Charlotte, North Carolina is a pro-business city in the rapidly growing Southeastern United States.  Containing seven Fortune 500 companies within the city limits and an eighth in the metro area, Charlotte continues to show its ability to recruit and retain the top businesses and top working talent in the region.  365 of Fortune’s top 500 companies have placed one or more facilities within Mecklenburg County.

Typically seen as a banking and finance town with Bank of America’s headquarters and Wells Fargo’s East Coast operations downtown, Charlotte is also an emerging power in the energy sector.  Duke Energy services 5 states in the Southeast and Midwest covering 50,000 square miles and is a leader in developing innovative renewable energy solutions, including wind, solar and biopower projects.

Charlotte is also a large transportation and distribution center.  There is great pride in Charlotte Douglas International Airport which is home to US Airways largest hub and offers non-stop service to 170 cities worldwide.  This is a vital piece to the local business climate and its importance cannot be overstated.

Charlotte has experienced a dramatic amount of relocations over the last 5 years consistently ranking in the top 5 of cities where people are moving.  At 750,000+ residents, Charlotte ranks as the 18^th largest city in the U.S.  Projections put that number at over 1 million by the year 2020.  This is based in part on the high quality of life, wonderful weather and pro-business climate.

A few recent highlights:

• Cost of living below the national average
• 15,542 new jobs for 2009
• $13.6 billion in annual retail sales
• 1st most educated workforce
• 1st America’s most livable communities
• 1st top large counties for business recruitment
• 1st top state business climate
• 2nd economic strength ranking
• 2nd largest banking center (controls over $2.3 trillion in assets)
• 2nd best city for entrepreneurs
• 5th best city for business
• 6th in number of Fortune 500 headquarters
• 6th largest in-migration of people
• 8th most active airport in the U.S.
• 18th largest city

-Charlotte Chamber

Due to much of this high ranking acclaim, the local real estate market has weathered the global recession better than most U.S. cities.  Charlotte is not a hyper-inflated market like other extreme bubble cities and can be viewed as a conservative investment for those looking to diversify their real estate portfolio.  Steady growth has been and continues to be the model for this New South metro. 

“In Charlotte, nearly 5,000 units were absorbed during the 12-month period ending in August, according to a report last year by multifamily research firm Real Data. The average vacancy rate has fallen to 7.2%. At the same time, only five communities totaling 1,137 units are under construction. That’s up from 524 units in February but is still far below historic levels. With a scarcity of inventory, developers have plans for 7,206 more units in the market, according to Real Data.”

- Charlotte Business Journal