Latest Findings:
Community Information:
The Charlotte MSA is comprised of Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, and Union counties, North Carolina; and Chester, Lancaster, and York counties, South Carolina. In 2011, the MSA included approximately 670,000 occupied dwelling units; there was no data available to explain what percentage of homes were located in the central cities of Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia, and Rock Hill. The housing stock of the MSA ranked among the youngest and least heavily rental of the cities surveyed. The percentage of pre-1940 homes ranked 14th (3.9%) for the MSA. The median house age in the Charlotte MSA was 1985. The percentage of rental units ranked 11th-least heavily rental (33.5%) for the MSA. Compared to other locations, Charlotte had a higher poverty rate, ranking 36th (15.9%) for the entire MSA.
Positive Findings:
Compared to the national average, the Charlotte metro area had better basic housing quality with fewer moderate or severe physical problems and instances of broken plaster or peeling paint, incomplete plumbing, sewage disposal breakdowns, and water leaks from outside or inside. Outside the Charlotte central city area, homes were statistically less likely to have incomplete plumbing, or room heaters lacking flues. Rental homes were of higher basic housing quality than the national average and were less likely to have broken plaster or peeling paint, signs of rodents, water leaks from inside, incomplete plumbing, sewage disposal breakdowns, and room heaters without a flue. Owner-occupied homes had fewer issues with water leaks from outside, incomplete plumbing, and room heaters without flues.
Areas for Improvement:
Homes in the Charlotte metro area were more likely to have foundation or roofing problems, heating equipment breakdowns, and evidence of roaches. Homes outside the central city scored similarly but were also more likely to have open holes or cracks in the walls and more identified problems overall. Rental homes were more likely to have foundation, roofing, or window problems. Owner-occupied dwellings more identified problems and higher-than-average instances of roaches, open cracks or holes in walls, heating equipment breakdowns, and roofing or foundation problems. There was no central city data available.