The 10 Best Charlotte Suburbs To Live In For 2022


We analyzed over 41 places around Charlotte to identify the most in demand places to live.

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Editor’s Note: Data has been updated for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the best Charlotte suburbs.

Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.

There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.

But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.

Of course, not all suburbs of Charlotte are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...

Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Charlotte for 2022:

  1. Tega Cay
  2. Davidson
  3. Marvin
  4. Weddington
  5. Cornelius
  6. Waxhaw
  7. Harrisburg
  8. Stallings
  9. Fort Mill
  10. Matthews

What's the best suburb of Charlotte? Tega Cay ranks as the best suburb of Charlotte for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Tega Cay, you're probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.

We'll tell you what makes each of these 10 Charlotte 'burbs better than the rest--but first, a bit about our methodology.

Note: This result may differ from our state wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a larger selection of suburbs.

Feel free to check out some more reading about North Carolina:

The 10 Best Charlotte Suburbs To Live For 2022

Tega Cay is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Charlotte area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Tega Cay."

Everyone here is rich; families average $125,847 a year, which is the 4th highest in the Charlotte region. And only 3.55% are out of work. Homes average more than $358,000 each.

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 10,834
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $125,847
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 0.2%
More on Tega Cay: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Tega Cay, SC

Source: Public domain

Davidson is the second best 'burb we looked at near Charlotte for 2022.

It ranks 3rd for incomes in the area and only 4.72% of residents lack insurance, good for 4th best.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 12,920
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Income: $131,144
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Davidson: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Davidson, NC

Here in Marvin, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the Charlotte metro area.

The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.

But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Marvin.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 6,672
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $209,950
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 2.4%
More on Marvin: Real Estate | Data

Weddington ranks as the 4th best suburb of Charlotte for 2022.

You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Weddington and the schools are some of the best around.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 11,000
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $144,718
Unemployment Rate: 1.4%
Poverty Rate: 2.4%
More on Weddington: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Weddington, NC

Source: Public domain

Coming in as the fifth best is Cornelius.

Cornelius gets kudos for having the 6th most expensive homes in the Charlotte area, where houses sell for an average of $352,600. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 29,836
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 5)
Median Income: $90,377
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 7.0%
More on Cornelius: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Cornelius, NC

Source: Public domain

Waxhaw is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here's why.

Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 3.38% which is 16th best in the area.

According to online reports, Waxhaw is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Charlotte area, meaning you need to get in soon.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 16,165
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Income: $116,964
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
Poverty Rate: 3.6%
More on Waxhaw: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Waxhaw, NC

The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Harrisburg.

Harrisburg schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.

And, it's only 12.6 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 16,073
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 4)
Median Income: $112,757
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 2.9%
More on Harrisburg: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Harrisburg, NC

Stallings is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.

A solid 6.15% of people lack insurance, good for 13th in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 15,781
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Median Income: $90,012
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Stallings: Real Estate | Data

Is 'Everything Better In Fort Mill?'

Almost.

It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it's really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 19,920
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 3)
Median Income: $101,699
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Fort Mill: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Fort Mill, SC

And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Matthews.

This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It's far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 32,682
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $89,881
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 5.2%
More on Matthews: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Matthews, NC

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Charlotte for 2022

Figuring out the best suburbs around Charlotte was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:

  • Low unemployment rate
  • High Median household incomes
  • Population density (lots of things to do)
  • High home values
  • A lot of college educated people
  • Low poverty
  • High rate of insured families

Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.

FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Charlotte.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 42 suburbs to evaluate around Charlotte.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 42 in each category, where 1 was the "best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Charlotte." We're lookin' at you, Tega Cay. You can download the data here.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.

Summary: Welcome to the Best Charlotte 'Burbs of 2022

We said it once and we'll say it again--life in the big city isn't for everyone. At least not all the time.

So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Charlotte, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.

For more North Carolina reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Charlotte Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income
1 Tega Cay, NC 10,834 $125,847
2 Davidson, NC 12,920 $131,144
3 Marvin, NC 6,672 $209,950
4 Weddington, NC 11,000 $144,718
5 Cornelius, NC 29,836 $90,377
6 Waxhaw, NC 16,165 $116,964
7 Harrisburg, NC 16,073 $112,757
8 Stallings, NC 15,781 $90,012
9 Fort Mill, NC 19,920 $101,699
10 Matthews, NC 32,682 $89,881
11 Huntersville, NC 57,288 $100,789
12 Wesley Chapel, NC 9,287 $123,271
13 Cramerton, NC 4,417 $87,927
14 Indian Trail, NC 39,644 $86,512
15 Mooresville, NC 38,498 $70,625
16 Mint Hill, NC 27,258 $80,093
17 Lake Park, NC 3,851 $70,296
18 Midland, NC 3,702 $73,897
19 Oakboro, NC 2,214 $62,141
20 Unionville, NC 7,089 $78,776
21 Landis, NC 3,119 $65,769
22 Belmont, NC 12,292 $73,968
23 Pineville, NC 8,923 $53,873
24 Stanley, NC 3,734 $61,786
25 Concord, NC 94,147 $70,973
26 Ranlo, NC 3,643 $66,360
27 Wingate, NC 4,456 $52,672
28 Mount Pleasant, NC 2,007 $60,078
29 Mineral Springs, NC 3,057 $74,675
30 Mount Holly, NC 15,947 $57,379
31 Rock Hill, NC 74,410 $51,874
32 Kannapolis, NC 49,788 $55,923
33 Locust, NC 3,439 $55,684
34 Gastonia, NC 76,635 $50,266
35 Dallas, NC 4,744 $46,189
36 Clover, NC 6,370 $54,457
37 Lowell, NC 3,676 $42,902
38 Monroe, NC 35,339 $53,064
39 China Grove, NC 4,225 $38,710
40 Lincolnton, NC 11,099 $35,696
41 York, NC 8,287 $42,244
42 Kings Mountain, NC 10,885 $38,936

How Is Your Town In ?

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.