Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is a major city in North Carolina near the border of South Carolina. It fills up most of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Other towns and cities nearby are Pineville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, and Gastonia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 540,828. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County⁶.

Uptown Charlotte (Charlotteans refer to the city's business center as "uptown" instead of "downtown") was built on the gunnies of the St. Catherine's and Rudisill gold mines, and is a banking center, with Wachovia (nee First Union) and other banks having headquarters here. It is not uncommon for a builder digging a basement to break into the gunnies and have to pour several tons of cement to fill the hole.

Charlotte has Freedom Park, Park Road Park, and a system of greenways, park areas which can be used by pedestrians and bicyclists.

Religion Of those who practice a religion, most Charlotteans are Christian, of various denominations. There are also Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. Churches are all over the city; synagogues (Temple Beth El, Reform, Temple Israel, Conservative, and one of the Orthodox ones) are located in Shalom Park, on Providence Road. The Hindus meet at the Hindu Center at the end of a dead-end street off Independence Boulevard near Idlewild Road.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 629.0 km² (242.9 mi²). 627.5 km² (242.3 mi²) of it is land and 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.25% water.

Demographics Besides the usual mix of white and black, there are sizable populations of Hispanics, Indians (largely Gujarati), and a few Russians.

As of the census of 2000, there are 540,828 people, 215,449 households, and 132,285 families residing in the city. The population density is 861.9/km² (2,232.4/mi²). There are 230,434 housing units at an average density of 367.2/km² (951.2/mi²).

Charlotte's population is ethnically diverse. The racial makeup of the city is 58.26% White (including some Russians and Poles), 32.72% African American, 0.34% Native American, 3.41% Asian (including Indians (largely Gujarati), Chinese, and Vietnamese), 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.56% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. 7.36% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 215,449 households out of which 30.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% are married couples living together, 13.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% are non-families. 29.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.45 and the average family size is 3.07.

In the city the population is spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $46,975, and the median income for a family is $56,517. Males have a median income of $38,767 versus $29,218 for females. The per capita income for the city is $26,823. 10.6% of the population and 7.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 13.8% are under the age of 18 and 9.7% are 65 or older.