Greater Charlotte Area

The Charlotte metropolitan area (also Metrolina, Charlotte Metro, or Charlotte USA) is a metropolitan area/region of North and South Carolina within and surrounding the city of Charlotte. Located in the Piedmont of the Southeastern United States, the Charlotte metropolitan area is well known for its auto racing history (especially NASCAR). The region is headquarters to 8 Fortune 500 and 7 Fortune 1000 companies including Bank of America, Duke Energy, Sealed Air Corporation, Nucor Steel, and Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores. Additional headquarters include Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Cheerwine and Sundrop. It is home to one of the world’s busiest airports, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and is also the Carolinas’ largest manufacturing region.^[2] The Charlotte MSA is the largest in the Carolinas, and the sixth largest metropolitan area in the Southeastern region of the United States behind Washington, D.C., Miami, Atlanta, Tampa, and Baltimore.

The Charlotte–Concord–Gastonia Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is defined as seven counties in North Carolina and three counties in South Carolina. The population of the MSA was 2,426,363 according to 2015 Census estimates. Charlotte is the 17th largest city and 22nd largest metro area in the United States. Charlotte is the 2nd largest city in the Southeast.

The Charlotte–Concord Combined Statistical Area (CSA) is a regional population area including parts of North Carolina and South Carolina with a population of 2,442,504 according to the 2012 Census estimates. The aforementioned MSA is the only metropolitan area (as defined since 2012) included in the CSA, but there are two included micropolitan areas: Albemarle and Shelby.