What is the cost of living in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 97.3, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 97.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,138/month.

What is the median salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?

The median salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia is $70,931 annually (mean: $74,543). Top occupations include Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers.

How safe is Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?

The violent crime rate in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area is 365 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1930 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?

The state of NC has 2,703 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.8:1. Charter schools make up 7.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?

Infant center-based childcare in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area averages $9,487 per year. Preschool averages $6,548/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia a good place to relocate?

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia has a Life Score of 60.9/100 (C), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is an above-average score, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia ranks #131 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

BEA RPP 97.3 ranks #266 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

97.3
Cost index (US=100): $1,138
2BR rent / mo: $70,931
Median salary: 54.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia ranks #131 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (54.8/100), with its strongest marks in safety and housing.

#131
of 387 US metros · Above median: 11,046,024
metro-area population: 365
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,703
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (13/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia ranks #131 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 97.3 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,138/mo, median salary $70,931; LiveAbility Score 54.8/100, strongest in safety and housing.

Signature: BEA RPP 97.3 ranks #266 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 97.3 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,138/mo.

LiveAbility 54.8/100 keeps Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia in the middle third (#131 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area is 1,341,320.

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

55 Top 34% higher than 66% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia MSA; housing RPP 97.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,138/mo.

Studio

$785

/month

1 Bedroom

$867

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,138

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,364

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,654

/month

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia wages and employment

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia posts 1,341,320 total employment with median salary $70,931 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$70,931

Mean Salary

$74,543

Total Employment

1,341,320

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$38,850
Retail Salespersons	$33,580
Cashiers	$29,610
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,880
Registered Nurses	$90,620

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area from NCES.

Schools

2,703

Enrollment

1,544,406

Student:Teacher

15.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$9,487

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,856

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,548

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia's composite Life Score is 60.9/100 (C), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

31/100

Weak

Wages

69/100

Strong

Rent

75/100

Strong

Crime

95/100

Elite

Schools

58/100

Above average

Childcare

60/100

Above average

Environment

34/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia ranks #131 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 54.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (95/100)

Safety

95
Housing

75
Job market

69
Climate

69
Low hazard

43
Schools

42
Cost of living

31
Air quality

13

What this shows Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia's strongest dimensions are safety and housing; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 13/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia to

Cedar Rapids Chambersburg Champaign-Urbana Charleston-North Charleston Charleston Charlottesville

Metros near Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia runs a $70,931 median salary at a 97.3 cost index, ranking #131 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.