WHY CHARLOTTE?
Charlotte is always open for business. Whether it’s a late night restaurant, bakery or coffee shop, passengers & air freight arriving at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, a 24 hour manufacturing facility or simply one of our many banks’ ATMs, Charlotte has the right business climate day and night. The only thing that can match our business climate is our beautiful Carolina blue skies and moderate temperatures that provide for excellent recreational and cultural opportunities. Combine that with quality healthcare and a low cost of living and it’s easy to see why most people that live here never want to leave. Conveniently located between the mountains and the beaches, the Charlotte region offers the quality of life that people and businesses are looking for. Look closely at Charlotte and you’ll discover a lot!
Culture, Hospitality & Tourism
Charlotte is a city that enjoys and cultivates the arts. Along with a wide range of visual arts, classical and contemporary music, and theater & dance, Charlotte sweetens the blend with everything from science and history museums to eclectic arts districts. Charlotte offers cultural activities for every taste, from black-tie openings of straight-from-Broadway productions to an evening picnic with music under the stars and everything in between. Charlotte is home to several museums nationally recognized for their impressive permanent exhibits, including the new Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts & Culture. And lets not forget sports! Charlotte is a big league sports town. Not only are we home to the Nascar Hall of Fame, but this is also where National Football League’s Carolina Panthers and the National Basketball Association’s Charlotte Bobcats play. Each May the Wells Fargo Championship brings in the world’s best golfers, and each winter fans cheer on the Checkers, Charlotte’s professional hockey team. Source: Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
We’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what Charlotte has to offer. Learn more from these experts:
From culture to places to eat and stay, learn more about what Charlotte has to offer our residents and visitors alike!
From the Charlotte Convention Center, to Time Warner Arena, to Ovens Auditorium and BoJangles’ Coliseum, Charlotte has the right venue for events of any size.
Charlotte Center City Partners facilitates and promotes economic and cultural development of the urban core with a vision to create a viable, livable and memorable Center City.
Economic Development
There is so much good news about doing business in Charlotte! Charlotte is the center of the nation’s fifth largest urban region, a position that offers countless opportunities to the companies doing business here. Every major manufacturing sector is represented here, including aerospace and defense equipment, industrial machinery and metal working industries, computer and electronic products, consumer goods and bio-medical facilities. The Queen City has such a pro-business environment that more than 365 of Fortune’s top 500 companies have placed one or more facilities within Mecklenburg County. Nearly 500 foreign-owned firms, representing 45 countries, provide jobs to thousands of workers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County. Source: Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. From large corporate headquarters to diverse business districts that support locally owned businesses, Charlotte provides the right environment for your business to thrive. Want to learn more? These agencies can help:
Part of the City’s Neighborhood & Business Services Department, Economic Development staff are committed to helping businesses thrive in Charlotte. With a variety of programs and services to help businesses, from contracting opportunities to corridor revitalization and much more, the City is available to help businesses find the resources they need.
The Charlotte Chamber is committed to increasing Charlotte’s competitive advantage by growing the economy, advocating pro-business public policies and delivering innovative programs and services.
Charlotte Center City Partners facilitates and promotes economic and cultural development of the urban core with a vision to create a viable, livable and memorable Center City.
A nonprofit, public/private economic development organization, the Charlotte Regional Partnership leverages regional resources to market the 16-county Charlotte region. The Partnership’s business development activities position Charlotte USA for sustained, long-term growth, job creation and investment opportunities. An excellent resource for business information, learning more about the region’s target sectors, and accessing real estate data.
THRIVE NC provides excellent information about the region including site location tools & data, small business resources, information on key industries in the state, and much more.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce is the state’s leading economic development agency, working with local, regional, national and international companies.
Environmental Sustainability
Charlotte is positioning itself to become a global model for environmental sustainability while emerging as an energy capital. With cutting-edge public-private partnerships and a growing number of companies in the renewable energy sector, products as varied as wind turbines to solar panels to hybrid buses are being built in this region. Learn more about Charlotte’s advantage from these initiatives and agencies:
By creating a cutting-edge public-private initiative, Envision Charlotte will help establish Charlotte’s role as an emerging energy capital, enhance our vibrant business hub and attract forward-thinking businesses and talent.
Learn more about the Charlotte region’s energy sector including regional assets and initiatives, workforce development, case studies, and more.
Learn more about the exciting initiatives and resources Charlotte has to offer.
Transportation
Charlotte’s rich business base is served by an excellent state and federal highway network, including major north-south and east-west interstate arteries, as well as a modern, expanded international airport terminal. More than 40 percent of the nation’s top 100 trucking companies are located in Charlotte. With two major rail systems, Norfolk Southern and CSX, the Charlotte region links to 23 states making rail service convenient. Source: Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. Want to learn more?
Workforce
Knowledge drives innovation, and higher education is key to any city’s future. Charlotte is home to 30 colleges and universities, including UNCC, the fourth largest university (and fastest growing campus) in the 16-campus UNC system; Davidson College, one of the nation’s most prestigious private colleges; and Johnson & Wales University, a nationally-renowned culinary school. Charlotte boasts Johnson C. Smith University, a private liberal arts college that ranked in U.S. News and World Reports list of best comprehensive colleges in the South; and Queen University of Charlotte, offering undergraduate and graduate course work in arts and sciences, nursing and business. The city is also home to Central Piedmont Community College, one of the nation’s largest two-year institutions which serves more than 60,000 students annually and offers high quality corporate and continuing educations programs. Source: Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. From pre-kindergarten to Ph.D. programs, Charlotte offers an abundance of educational opportunities and is committed to providing a skilled workforce. From our region’s educational system to programs and incentives available for businesses, we are well positioned to produce and attract a quality workforce. Want to learn more?
Charlotte Region at a Glance
The Charlotte region is home to the world headquarters of nine Fortune 500 companies, and since 1990, new and expanding businesses have invested more than $18 billion here, creating more than 170,000 new jobs. The city’s major employers include, among others, Carolinas Healthcare System, Bank of America, Duke Energy, Harris Teeter, US Airways, Belk, Family Dollar Stores and Lance. With approximately 2.6 million people living in the region, it is strategically located in the center of the East Coast, and the importance of this Eastern time zone location cannot be overestimated. For example, within two hours’ flight time or one day’s delivery by motor freight, businesses in the Charlotte USA region can reach almost 60 percent of the population of the United States and more than 60 percent of the nation’s industrial base. Source: CharlotteUSA
MORE INFORMATION:
Essence of Charlotte (pdf)
Charlotte Overview (pdf)
Charlotte in Detail (pdf)
Welcome to Charlotte (pdf)
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