Charlotte, North Carolina

**Charlotte** is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the 15th most populous city in the United States. In 2020, the population of Charlotte according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 874,579. In addition, the population of Charlotte's metro area is listed as 2,660,329.

## History

The first people settled at the place where Charlotte is in 1755 when a man named Thomas Polk built a house near two Native American trading paths. More people started living in the area and in 1768 it became a town named Charlotte Town. It was named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of King George III, because the townspeople wanted him to like them and not have him pass unfair laws. For this reason, the city is nicknamed the 'Queen City'. However, despite naming the city after his wife, George III still passed laws that the people in Charlotte did not like. So, on May 20, 1775, the people in Charlotte signed a proclamation that later was called the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. They did not want to be ruled by the king anymore so eleven days later they had a meeting and made new laws for their town.

In the early 1800s, many churches started to form in Charlotte. That is why Charlotte is sometimes called “The City of Churches.”

In 1799, a boy found a big rock. When a jeweler told his family that it was gold, the first gold rush in the United States started. A lot of gold was found. More gold was found in North Carolina then any other state until the California Gold Rush of 1848. Some people in Charlotte still enjoy looking for gold.

After the Civil War Charlotte became a busy town. Cotton farmers brought their cotton to Charlotte to ship it on trains. Even more people started living in Charlotte during World War I. When the war ended a lot of people stayed in the city.

Today the city is known for its many banks. Charlotte is the second biggest banking city in the United States. Only New York City has more banks.

## Weather

Charlotte has many different kinds of weather throughout the year. In the winter the temperature sometimes goes below 32 °F (0 °C) and in the summer it has gone up to 104 °F (40 °C). The city usually gets about 43.52 inches (1105.3 mm) of precipitation a year. Most of it is rain. It does not snow much in Charlotte.

This table shows the average temperature and rainfall each month:

|style="background:#9cc; color:navy; height:17px;"|Month|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Jan|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Feb|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Mar|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Apr|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|May|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Jun|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Jul|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Aug|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Sep|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Oct|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Nov|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Dec|style="background:#9cc; color:navy;"|Year|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|style="background:#ff9; color:navy;"|54 (12)|style="background:#ff9; color:navy;"|56 (13)|style="background:#fc6; color:navy;"|64 (18)|style="background:#fc0; color:navy;"|73 (23)|style="background:#fc0; color:navy;"|80 (27)|style="background:#f90; color:navy;"|87 (31)|style="background:#f90; color:navy;"|90 (32)|style="background:#f90; color:navy;"|88 (31)|style="background:#f90; color:navy;"|82 (28)|style="background:#fc0; color:navy;"|73 (23)|style="background:#fc6; color:navy;"|63 (17)|style="background:#ff9; color:navy;"|54 (12)|style="background:#fc0; color:navy;"|72 (22)|||
|style="background:#ffc; color:black;"|32 (0)|style="background:#ffc; color:black;"|34 (1)|style="background:#ffc; color:black;"|42 (6)|style="background:#ff9; color:black;"|49 (9)|style="background:#fc6; color:black;"|58 (14)|style="background:#fc6; color:black;"|66 (19)|style="background:#fc0; color:black;"|71 (22)|style="background:#fc0; color:black;"|69 (21)|style="background:#fc6; color:black;"|63 (17)|style="background:#ff9; color:black;"|51 (11)|style="background:#ffc; color:black;"|42 (6)|style="background:#ffc; color:black;"|35 (2)|style="background:#ff9; color:black;"|51 (11)|||
|style="background: #2288BB;"|4.00 (101.6)|style="background:#6cf;"|3.55 (90.2)|style="background: #2288BB;"|4.39 (111.5)|style="background:#4ad;"|2.95 (74.9)|style="background:#6cf;"|2.66 (93.0)|style="background:#6cf;"|3.42 (86.9)|style="background:#6cf;"|3.79 (96.3)|style="background:#4ad;"|3.72 (94.5)|style="background:#4ad;"|3.83 (97.3)|style="background: #2288BB;"|3.66 (93.0)|style="background: #2288BB;"|3.36 (85.3)|style="background: #2288BB;"|3.18 (80.8)|style="background: #2288BB;"|43.52 (1105.3)|||

## Economy

Banking is very important in Charlotte. Many banks, such as Bank of America and Wachovia have headquarters in the city. There are also many other big companies in Charlotte. There are many skyscrapers (tall buildings) in Charlotte.

NASCAR also has many offices in Charlotte and in the towns around Charlotte.

## Government

Charlotte has a council-manager kind of government. This means that there two main leaders in Charlotte: the city council who makes the laws, and the city manager who makes sure everybody follows the laws.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is in charge of keeping everyone in the city safe. The are about 1600 police officers in the Police Department.

## Schools

The city’s public school system, called Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, is the second biggest school system in North Carolina. The school system has about 146,000 students.

There is a university, called the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in Charlotte. Right now there are about 29,000 students who go to this university. There is also a community college, called Central Piedmont Community College, in the city. It is the biggest community college in both North or South Carolina.  Charlotte has many private universities as well.

## Sports

There are many professional sports teams in Charlotte. Some of them are:

|Team|Type|
| --- | --- |
|Carolina Panthers|football|
|Charlotte Hornets|basketball|
|Charlotte Knights|baseball|
|Charlotte FC|soccer|
|Charlotte Independence|soccer|
|Charlotte Lady Eagles|soccer|
|Charlotte Eagles|soccer|
|Charlotte Checkers|Ice Hockey|

Charlotte also has several parks and other public places for people to enjoy.

### Mass Transportation

There are many public busses to help people get around the city.  In 2007 Charlotte began a mass transit light rail system.  Charlotte also has a system of small trains called LYNX.

### Airport

Charlotte's International Airport is named Charlotte/Douglas. which is the 11th busiest airport in the world.

### Roads

Because Charlotte is in the middle of the east coast of the U.S., a lot of people drive through the city every day.  Charlotte has many big interstates to handle all the traffic.  But many people think Charlotte does not have good roads.  They are big, but they were not planned well.

#### Interstate

|Number||Highway|
| --- | --- | --- |
|77||I-77|
|85||I-85|
|277||I-277|
|485||I-485|

#### U.S.

|Number||Highway|
| --- | --- | --- |
|74||U.S. 74|
|29||U.S. 29|

#### States

|Number||Highway|
| --- | --- | --- |
|16||N.C. 16|
|49||N.C. 49|
|51||N.C. 51|

#### Cities

|Number||Highway|
| --- | --- | --- |
|4||Route 4|

### Trains

Amtrak runs three different trains every day in Charlotte.  People can ride these trains to the following cities:

|City|State|
| --- | --- |
|Atlanta|Georgia|
|Baltimore|Maryland|
|Birmingham|Alabama|
|Charlottesville|Virginia|
|Durham|North Carolina|
|Greensborro|North Carolina|
|Philadelphia|Pennsylvania|
|Raleigh|North Carolina|
|Richmond|Virginia|
|New Orleans|Louisiana|
|New York|New York|
|Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia|

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Charlotte
- **settlement type**: City
- **nicknames**: The Queen City, The QC, CLT, The Hornet's Nest
- **image flag**:

- **image seal**: New seal of Charlotte, North Carolina.svg
- **map caption**: Interactive map of Charlotte
- **pushpin map**: USA North Carolina#USA
- **pushpin map caption**: Location within North Carolina##Location within the United States
- **pushpin relief**: yes
- **map caption1**: Interactive maps of Charlotte
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in North Carolina, County
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision name1**: North Carolina
- **subdivision name2**: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg
- **government type**: Council–manager
- **governing body**: Charlotte City Council
- **leader title**: Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor
- **leader name**: Vi Lyles (Democratic Party (United States), D)
- **established title**: Settled
- **established date**: 1755
- **established title2**: Incorporated
- **established date2**: December 3, 1768
- **named for**: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
- **total type**: Total
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **area total km2**: 808.08
- **area total sq mi**: 312.00
- **area land km2**: 802.94
- **area land sq mi**: 310.02
- **area water km2**: 5.14
- **area water sq mi**: 1.98
- **area water percent**: 0.63
- **population as of**: 2020 United States census, 2020
- **pop est as of**: 2024
- **population est**: 943476
- **population rank**: List of United States cities by population, 15th in the United States
List of municipalities in North Carolina, 1st in North Carolina
- **population total**: 874579
- **population density sq mi**: 2821.06
- **population density km2**: 1089.22
- **population urban**: 1,379,873 (US: List of United States urban areas, 37th)
- **population density urban km2**: 810.2
- **population density urban sq mi**: 2,098.3
- **population metro**: 2805115 (US: List of metropolitan statistical areas, 22nd)
- **population demonym**: Charlottean
- **demographics type2**: GDP
- **demographics2 title1**: Charlotte (MSA)
- **demographics2 info1**: $228.9 billion (2022)
- **timezone**: Eastern Time Zone, EST
- **utc offset**: −5
- **timezone dst**: Eastern Daylight Time, EDT
- **utc offset dst**: −4
- **postal code type**: ZIP Codes
- **area codes**: Area codes 704 and 980, 704, 980
- **elevation ft**: 673
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 37-12000
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS feature ID
- **blank1 info**: 2404032
- **motto**: "" <small>(Latin)</small>
(Queen City)
"Charlotte's Got a Lot"