The Charlotte Region

With Charlotte, North Carolina, as the hub, our region is made up of many smaller, thriving communities in North Carolina and South Carolina. The Charlotte region combines a vibrant metropolitan center city and trend-setting urban amenities with access to charming small towns and rolling green farmland.

The Charlotte region offers as many residential and lifestyle choices as landscapes. Living costs are reasonable and competitive, and our quality of life is second to none. The Charlotte region is #1 in per capita giving to the arts and sciences, with rich cultural opportunities, a mild year-round climate, a wide range of housing options, quality education, and award winning medical facilities. The Charlotte region also offers NFL football, NBA basketball, the PGA's Wachovia Championship and major NASCAR events.

People
Charlotte region demographics are diverse, consisting of about 2 million people living in sixteen counties in two states (12 counties in North Carolina and 4 in South Carolina). North Carolina and South Carolina are home to more than 12 million people producing an annual gross domestic product approaching $400 billion.

Global Economy
The Charlotte region is very well connected to the global economy and resides in the Eastern United States time zone. In the Charlotte region alone, there are more than 600 foreign firms and 50 plus business and cultural associations. More than 1,800 foreign-owned companies from 34 countries employ more than 350,000 people in the two Carolinas. There are more than 165 German-owned companies in the Charlotte region and exports exceed $23 billion annually.

One of the reasons for the impressive foreign presence in the Charlotte region is Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. With more than 550 daily flights serving 23 million passengers annually, our international airport is US Airways' biggest and most profitable hub. Daily flights to London and Frankfurt make the Charlotte region, at most, one plane change away from any important business destination in the world.

The Charlotte region is home to the world headquarters of eight Fortune 500 companies, and since 1990 new and expanding businesses have invested more than $18 billion here, creating in excess of 170,000 new jobs.

Industry
The Charlotte region is well known for its pro-business attitude and remarkable economic development. In recent years the Charlotte region has emerged as the second largest banking and financial center in the United States, second only to New York City. But for each financial services worker in the Charlotte region four others go to work each day in manufacturing plants. Major industries have made their site selection in the Charlotte region. Some of our major industries include:

• Automotive
• Financial Services and Insurance
• Machine Manufacturing
• Medical Device and Supplies Manufacturing
• Medical Equipment Manufacturing
• Metalworking
• Motorsports
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• Plastics

Quality of Life
The Charlotte region is also determined to preserve its exceptional quality of life. In the global economy, where anything can be made everywhere and sold anywhere, businesses will increasingly locate and expand their operations in places where their employees like to live and work. The Charlotte region is #1 in per capita fundraising for the arts, enjoys professional sports teams, and is within two hours of the mountains and three hours of the beach.

More than ever before, people in the Charlotte region have better jobs, earn more money, and enjoy a higher quality of life than anywhere else in the country.