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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:
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.
/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
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.
/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
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.
/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.
/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
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.
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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
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.
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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
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.
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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
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.
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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.
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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
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.
/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
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:
- Best Places To Retire In North Carolina
- Richest Cities In North Carolina
- Safest Cities in North Carolina
Detailed List Of The Best Charlotte Suburbs
Rank | City | Population |
---|---|---|
1 | Tega Cay, NC | 10,834 |
2 | Davidson, NC | 12,920 |
3 | Marvin, NC | 6,672 |
4 | Weddington, NC | 11,000 |
5 | Cornelius, NC | 29,836 |
6 | Waxhaw, NC | 16,165 |
7 | Harrisburg, NC | 16,073 |
8 | Stallings, NC | 15,781 |
9 | Fort Mill, NC | 19,920 |
10 | Matthews, NC | 32,682 |
11 | Huntersville, NC | 57,288 |
12 | Wesley Chapel, NC | 9,287 |
13 | Cramerton, NC | 4,417 |
14 | Indian Trail, NC | 39,644 |
15 | Mooresville, NC | 38,498 |
16 | Mint Hill, NC | 27,258 |
17 | Lake Park, NC | 3,851 |
18 | Midland, NC | 3,702 |
19 | Oakboro, NC | 2,214 |
20 | Unionville, NC | 7,089 |
21 | Landis, NC | 3,119 |
22 | Belmont, NC | 12,292 |
23 | Pineville, NC | 8,923 |
24 | Stanley, NC | 3,734 |
25 | Concord, NC | 94,147 |
26 | Ranlo, NC | 3,643 |
27 | Wingate, NC | 4,456 |
28 | Mount Pleasant, NC | 2,007 |
29 | Mineral Springs, NC | 3,057 |
30 | Mount Holly, NC | 15,947 |
31 | Rock Hill, NC | 74,410 |
32 | Kannapolis, NC | 49,788 |
33 | Locust, NC | 3,439 |
34 | Gastonia, NC | 76,635 |
35 | Dallas, NC | 4,744 |
36 | Clover, NC | 6,370 |
37 | Lowell, NC | 3,676 |
38 | Monroe, NC | 35,339 |
39 | China Grove, NC | 4,225 |
40 | Lincolnton, NC | 11,099 |
41 | York, NC | 8,287 |
42 | Kings Mountain, NC | 10,885 |