PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

59.2
Life Score / 100
A-
Grade (curved)
#67
of 387 metros
83%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Charlotte ranks #67 of 387 US metros, ahead of 83% - carried by its safety (95/100) and held back most by environment (16/100).

95
strongest: Safety
75
then: Rent
16
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Charlotte sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

59 Top 17% higher than 83% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Charlotte Life Score

Charlotte's composite score of 59.2 out of 100, a grade of A-, places the metro at rank #67 of 387, ahead of 83% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (95/100) and Rent (75/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (16/100) and Cost of Living (31/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 97.3 (rent-RPP 97.6). BLS median salary $70,931, 1,341,320 jobs (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,138/mo (studio $785).

FBI UCR (NC): 365 violent, 1930 property/100K. NCES: 15.8:1 ratio, 7.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,487/yr. EPA: 42 Superfund sites (NC). Ranks #64-#70 below.

Dimension detail

How Charlotte scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 31/100 (20%)
Wages 69/100 (20%)
Rent 75/100 (15%)
Safety 95/100 (15%)
Schools 58/100 (10%)
Childcare 60/100 (10%)
Environment 16/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

97.3
Cost Index (RPP)
$70,931
Avg Median Salary
$1,138
2BR Fair Market Rent
365
Violent Crime/100K (NC)
15.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$9,487
Infant Childcare/yr (NC)
42
Superfund Sites (NC)
1,341,320
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Charlotte With...

Charlotte vs Winston Compare → Charlotte vs Greenville Compare → Charlotte vs Rocky Mount Compare → Charlotte vs Wildwood Compare → Charlotte vs Waterloo Compare → Charlotte vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Charlotte outranks 83% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#64 Lynchburg, VA 59.3 A-
#65 Omaha, NE-IA 59.4 A-
#66 Morgantown, WV 59.5 A-
#67 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 59.2 A-
#68 Lima, OH 59.2 A-
#69 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN 59.1 A-
#70 Jacksonville, FL 59.0 B+

NC Metro Scores

Winston-Salem, NC A+ 69.8 Greenville, NC A+ 66.6 Rocky Mount, NC A+ 65.8 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC A 63.4 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC B+ 58.6 Fayetteville, NC B+ 58.0

Using Charlotte's Life Score

Charlotte is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (95/100) and its weakest is environment (16/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Charlotte head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Charlotte lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Charlotte's biggest strengths? ▼
Charlotte's strongest dimensions are Safety (95/100), Rent (75/100), Wages (69/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Charlotte's weakest areas? ▼
Charlotte's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (16/100), Cost of Living (31/100), Schools (58/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Charlotte compared to the national average? ▼
Charlotte's Regional Price Parity is 97.3 (2.7% less than national); rent RPP 97.6.
What is the average salary in Charlotte? ▼
Charlotte median salary: $70,931, 1,341,320 jobs. Top: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Charlotte's 59.2/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.