year (most likely).  Cleveland has completely dropped out of the top 30 metros in the US.

 

NAME: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
2013 Pop. Estimate: 2874154
2014 Pop. Estimate: 2915582
2014 Pop. Change: 41428
Percent Change: 1.4%

NAME: St. Louis, MO-IL
2013 Pop. Estimate: 2801587
2014 Pop. Estimate: 2806207
2014 Pop. Change: 4620
Percent Change: 0.2%

NAME: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
2013 Pop. Estimate: 2774050
2014 Pop. Estimate: 2785874
2014 Pop. Change: 11824
Percent Change: 0.4%

NAME: Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
2013 Pop. Estimate: 2699750
2014 Pop. Estimate: 2754258
2014 Pop. Change: 54508
Percent Change: 2.0%

NAME: Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
2013 Pop. Estimate: 2337339
2014 Pop. Estimate: 2380314
2014 Pop. Change: 42975
Percent Change: 1.8%

NAME: Pittsburgh, PA
2013 Pop. Estimate: 2360565
2014 Pop. Estimate: 2355986
2014 Pop. Change: -4597
Percent Change: -0.2%

NAME: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
2013 Pop. Estimate: 2314747
2014 Pop. Estimate: 2348247
2014 Pop. Change: 33500
Percent Change: 1.4%

NAME: San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
2013 Pop. Estimate: 2282201
2014 Pop. Estimate: 2328652
2014 Pop. Change: 46451
Percent Change: 2.0%

NAME: Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
2013 Pop. Estimate: 2271083
2014 Pop. Estimate: 2321418
2014 Pop. Change: 50335
Percent Change: 2.2%

 

 

 

EDIT:  Also just because it's interesting.  The Houston metro added 156,000 people last year.  Wow.

Edited March 26, 2015 by ah59396

[cltbwimob]

According to new census numbers, Charlotte has officially passed the 800k mark and (as of the estimate) sits at just over 809k people. That places population density at over 2700 ppl/sq mile. Looks like it's only a matter of time before we break 3000/sq mile.

[rjp212]

According to new census numbers, Charlotte has officially passed the 800k mark and (as of the estimate) sits at just over 809k people. That places population density at over 2700 ppl/sq mile. Looks like it's only a matter of time before we break 3000/sq mile.

 

 

A few takes from the CO article:

 

- Growth rate wise, we were the 3rd fastest growing city so far this decade.  Behind only Austin and New Orleans

- Numerically we were the 7th fastest growing city, gaining 78,534 people between 2010 and 2014.

- We never actually pushed Fort Worth out of the #16 Most Populous spot, and are still in 17th Place.

- We are growing faster than Raleigh, their 1.9% to our 2.0%.

- We now have more people living in the city limits than the states of Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska and North Dakota.

 

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article21523356.html

Edited May 21, 2015 by rjp212

[Matthew.Brendan]

And just think, one day we may even be able to shop downtown!

[15895]

And just think, one day we may even be able to shop downtown!

If the population of Uptown & SouthEnd right now is 25,000 by 2020, it could be around 35,000. Thats not including Midtown, Elizabeth, Plaza or NoDa. There is going to be a lot of people living in center city, so hopefully more & more local & chain retailers fill up.

[grodney]

Somewhat related: 538 (who kick butt on all things statistical) has a story on urban vs suburban where they mention Charlotte a couple times: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-suburban-are-big-american-cities/

[RiverwoodCLT]

Is Charlotte’s growth slowing? New data finds city still leading most peers

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2015/05/21/is-charlotte-s-growth-slowing-new-data-finds-city.html

 

 

108 - Charlotte city, North Carolina
793,951 July 01, 2013 population

809,958  April 2015 population

16,007 added

grew by 2.0%

Edited May 21, 2015 by RiverwoodCLT

[Nolan]

Somewhat related: 538 (who kick butt on all things statistical) has a story on urban vs suburban where they mention Charlotte a couple times: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-suburban-are-big-american-cities/

Similar article, same topic. Charlotte is listed with 76% of its city limits as suburban. 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/05/22/urban_density_nearly_half_of_america_s_biggest_cities_look_like_giant_suburbs.html

Edited May 23, 2015 by Nolan

[RiverwoodCLT]

Charlotte has a growing problem

 

 

We picked up 78,534 people. That’s almost as much in four years as we gained in the entire decade of the 1980s. We are welcoming more and more newcomers.

 

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/eric-frazier/article21711804.html#storylink=cpy

[Eightane]

Out of curiosity, I recall something about annexation laws in North Carolina changing a while back, to the tune of making it harder (more stringent guidelines) for municipalities to absorb more land. I don't know exactly what the changes were, and basically I'd like to know what annexations we might see in the next ten years as sprawl and contiguous neighbourhoods/developed land increase. I know the NE area around Mallard Creek is likely a big candidate, and not even just for 485's completion, though there *is* the X-factor of if the local populace wants it or would vote against absorption.

[ah59396]

Out of curiosity, I recall something about annexation laws in North Carolina changing a while back, to the tune of making it harder (more stringent guidelines) for municipalities to absorb more land. I don't know exactly what the changes were, and basically I'd like to know what annexations we might see in the next ten years as sprawl and contiguous neighbourhoods/developed land increase. I know the NE area around Mallard Creek is likely a big candidate, and not even just for 485's completion, though there *is* the X-factor of if the local populace wants it or would vote against absorption.

 

 

I am of the belief and opinion that we are done with the city growing in terms of area.  There is currently a bill on the books that puts a moratorium on annexation, but frankly I think we are more than big enough at this point.  Heck, I wish we were about 100 sq miles smaller.

[go_vertical]

I agree, the city is a little too big IMHO. Charlotte just needs to grow organically which it seems to be doing fairly well. A lot of the growth we have seen could be managed a little better but I think we are managing it ok considering how heavy and rapid it has been the last decade or so.

On the flip side is the issue with surrounding towns and counties also rapidly growing and as a result gaining clout. Not to say they shouldn't it's just that I would hate to see the area go down the same path as Atlanta in that regard with each municipality not just on different pages but in separate books. That is why large scale master plans for the region are essential.

[Eightane]

On the flip side is the issue with surrounding towns and counties also rapidly growing and as a result gaining clout. Not to say they shouldn't it's just that I would hate to see the area go down the same path as Atlanta in that regard with each municipality not just on different pages but in separate books. That is why large scale master plans for the region are essential.

 

Right, I don't think we should *pursue* annexation, esp. thinking it's any sort of solution for growing pains or other issues. At the same time, as I might've said in a different topic the people in communities around Charlotte (and even outer-ring neighbourhoods with more of a historical population base or working-class identity) very much don't think the same way as urbanites, whether those in Charlotte or in/from elsewhere in the country. I do hear often from people I've known in places like north of Derita, west of Huntersville etc. that they're sick of paying Mecklenburg county taxes while getting fewer city services and just feeling like they subsidize the 'proper' Charlotteans. These are predominantly middle-class people who haven't gotten here in the past five or ten or even twenty years, and form an identity for themselves as citizens who're non-cosmopolitan and 'stable' in their situation. They can't necessarily move at the drop of a hat, and if they can they don't feel like they should have to, preferring their location for any number of reasons, job proximity, family history, and so on. They would vote in favour of annexation and much of what comes with it, they're not concerned with 'smart growth' in an urban sense. I try not to thumb my nose at them whether they're 'up' on good measures for sprawl reduction or not, they're very much part of this area's fabric.

 

I don't agree with them but neither do I disagree. Arguments I see in favour of annexing start with how what works for other cities in terms of not just intelligent growth but the quality of life for people in its metro doesn't necessarily work (nor is desirable) everywhere, demographics are different, commuting and job growth needs and patterns are different... I see benefits in not growing the city's boundaries, but if residents are stuck in a 'no-man's-land' concerning what the county can offer them outside of other jurisdictions I wouldn't push them out for not resembling the influx; I like the idea of 'hoods that are pleasantly-suburban in character being within city limits, no less if it means their staying and convictions stave off the developers from turning those areas into massive developments that are *still* suburban but more dense w/o offering solutions for congestion; not every place that gets built up turns into town centers like Ayrsley. Plus with more land comes more tax base, and higher figures on population statistics; corporate decisions to relocate here from elsewhere would likely do research on the breakdowns but a higher figure still looks good from some perspectives, economic or otherwise. But, it means more land for Charlotte to be responsible for, more water/sewer/gas line construction and maintenance, and other non-dandy drawbacks, some that the casual denizen either doesn't know or thinks don't affect them as much as they actually do.

 

If I maybe have any stake in this at all, it would mostly be wondering what comes to pass when tens of thousands (or more) people outside the seven 'burgs' have only the county to look to or serve them. The 'necks' north or west or northeast of Charlotte can't be absorbed into Concord or Belmont or what-have-you, they won't be under some other center's control with its own political agenda or ideas for the future that don't include or mirror the main city's.

[teeg]

I am of the belief and opinion that we are done with the city growing in terms of area.  There is currently a bill on the books that puts a moratorium on annexation, but frankly I think we are more than big enough at this point.  Heck, I wish we were about 100 sq miles smaller.

 

I have not heard this discussed recently, but is it still the case that the City controls zoning in its ETJ (which is referred to as "Charlotte Sphere of Influence" on this map?)  And are those areas definitely planned to be annexed in the future?   

 

http://ww.charmeck.org/Planning/ZoningMaps/Zoning%20Grid.pdf

[ah59396]

I have not heard this discussed recently, but is it still the case that the City controls zoning in its ETJ (which is referred to as "Charlotte Sphere of Influence" on this map?)  And are those areas definitely planned to be annexed in the future?   

 

http://ww.charmeck.org/Planning/ZoningMaps/Zoning%20Grid.pdf

 

 

I honestly don't know.  But God, I hope not.

[go_vertical]

Annexation is a double edged sword. Yes, it expands the city's tax base, but usually denser, close-in areas have to subsidize the newer, typically more rural land. It puts more of a strain on city services sometimes resulting in higher taxes for everyone to offset the shortfall.

For the residents of the smaller incorporated towns this can also be seen as impending doom. They live in those towns for various reasons and for many that reason is because they don't want to live in the behemoth city down the road. Encroaching borders may lead elected officials of those towns to begin fighting Charlotte from numerous fronts thus resulting in the Atlanta scenario I mentioned above, and nobody wants that. I know that is a doomsday-like scenario but it isn't outside of the realm of possibility.

I think Charlotte should be, for the most part, done with annexation. We're big enough. In fact, our size is part of the reason we have trouble balancing the budget now. The GA certainly hasn't helped things out, but the dollars the city brings in are spread too thin. We could easily shed 20,30,40 or more acres in areas that are sparsely populated and not need to maintain all those roads, sewers, power lines etc. Let some of these small town annex a few acres here and there. Let them grow as they see fit and work with them to help them achieve their goals. Build a community of municipalities and all work together on commuter transit.

[allthingsplanes]

To me, in looking at that map and having lived on the northern edge of Charlotte, there's not a good reason NOT to annex many of those areas.  There is relatively so little unincorporated areas left in the county and it's such small pockets.  I like the way Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are melded together in many ways.  I understand the concerns about not sprawling too much but it's going to happen whether it's annexed or not.  I'd rather it be more controlled in the bigger picture of the city.

[Windsurfer]

 I understand the concerns about not sprawling too much but it's going to happen whether it's annexed or not.  I'd rather it be more controlled in the bigger picture of the city.

I just had this discussion with a developer up near Davidson. While I agree all towns north of Charlotte are growing, does it mean we have to aid and abet uncontrolled development?  This is exactly what's happening up Poplar Tent Rd. It's just mind-boggling how the town of Kannapolis annexed a thin strip of land in order to reach a couple of neighborhoods being developed. The annexed areas look like ballons in the sense you have a thin strip of city land with a huge round area ballooning out around new neighborhoods, and they're 3.5 miles from Kannapolis!  It's my understanding the annexation was/is being challenged, but it seems like nothing is going to happen. Meanwhile, beautiful country landscapes with hundred year old trees are being scrapped (and I mean down to the read clay) in order to throw up vinyl-clad houses by the thousands.  All the while, utilities and services are being provided by Kannapolis. Actually, I know of one development on the books of about 800 homes (In Cabarrus) who will be provide water from the town of Davidson. What is so bizarre to me is that when you drive through the town of Kannapolis you have hundreds of acres of vacant land in close proximity to downtown K-town.

 

Why do people move to country, and then live in crowded subdivisions? 

[cltbwimob]

Last month, new 5-year American Community Survey data was released.  If anyone isn't aware, ACS data helps determine the counties that get included in MSAs and CSAs.

I did some calculations on the data, and found that commuting ties between outlying counties and central counties, on the whole, have increased quite significantly, so it looks like the counties currently included in the MSA are there to stay barring some unforeseen circumstance.  Additionally, if the MSA was redefined today, Anson County would be re-included because it is again above the 25% in-commuting threshold (it dropped to 22% last go-around which is why it currently in the MSA).  Assuming  Anson is re-included, the Charlotte MSA would likely eclipse the 2.5 million person threshold in the next year or two, and the CSA will have a population of approximately 2.7 million in the next 3-4 years.

[Third Strike]

Last month, new 5-year American Community Survey data was released.  If anyone isn't aware, ACS data helps determine the counties that get included in MSAs and CSAs.

I did some calculations on the data, and found that commuting ties between outlying counties and central counties, on the whole, have increased quite significantly, so it looks like the counties currently included in the MSA are there to stay barring some unforeseen circumstance.  Additionally, if the MSA was redefined today, Anson County would be re-included because it is again above the 25% in-commuting threshold (it dropped to 22% last go-around which is why it currently in the MSA).  Assuming  Anson is re-included, the Charlotte MSA would likely eclipse the 2.5 million person threshold in the next year or two, and the CSA will have a population of approximately 2.7 million in the next 3-4 years.

At what percent is Catawba County at? That would be a huge boost to the CSA if Hickory was added.

[cltbwimob]

^^^I did not calculate the data for Catawba for this new data set, however the previous ACS data had Alexander and Catawba counties at approximately 12% which is very close to the CSA threshold of 15%.  

The other two counties in the Unifour are only at 7% or 8%, and unfortunately, the entire Unifour Metro area as a whole must meet the 15% commuting threshold before the Unifour can join the Charlotte CSA.  Since the commuting ties between those four counties meets the criteria to be designated a MSA, they can't be broken apart.  In other words, Catawba county couldn't join the CSA  without all the other counties in that MSA.

[RiverwoodCLT]

At the end of September, Charlotte should be approximately  829,954, using us census from 2013-2014.

The US Census showed Charlotte gain 26,007 form 2013-2014

Charlotte grew from 2010 to 2014 by 78,534

Raleigh grew from 2010 to 2014 by 36,004 this second largest gain in NC

http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2014/SUB-EST2014-3.html

Edited September 27, 2015 by RiverwoodCLT

[RiverwoodCLT]

I do not see construction slowing down on apartment as long as Charlotte is adding about 20,000 people a year.  We will have to stop building 5 or 6 story apartment and  go higher as land is filling up.

Edited October 23, 2015 by RiverwoodCLT

[Deleted.]

I do not see construction slowing down on apartment as long as Charlotte is adding about 20,000 people a year.  We will have to stop building 5 or 6 story apartment and  go higher as land is filling up.

Yes, we are well on the way go being Apartment Capital of the USA. How long before we are expected to pass the 1 million mark? Around 2025? That's quite impressive! 

Edited October 26, 2015 by Piedmont767

[Third Strike]

This is an interesting tidbit I did not know, but Charlotte's land area grew from 297.6 sq miles to 304.8, between 2010 to 2014. This makes Charlotte about the same size as New York City. Looks like some property during this timeframe was voluntary annexed, like the Waverly project in South Charlotte (as well as the last wave of land that was annexed back in 2011, before the annexation laws were changed):

https://ncosbm.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/demog/municipalgrowth_2014.html

Edited November 9, 2015 by Third Strike