CITY OF CHARLOTTE FACTS
(as of June 2007)

• The Charlotte MSA – comprised of 6 North Carolina counties including Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg and Union – and York SC, hosted more than 16.6 million visitors during the 2005 calendar year. Mecklenburg County ranks first in travel impact, the economic impact of domestic tourism on our county on an annual basis, among North Carolina’s 100 counties. (1, 3)

• The population of the city of Charlotte is estimated at 648,000 with almost 1.6 million residents in the metro area. (2)

• The 21st largest city in the United States, Charlotte is the largest trading center in the southeast, second largest financial center in the United States and the center of the nation’s fifth largest urban region. (2)

• The U.S. Conference of Mayors has bestowed the honor of “Most Livable City” upon Charlotte. Additionally, the non-profit Partners for Livable Communities decided Charlotte was one of “America’s Most Livable Cities” this decade. (2)

• The Charlotte region is composed of 16 counties, including two counties in South Carolina, with the city of Charlotte serving as the hub.

• Visitors to Charlotte find comfort in nearly 30,000 hotel rooms in its metro area with more than 3,700 within walking distance of the Charlotte Convention Center. (6)

• Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, the national hub of US Airways, carries on average more than 585 flights daily on eight major airlines and six commuter carriers, which provide non-stop service to over 120 destinations. Charlotte/Douglas is among the nation’s top twenty busiest airports, moving over 28 million passengers in 2005. (4)

• Charlotte is the largest and most accessible city between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, GA. More than 60% of the Unites States population lives within a 2-hour flight of Charlotte and over 6 million people live within a 100-mile radius. (2)

• Charlotte offers drivers convenient access to the Queen City by way of its highly efficient and growing interstate highway system. I-77 and I-85 connect Charlotte to cities in the Northeast, Southwest and Midwest. Convenient I-40, less than one hour north, provides an important east/west link with coast-to-coast access. (2)

• Amtrak provides daily passenger rail service to the north and south with connections to the east/west lines accessing most of the United States, as well as its Piedmont train to Raleigh and Carolinian train to New York. (2)

• Charlotte is a sports enthusiast’s dream! World-class professional sporting events are held in Charlotte throughout the year, many of which call Charlotte home: NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 and NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, PGA’s Wachovia Championship, the NBA Charlotte Bobcats, WNBA Charlotte Sting, NFL Carolina Panthers, AAA Charlotte Knights and even our own ice hockey and soccer teams, the ECHL Charlotte Checkers and AW Charlotte Eagles. Of course, Charlotte wouldn’t be the same without its more than 57 public golf courses to enjoy those Carolina blue skies! (2)

• Some of Charlotte’s many key attractions include Carowinds theme and water park, Discovery Place science center and IMAX® Dome Theatre, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and its surrounding race shops and museums, Charlotte Bobcats Arena, Cricket Arena, Ovens Auditorium and the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Charlotte was also chosen to be the home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which is expected to open in late 2009.

• The Charlotte cultural community produces approximately 63,700 performances and events annually that generate an estimated $130 million for the local economy. Cultural institutions such as the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Dance Theatre, and Mint Museum of Art attract hundreds of thousands of Charlotte residents and visitors to arts venues on a yearly basis. (2)

• Visitors can experience Charlotte’s Center City by riding the Gold Rush rubber-wheeled trolley service, or ride the rails and take a relaxing guided tour of Charlotte when they climb aboard Streetcar # 85 – an electric streetcar built in the Queen City in 1927. During this two-mile jaunt through Historic South End and the Center City, hear about Charlotte’s rise as an industrial and financial center and note the many historic landmarks along the route. Hop off to enjoy antique shopping and fine dining. The trolley showcases Charlotte’s growing, diverse community and introduces many to smart city planning and transit. Charlotte’s vintage trolleys animate the city center, connecting thriving urban neighborhoods with business and entertainment, creating a moving, changing classroom for exploring science, technology and the story of Charlotte’s past and future.

• Charlotte’s new rapid transit system, scheduled for completion in fall 2007, will provide light rail service along a ten-mile corridor from Center City Charlotte south to I-485, north of Pineville. A unique feature is the plan to share a length of track with the Charlotte Trolley (to begin carrying passengers again soon). The South Corridor Light Rail Transit line is projected to attract approximately 16,100 riders per day, and will require 15 light rail vehicles. A combination of local, state and federal funds is proposed to fund the project.

• More than $1.8 trillion in financial assets are managed in the Charlotte region, home to the headquarters of the largest (Bank of America) and fourth largest (Wachovia) bank holding companies in the country. (2)

• Site Selection Magazine placed Charlotte # 1 in foreign business growth; there are more than 500 foreign-owned firms in Charlotte.

• Fortune Magazine named Charlotte the city with the # 1 “Pro-Business Attitude” in America. Charlotte ranks fifth in the number of Fortune-headquartered companies; more than 300 of the Fortune 500 businesses have an office in Charlotte.

SOURCES: (1) NC Department of Commerce, (2) Charlotte Chamber, (3) D.K. Shifflet & Associates 2005 Survey, (4) Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, (5) Arts & Science Council, and (6) Smith Travel Research.

Photo courtesy of Visit Charlotte. 

For more information about accommodations, entertainment, culture, recreation, and shopping in Charlotte, please visit www.visitcharlotte.com.