Charlotte Metro
—  MSA  —
Charlotte–Gastonia–Rock Hill, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Uptown Charlotte Skyline
Counties most commonly associated with Metrolina are in dark red, counties often included are light red, and counties sometimes included are in orange. The NC/SC state line is shown in yellow.
Country	United States
State	North Carolina South Carolina
Principal cities	- Charlotte  - Concord  - Rock Hill  - Gastonia
Elevation	305-1,240 ft (93-378 m)
Population (2012)
• Density	951.2/sq mi (3,672/km2)
• Urban	2,574,787
• Metro	1,857,624
Time zone	EST
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC)

The Charlotte metropolitan area (also Metrolina, Charlotte Metro, or Charlotte USA) is a metropolitan area/region of North and South Carolina within and surrounding the city of Charlotte. Located in the Piedmont of the Southeastern United States, the Charlotte metropolitan area is well-known for its auto racing history (especially NASCAR) and is the United States' second largest banking and financial hub, behind New York City. The region is headquarters to 8 Fortune 500 and 13 Fortune 1000 companies including Bank of America, Duke Energy, Nucor Steel, Lowe's Home Improvement Stores, and Chiquita Brands. ^[1] It is also the Carolinas' largest manufacturing region.^[2] The Charlotte MSA is the largest in the Carolinas and the sixth largest metropolitan area in the Southeastern region of the United States, behind Miami, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Tampa, and Orlando.

The Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)^[3] is defined as five counties in North Carolina and one county in South Carolina. The population of the MSA was 1,531,965 at the 2010 Census. Charlotte is the 18th largest city and 33rd largest metro area in the United States. Charlotte is the 2nd largest city in the Southeast.

The Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury Combined Statistical Area (CSA)^[4] is a regional population area including parts of North Carolina and South Carolina with a 2012 population of 2,574,787.^{[5][not in citation given]} The aforementioned MSA is the only metropolitan area (as defined since 2003) included in the CSA, but there are six included micropolitan areas: Albemarle, Lincolnton, Shelby and Statesville-Mooresville in North Carolina and Lancaster and Chester in South Carolina.

Nicknames and regional identity[link]

The regional area around the city was at one time called Metrolina, a term which has fallen out of widespread general use, though it is still maintains a presence and is used by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The term does retain a marketing value, and is thus also used by many businesses in the area. Metrolina refers to the region that includes the cities of: Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia and Rock Hill. The name Metrolina came into fashion when North Carolina's other two large metropolitan areas took on nicknames— the Triangle for Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill and the Triad for Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point. (The Triad now goes by the name Piedmont Triad to distinguish it from other tri-cities.)

The term Charlotte USA refers to the 16-county region, which includes 12 counties in North Carolina and 4 counties in South Carolina. The term is championed by the Charlotte Regional Partnership, a non-profit organization made up of both private- and public-sector members from throughout the Charlotte region. This organization represents one of seven officially designated economic development regions in North Carolina.^[6]

Region J of the North Carolina Councils of Government, of which a majority of the Charlotte area municipalities and counties belong, uses the term Centralina in its body's name, Centralina Council of Governments. This term, however, is used only sparingly among locals.

Area[link]

Counties[link]

The official Charlotte metropolitan area includes the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill MSA (Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union and York counties), along with the following micropolitan areas: Albemarle, Chester, Lancaster, Lincolnton, Salisbury, Shelby, and Statesville-Mooresville. The Combined Statistical Area includes all of those entities. Charlotte, USA, includes all the CSA counties along with Alexander and Catawba counties of North Carolina. (Census Bureau definition for CSA)

2010 Population (Census)

Anchor city[link]

Population is based on the 2010 Census.

• Charlotte, Mecklenburg 731,424

Principal cities[link]

The Charlotte area's principal cities are Satellite cities, in which they are too large to be considered suburbs, but are not large enough to be considered major cities. Populations are based on the 2010 Census.

• Concord, Cabarrus County, NC 79,006
• Gastonia, Gaston County, NC 71,741
• Rock Hill, York County, SC 66,154

Suburban towns and cities over 10,000 in population[link]

(including county and 2010 census bureau population)

• Albemarle, Stanly 15,903
• Belmont, Gaston 10,076
• Cornelius, Mecklenburg 24,866
• Fort Mill, York 10,811
• Hickory, Catawba 40,010
• Huntersville, Mecklenburg 46,773
• Indian Trail, Union 15,610
• Kannapolis, Cabarrus & Rowan 38,547
• Kings Mountain, Cleveland & Gaston 10,634
• Lancaster, Lancaster 10,160
• Lincolnton, Lincoln 10,194
• Matthews, Mecklenburg 27,198
• Mint Hill, Mecklenburg & Union 22,722
• Monroe, Union 36,397
• Mooresville, Iredell 32,000
• Newton, Catawba 12,995
• Salisbury, Rowan 33,662
• Shelby, Cleveland 21,275
• Stallings, Union 13,831
• Statesville, Iredell 24,489

Suburban towns and cities under 10,000 in population[link]

(Including county and 2004 Census Bureau population estimates)

Unincorporated communities[link]

(2000 census figures)

Changes in house prices for the area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 20-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.

Transportation[link]

Mass transit[link]

The Charlotte Area Transit System, or CATS, is the local public transit agency that operates bus service that serves Charlotte and its immediate suburban communities in both North and South Carolina. CATS also operates a light rail line and is also building a commuter rail network as a supplement to its established bus transit throughout the region. Plans are for it to stretch initially to Mooresville, Pineville, Matthews, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Charlotte-Douglas International Airport will be connected to the system by streetcar.

Roads[link]

The Charlotte region is also served by 3 major interstate highways, and their 2 spurs: I-85, I-77, I-40, I-277, and I-485. I-85 and I-77 intersect in North Charlotte, with the transcontinental I-40 passing across the northern portion of the region (linked to Charlotte and Gastonia via I-77 and the US 321 freeway). Other major freeways include Independence Boulevard (east Charlotte to I-277), a portion of US 321 between Hickory and Gastonia, the proposed Garden Parkway loop around Gastonia, and the proposed Monroe Connector and Monroe Bypass, each projected to cost over $1 billion per project.

Other important US highways in the region include: US 74 (east to Wilmington, west to Asheville and Chattanooga), US 52 (through the eastern part of the region), US 321 (through Chester, York, Gastonia, Dallas, Lincolnton and Hickory), US 601 (passing east of Charlotte) and US 70 (through Salisbury, Statesville and Hickory).

Primary state routes include NC/SC 49, NC 16 (which extends north to West Virginia), NC 73, NC 150, NC 18, NC 24, NC 27, SC 9 and SC 5.

Air[link]

Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the 11th busiest in the country. In April 2007, Charlotte was the fastest growing airport in the US.^[7] CLT went on to surpass its sister US Airways hub in Philadelphia as one of the 30 busiest airports in the world in terms of passenger traffic.^{[citation needed]} A new terminal to the northwest of the center of the airport will be built in the near future, possibly as a Caribbean/Latin America international terminal. CLT is also supplemented by regional airports in Concord, Gastonia, Hickory, Monroe, Statesville, in North Carolina, as well as Rock Hill in South Carolina.

Higher education[link]

Attractions[link]

Nature and geography[link]

The foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains begin along the western edge of the region; the descent (the fall line) to the coastal plain begins along the eastern edge. Amid this varied topography, the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden and several state parks (Morrow Mountain, Crowders Mountain, South Mountains, Duke Power, Landsford Canal, Andrew Jackson) offer recreational possibilities, along with the Uwharrie National Forest just east and northeast of Albemarle, and the Sumter National Forest at the southwest corner of the area. Kings Mountain National Military Park is partially located in York County and in Cherokee County near Blacksburg, South Carolina.

Cultural attractions[link]

Attractions in Charlotte include the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Cultural, Discovery Place, Spirit Square, NASCAR Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Children's Theatre of Charlotte, Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, Carolina Actors Studio Theatre, Theatre Charlotte, the Charlotte Museum Of History, Levine Museum of the New South, the McGill Rose Garden, and the Wing Haven Gardens. The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and the Mint Museum in Uptown Charlotte are expanding the art venues in Charlotte.

Other places of interest in the Charlotte suburbs include the Schiele Museum (in Gastonia), Carowinds Theme Park (in Mecklenburg County, NC and York County, SC), Charlotte Motor Speedway (in Concord), the Carolina Raptor Center (in Huntersville), Latta Plantation (in Huntersville), Brattonsville Historic District (in McConnells), the North Carolina Transportation Museum (in Spencer), Fort Dobbs historical site (in Statesville), Catawba County Firefighters Museum (in Conover), the Arts & Science Center of Catawba Valley/Millholland Planetarium (in Hickory) the Museum Of York County (in Rock Hill), James K. Polk historical site (in Pineville), , the Catawba Cultural Center (in York County), the Museum Of The Waxhaws (in Waxhaw), Glencairn Gardens (in Rock Hill), and the Reed Gold Mine (in Locust).

Entertainment[link]

The Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte is located in the University City area of Charlotte. The performing arts amphitheatre has hosted many popular music concerts. The U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC) is the world’s premier outdoor recreation and environmental education center. Alongside mountain-biking and running trails, a climbing center, and challenge course, the park’s unique feature is a multiple-channel, customized whitewater river for rafting and canoe/kayak enthusiasts of all abilities.

The USNWC is only 10 minutes from downtown Charlotte and provides roughly 400 acres (1.6 km²) of woodlands along the scenic Catawba River. Olympic-caliber athletes, weekend warriors and casual observers share this world-class sports and training center.

Inspired by the successful Penrith Whitewater Stadium built for the 2000 Olympics and the stadium built for the 2004 Athens Games, the USNWC is the world’s largest multi-channel recirculating whitewater river. The USOC has designated the USNWC an official Olympic Training Site.

Shopping[link]

Large regional-scale Shopping malls include SouthPark Mall, and Northlake Mall (both in Charlotte), Carolina Place Mall (Pineville), Concord Mills (Concord) and Valley Hills Mall (Hickory).

Other important, but smaller shopping malls in the area include Phillips Place (Charlotte), Westfield Eastridge (Gastonia), Rock Hill Galleria (Rock Hill), Plaza Fiesta (Fort Mill), Carolina Mall (Concord), Monroe Crossing (Monroe), and Signal Hill Mall (Statesville).

Concord Mills is unique in that it does not feature the typical anchor stores found at other malls; it focuses more on attracting outlet store tenants. As of 2006, the mall is the state's largest tourist attraction, visited by over 15 million annually.

Alongside enclosed malls and strip centers are several other shopping districts. Several downtowns can claim an abundance of shopping options, along with restaurants and other entertainment, and a few other specific districts have emerged: Central Avenue, especially in the Plaza-Midwood area; the NoDa area of North Charlotte; and the Arboretum in southeast Charlotte (geographically, south), to offer a handful of examples. Several of these areas are at the center of the area's growing immigrant business communities.

Sports[link]

In addition to Charlotte Motor Speedway, there are plenty of other sports venues, including the Knights Castle in Fort Mill (home of the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox), Bank of America Stadium (home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers), and Time Warner Cable Arena (home of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, and the American Hockey League's Charlotte Checkers). The Charlotte Eagles of the United Soccer Leagues call the area home, and the Kannapolis Intimidators and Hickory Crawdads are Single-A Minor-League Baseball teams located in this region.

Commerce and employment[link]

Among the largest employers in the area (listed in order by number of local employees) are:^[8]

• Wells Fargo
• Carolinas Healthcare System
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
• Bank of America
• City of Charlotte
• US Airways
• Duke Energy
• Presbyterian Healthcare
• Lowe's
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• AT&T
• Belk
• Family Dollar
• Food Lion
• IBM in University Research Park
• Advance Auto Parts

Companies with headquarters in the region include Bank of America, Belk, BellSouth Telecommunications, Bojangles', The Compass Group, Carolina Beverage Corporation Inc. (makers of Sun Drop and Cheerwine), Duke Energy, Family Dollar, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Lance, Inc, LendingTree, Lowe's, Meineke Car Care Centers, Muzak, Nucor, Transbotics, Royal & SunAlliance (USA), Time Warner Cable (a business unit of Fortune 500 company Time Warner), and Wachovia.

Charlotte has gained fame as the second largest banking and finance center in the U.S., and the area's orientation towards emerging industries is seen in the success of the University Research Park (the 7th largest research park in the country) and the redevelopment of part of the Pillowtex site in Kannapolis as a biotech research facility featuring the participation of University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and North Carolina State University.

People[link]

Artist Romare Bearden, astronauts Charles Duke and Susan Helms, evangelist Billy Graham, musicians Earl Scruggs (Flatt & Scruggs), George Clinton (Parliament, Funkadelic), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Prairie Prince (The Tubes, Todd Rundgren, Utopia), Blind Boy Fuller and Randy Travis, independent filmmakers Tim Kirkman (Loggerheads, Dear Jesse) and Ross McElwee (Bright Leaves, Sherman's March), actor Randolph Scott, actress Berlinda Tolbert (she played Jenny on the long-running, classic 70's sitcom "The Jeffersons"), political figures Sue Myrick, Harvey Gantt, Elizabeth Dole and Jesse Helms, U.S. presidents Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk, professional wrestling legends Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat, and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.

R&B singers Fantasia, Anthony Hamilton and K-Ci & JoJo of Jodeci. Novelist, playwright and screenwriter Carson McCullers was a Charlotte resident while writing her best known works. More recently, Reflections Studios in Charlotte played an important role in the emergent late-20th-century American musical underground - R.E.M., Pylon, Let's Active, Don Dixon and Charlotte's Fetchin Bones (among many others) all recorded influential and acclaimed albums there. Charlotte-based Ripete and Surfside Records maintain important catalogs of regional soul and beach music, and the area has also played a role in the history of gospel, bluegrass and country music. The Milestone, one of the first punk clubs in the South, is located in west Charlotte, and in the past hosted legendary appearances from the likes of R.E.M., Black Flag, The Minutemen, D.O.A., Bad Brains, Charlotte's Antiseen, and many others.

Government[link]

A majority of the municipalities and counties in the North Carolina parts of the Charlotte metropolitan area belong to the Centralina Council of Governments. Cleveland County belongs to the Isothermal Planning and Development Commission and Alexander and Catawba counties belong to the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.

See also[link]

• I-85 Corridor
• Piedmont Atlantic
• Piedmont Crescent
• The Upstate

External links[link]

• Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
• Charlotte USA - The Charlotte Regional Partnership
• NC SmartLink Metrolina traffic cameras

References[link]

v t e Charlotte Metropolitan Area Counties Anson Cabarrus Catawba Chester Cleveland Gaston Iredell Lancaster Lincoln Mecklenburg Rowan Stanly Union York Major city Charlotte Cities and towns 20k-99k Concord Gastonia Hickory Huntersville Kannapolis Matthews Monroe Mooresville Rock Hill Salisbury Shelby Statesville Cities and towns 5k-20k Albemarle Belmont Bessemer City Cherryville Chester Conover Cornelius Davidson Fort Mill Indian Trail Kings Mountain Lancaster Lincolnton Mint Hill Mount Holly South Gastonia Unionville Wadesboro Weddington York Footnotes Bold = principal metro cities Italic = places and counties part of CSA

v t e  State of North Carolina Raleigh (capital) Topics Climate Culture Economy Education Geography History Music North Carolinians Politics State Parks Wildlife Visitor attractions Regions Cape Fear Coastal Plain Crystal Coast Eastern Foothills High Country Inner Banks Metro Charlotte Outer Banks Piedmont Piedmont Triad Sandhills Triangle Western Larger cities Asheville Cary Charlotte Concord Durham Fayetteville Gastonia Greensboro Greenville High Point Jacksonville Raleigh Wilmington Winston‑Salem Smaller cities Albemarle Apex Asheboro Burlington Chapel Hill Eden Elizabeth City Goldsboro Graham Havelock Henderson Hendersonville Hickory Kannapolis Kings Mountain Kinston Laurinburg Lenoir Lexington Lumberton Monroe Morganton New Bern Newton Reidsville Roanoke Rapids Rocky Mount Salisbury Sanford Shelby Statesville Thomasville Waynesville Wilson Major towns Beaufort Boone Carrboro Clayton Conover Cornelius Dunn Fuquay-Varina Garner Harrisburg Holly Springs Hope Mills Huntersville Indian Trail Kernersville Knightdale Leland Matthews Midland Mint Hill Mooresville Morehead City Morrisville Mount Pleasant Oxford Shallotte Smithfield Southern Pines Tarboro Wake Forest Counties Alamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey

v t e  State of South Carolina Columbia (capital) Regions Atlantic Coastal Plain Blue Ridge Mountains Grand Strand High Hills of Santee Lake Murray Country The Lowcountry Metrolina The Midlands Olde English District Old 96 District Pee Dee Piedmont Sandhills Sea Islands The Upstate Larger cities Charleston Columbia Greenville Myrtle Beach North Charleston Rock Hill Spartanburg Smaller cities Aiken Anderson Beaufort Bennettsville Camden Cayce Easley Florence Forest Acres Gaffney Greenwood Greer Georgetown Goose Creek Hilton Head Island Isle of Palms Laurens, South Carolina Lexington Mauldin North Augusta North Myrtle Beach Orangeburg Simpsonville Summerville Sumter Union Walterboro West Columbia York Towns Abbeville Barnwell Batesburg-Leesville Cheraw Clemson Dillon Darlington Edgefield Fort Mill Fountain Inn Hardeeville Irmo Liberty Moncks Corner Mount Pleasant McCormick Marion Newberry Pendleton Pickens Seneca Sullivan's Island Travelers Rest Walhalla Westminster Williamston CDPs Berea Carolina Forest Dentsville Gantt Ladson Parker Red Hill Saint Andrews Seven Oaks Socastee Taylors Wade Hampton Counties Abbeville Aiken Allendale Anderson Bamberg Barnwell Beaufort Berkeley Calhoun Charleston Cherokee Chester Chesterfield Clarendon Colleton Darlington Dillon Dorchester Edgefield Fairfield Florence Georgetown Greenville Greenwood Hampton Horry Jasper Kershaw Lancaster Laurens Lee Lexington Marion Marlboro McCormick Newberry Oconee Orangeburg Pickens Richland Saluda Spartanburg Sumter Union Williamsburg York Topics History Famous people Governors Legislature State House Congressional districts Census areas State parks Rivers Wildlife refuges Historic places Amusement parks Colleges and universities Sports venues Shopping malls Television stations Radio stations Highways Airports Visitor attractions

Coordinates: 35°14′N 80°50′W / 35.23°N 80.84°W / 35.23; -80.84

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Densely populated metropolitan area (Western Tokyo)

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing.^[1] A metropolitan area usually comprises multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships, cities, exurbs, counties, and even states. As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions.^[2]

General definition[link]

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Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina.

A metropolitan area combines an urban agglomeration (the contiguous, built-up area) with zones not necessarily urban in character, but closely bound to the center by employment or other commerce. These outlying zones are sometimes known as a commuter belt, and may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities. For example, El Monte, California is considered part of the Los Angeles' metro area.

In practice, the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Sometimes they are little different from an urban area, and in other cases they cover broad regions that have little relation to a single urban settlement; comparative statistics for metropolitan area should take this into account. Population figures given for one metro area can vary by millions, and there is a tendency for people to promote the highest figure available for their own "city". However the most ambitious metropolitan area population figures are often better seen as the population of a "metropolitan region" than of a "city".^{[citation needed]}

There has been no significant change in the basic concept of metropolitan areas since its adoption in 1950,^[3] although significant changes in geographic distributions have occurred since then, and more are expected.^[4] Because of the fluidity of the term "metropolitan statistical area," the term used colloquially is more often "metro service area," "metro area," or "MSA" taken to include not only a city, but also surrounding suburban, exurban and sometimes rural areas, all which it is presumed to influence.

A polycentric metropolitan area is one not connected by continuous development or conurbation, which requires urban contiguity. In defining a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that a city or cities constitute a nucleus with which other areas have a high degree of integration.

Country official unique definitions[link]

Perth is arguably the most isolated metropolitan area in the world.^{[citation needed]}

Vancouver, on Canada's Pacific Coast

Paris, one of Europe's major centres

Istanbul, the only metropolitan area that spans two continents.

Mumbai, Financial Capital of India.

Chicago, on the Great Lakes.

Australia[link]

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The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines 'statistical divisions' as areas under the unifying influence of one or more major towns or a major city.^[5] Each of the state and territory capital cities as well as the national capital, Canberra, forms its own statistical division, and the population of the statistical division is the figure most often quoted for that city's population. However, this definition has largely become obsolete with the conurbation of several statistical divisions into a larger metropolitan areas. For example, the City of Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, has long since become contiguous with the surrounding cities of Ipswich, Logan City, Redland City, Redcliffe, Pine Rivers, Caboolture and the Gold Coast. This conurbation is common to all the major metropolitan areas of Australia which include all the capital cities and many major regional centres such as the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Wollongong, Geelong, Townsville, Cairns and Toowoomba.

Canada[link]

Statistics Canada defines a census metropolitan area (CMA) and census agglomeration (CA) as areas consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a CMA, the metropolitan area must have a population of at least 100,000, at least half within the urban core. To form a CA, the urban core must have a population of at least 10,000. To be included in the CMA or CA, adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the core, as measured by commuter flows derived from census data.^[6]

European Union[link]

The European Union's statistical agency, Eurostat, has created a concept named Larger Urban Zone (LUZ). The LUZ represents an attempt at a harmonised definition of the metropolitan area, and the goal was to have an area from a significant share of the resident commute into the city, a concept known as the “functional urban region”.^[7]

France[link]

In France the term for the region around an urban core linked by commuting ties is an aire urbaine (officially translated as "urban area").^{[citation needed]}