Rankings

Charlotte is fortunate to receive many accolades throughout the year.  Here is a listing of some of the top rankings received over the past two years.  

#1 Best Place to Live; Relocate-America, May 2008. Based on community consistency and number of nominations received. Home Page

#1 Best City for Black Families; BET Magazine  February 2008.  Deciding factors included overall population, the number of Black residents, income, home ownership, unemployment, poverty rates, single-parent homes, education levels, illiteracy, crime rates, per-pupil spending, in-state college tuition costs, teen pregnancy rates, AIDS rates, infant mortality, low birthweight, home values, cost of living and Black-owned businesses.

#1 Most Educated Workforce; Business Facilities, The Location Advisors July 2007. Based on educational attainment of the workforce 25 years and older.

#1 Top Large Counties for Recruitment & Attraction; Expansion Management June 2007. Based on relocation rate and new branch rate.

#1 America's Most Livable Communities; Partners for Livable Communities. The communities honored are evaluated on their strategies, visions, and actions towards preparing for the new economy as well for the creativity of their leadership and collaborative efforts across 10 areas: New economy, Tourism, Human Development, Housing, Neighborhoods, City Center, Leadership, Finance, Regionalism, Environment

#2 Economic Strength Ranking; Policom Corporation July 2007. Ranked by using Population of at least 50,000 with a high degree of social and economic integration.  3 other data sectors including areas of jobs, wages, earnings; non-farm proprietors, construction, retail; welfare, Medicaid factored in also.

#2 Best Cities for Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneur Magazine September 2006. Found by using the National Policy Research Council's Entrepreneurial Activity Index to measure the best places to start and grow a company. The index is made up of two parts, each dedicated to measuring a key aspect of entrepreneurship: business formation and business growth.

#4 Americas Best Jobs in the Hottest Markets; Business 2.0. October 2007. Based on 2 year job forcast and five other economic sources.

#4 America's Best Housing Markets; Forbes, August 2007. Ranked by median house price as compared to last year out of the 50 biggest markets

#4 Best Walking Cities of 2007; American Podiatric Medical Association April 2007. Based on fitness-walker friendliness, safe streets, beautiful places to walk, mild weather, and good air quality.

#5 Best Housing Market; Forbes May 2007. Decided by median house price as compared to last year out of the 50 biggest markets.

#5 North American Cities of the Future, Rankings for large metros; FDIM Magazine April 2007. Cities were divided into population categories by size. Than Nominees were ranked on 7 selection factors, using a weighted score.

#6 Top Data-Center Markets; The Boyd Co. Inc May 2006. Ranked by annual cost to operate a 75-employee data center in a new, 125,000-square foot building.

#7 America's Most Wired Cities; Forbes, January 2008. This ranking is based on the percentage of internet users with high-speed access, the range of service providers within a city, and the availability of public wreless hotspots

#8 Best Place for Home Sellers; Forbes, April 2008Each city was ranked by its 2007 unsold vacancy rate, calculated by the U.S. Census American Housing Survey, and how much the market had tightened or loosened when compared with 2006 conditions. Plus Const. Starts, building starts, job creation etc..