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DiscoverCharlotte

Your local market guide.

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Charlotte is one of the fastest-growing cities in America.Forbes

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Charlotte, the largest city in the Carolinas, is home to over 2.6 million people and is the 17th largest city in the United States. Since 2011 the Charlotte region has added 217,000 people or 43,000 people year. We are expected to reach over 3 million by 2030. With a surging population and job growth averaging 50,000 new jobs per year, Charlotte is positioned as one of the most sought-after locations to live and work. Known as the third largest banking center in the nation, Charlotte is also home to the nation’s largest utilities provider, Duke Energy, and is a rapidly growing technology and back office destination. North and South Carolina’s pro-business legislation and relatively low cost of living have proven to be major drivers for corporate relocations and expansions in the area.

An ever-growing city

Charlotte

county metropolitan region - NC and SC

largest U.S. city by population and rankU.S. Census Bureau

4th fastest growing metropolitan in the U.S.

2.6million residents

Contents

01 Business 4

Employment 6

02 Accessibility 8

03 Living 10

Education 11

10 17th

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The Charlotte MSA offers businesses the opportunity to capitalize on the exceptional growth that is occurring in the Southeastern United States. With a diverse employment base, many companies are choosing Charlotte as their corporate or regional headquarters. The pro-business nature of the Carolinas continues to drive organic growth and relocations.

BusinessWhy companies choose Charlotte

“We are delighted that we were able to find the ideal site for our new headquarters right here in the greater Charlotte region, and the Lash Group looks forward to enjoying continued growth and success here in South Carolina.” ˗ Tracy Foster, President

“Charlotte has been an incredible place for us to attract and maintain top talent to continue to drive our record-breaking year-over-year growth, and provide a world class experience for our more than 5,000 customers.” ˗ Michael Praeger, CEO and co-founder

“Our continued investment in the Charlotte region centers around attracting and retaining the best talent.”˗ Ric Elias, CEO and co-founder

Top 3 employment sectors• Finance

• Manufacturing

• Technology

AvidXchange

Red Ventures

Fortune 500 Headquarters in Charlotte• Bank of America

• Lowe’s

• Duke Energy

• Nucor

• Sonic Automotive

• Sealed Air*

One of the lowest costs of business than any other major U.S. metropolitan areaWhen it comes to cost of doing business, you can’t get much more affordable than Charlotte in comparison to other major metropolitan areas, thanks to the region’s business-friendly tax approach. The largest corporate expenses, labor and rent, are well below other major markets, making the region an attractive place to expand or relocate major operations.

Charlotte was named #5 Top Metro for starting a business in America, beating out Raleigh, NC; Dallas, TX; and Atlanta, GA. The unemployment rate in Charlotte (4.4%) is below the national average, while the average salary is above that of the national average - all good indicators of the cost of doing business.

United States growth state(May 2016, U-Haul)

Growth in number of businesses

(Sept. 2015, Wallethub)

Fastest growing large cities(March 2015, U.S. Census Bureau)

Most connected airport in the U.S.(TheStreet.com)

Real estate market to watch(Oct. 2015, PWC and Urban

Land Institute)

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Foreign owned companies in Metro Charlotte

Highest headquarters concentration in the U.S.

950+ 10th

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

Fortune 500 companies have locations in Charlotte(Charlotte Chamber) 291

*Sealed Air is the largest corporate headquarters relocation in Charlotte history, in terms of jobs and investment (Charlotte Observer, 2014)

“We are energized by Charlotte’s vibrancy and believe our business is well matched for the community. We believe being in Charlotte and the region will also help us attract talented individuals to the firm.” ˗ David Booth, co-CEO and co-founder

Dimensional Fund Advisors

Lash Group/AmerisourceBergen

Source: Moody’s Cost of Doing Business Index

Cost of Doing Business

160

120

105

102

101

99

94

94

93

90

89

86

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

New York

Boston

Philadelphia

Seattle

Austin

Chicago

Dallas

Denver

Phoenix

Atlanta

Kansas City

Charlotte

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Charlotte MSA Largest Employers Relocations and Expansions (Last 4 years)

Projected job growth

Charlotte long known for being a banking hub is continuing to see diversity in its employment mix. Longstanding giants, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, are now competing with healthcare, technology and manufacturing growth in Charlotte.

Over the last four years, 16,766 new jobs have been created due to relocations or expansions in Charlotte, NC.

35,000 3,000

23,000 2,400

314

16,100 1,700

314

15,000 1,500

300

11,000 1,500

250

9,900 1,500

228

9,078 1,400

200

8,239 630

200

7,801 580

200

7,800 350

200

Carolinas Healthcare LPL Financial /2014

/2014

/2014

/2016

/2016

/2014

/2014

/2014

/2014

/2016

/2016

/2016

/2016

/2014

/2014

/2016

/2016

/2015

/2014

Employers CompanyNumber of Employees Number of Jobs / Year Announced

Wells Fargo Lash Group

Lending Tree

Wal-Mart Stores Giti Tire

Dimensional Fund Advisors

Bank of America Corporation CompuCom

Piedmont Airlines

Novant Health Inc. Red Ventures

Spectra Group

American Airlines MetLife

GKN Driveline

Delhaize America Inc. (Food Lion) Sealed Air

Jeld-Wen

Harris Teeter AvidXchange

Printful

Lowe’s Companies Inc. Red Ventures

TTI Floor Care

Duke Energy Corporation Republic Services

Velocity

EmploymentDiverse employment growth

State with top business climate(Chief Executive Magazine, 2015)

Unemployment rate as of March 2017(U.S. Department of Labor)

#34.4% 3.7% Forbes projects that job growth

in Charlotte will average 3.7% annually over the next three years

Source: Charlotte Chamber

Charlotte has seen a 23% increase in jobs over the last seven years, resulting in the region now having over 1.2 million employees. From 2012-2017 the Charlotte region added an additional 225,000 jobs, averaging 37,000 new jobs per year.

Professional Manufacturing + Construction

Services

65% 21% 14%

800,000

900,000

1,000,000

1,100,000

1,200,000

1,300,000

1,400,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Num

ber o

f Job

s

Year

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Strong transportation infrastructure• Intersection of three interstates: I-77, I-85, I-40 provide

direct access across all points north, south, east and west

• Two beltways around entire Metro Charlotte: Loops I-485, and I-277

Ongoing expansion

The 9-mile Lynx Light Rail connection serves the Greater Charlotte area with 25,000 daily passengers, beginning at I-485/South Blvd Station in Pineville and traveling through South End to Uptown.

An additional 9.3 miles of the Lynx Gold Line extension are currently under construction to connect Uptown to the University area. Upon completion, the Light Rail will total 18.6 miles of service, and 26 total stations for 18.6 miles of congestion-free commuting.

• Six rail lines in Charlotte, with links to 22 states in the eastern United States.

• 25,000 daily Lynx Light Rail passengers

Accessibility

485

85

77

277

Highways: I-77, I-85, I-485

LYNX Red Line*

LYNX Blue Line

CityLYNX Gold Line*

LYNX Silver Line*

*Proposed transit lines to be completed by 2031

Charlotte Douglas International Airport

• #6 busiest airport in the U.S., with 715 non-stop flights and more than 159 nonstop destinations (April 2015)

• 4th most connected airport in the U.S.

• All major cities on the East Coast can be accessed within 2 hour flight time

• 674 daily departures

• 2 hour plane ride from 60% of the U.S. population

Easy port connection to the rest of the nation

The Port of Charleston is the busiest container port along the Southeast and Gulf coasts, located nearly 210 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Charleston Harbor is being deepened to 52 feet to meet the depth requirements of the largest container ships that call into Charleston; this will allow all post-panamax ships to be served 24 hours a day. The deepening project is expected to be complete by 2020. Once completed, the Port of Charleston will be the deepest port on the East Coast.

Non-stop flights to every major American city

Seattle

San Fransisco

Los Angeles

Phoenix

Salt Lake City

Denver

Chicago

Atlanta

NashvilleWashington D.C.

Charlotte DouglasInternational Airport

Charlotte

Philadelphia

New York

Boston

Dallas

Houston

Miami

Orange CountySan Diego

Source: Charlotte Observer

Source: Cltflightmaps.com

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A Charlotte resident earning an annual salary of $50,000 would have to earn the following to maintain a similar quality of life.

218 days of sunshine

Average high temperature

Exploring nearby

Experiencing Charlotte Sports• More than 17,600+ miles of parks

available for public use

• 37 miles of greenway space

• 30+ golf courses

• 1 amusement park

Living in Charlotte• 925,667

Total households

• $76,302 Average household income

• 2.15% Median household income growth expectation over the next 5 years

• $1,065 Median rental rate

• 5.75% Personal income tax rate

Fastest growing multifamily submarket in the nation (MPF Research, 2016)#1

71°F

US National Whitewater Center

2 hour drive: Appalachian mountains

3 hour drive: Nearest beach

Football (NFL)

Baseball (MLB AAA)

Lacrosse (NLL)

Basketball (NBA)

Hockey (AHL)

NASCAR

Living

Carolinas PanthersVenue capacity: 75,412

Charlotte KnightsVenue capacity: 10,200

Charlotte HoundsVenue capacity: 21,000

Charlotte HornetsVenue capacity: 20,200

Charlotte CheckersVenue capacity: 8,600

NASCAR Hall of FameCharlotte Motor SpeedwayVenue capacity: 94,000

Source: AACRA Cost of Living Index, Q2 2017

One of the lowest costs of living among other similarly sized East Coast cities

Charleston 54,857

New York120,274

Washington D.C. 78,669

Boston78,088

Miami58,553

Charlotte 50,000

Atlanta 52,111

High-quality colleges and universitiesMore than 100,000 students are enrolled in one of the numerous, educational institutions in Charlotte, including but not limited to:

Fall 2016 total enrollment: 27,983

Fall 2016 total enrollment:6,031

Fall 2016 total enrollment: 4,329

UNC Charlotte

UNCC

WU

GWU

Davidson College

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Queens University of Charlotte

Winthrop University

Gardner-Webb University

• Named to U.S. News Top 10 Southern Public Schools and Best Colleges for Veterans

• Winthrop was named to Money Magazine’s “Best Colleges” in terms of value

• The University was recently ranked ninth MBA Program in the world

• Gardner-Webb is named #1 Online MBA for Veterans in the Carolinas

• UNC Charlotte has the largest undergraduate population in the state of North Carolina

• 1,000-acre wooded campus is located in the state’s largest metropolitan area

• 77 bachelor’s, 62 master’s, and 23 doctoral degree programs offered through seven colleges

• UNCC’s undergraduate business programs rank in the top 24 percent nationwide, according to the 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges

• Low 14:1 student teacher ratio

• Offers 35 majors and 34 minors

• First liberal arts college to eliminate loans in financial aid packages

• Competes in 21 NCAA Division I sports

• Alma mater to 23 Rhodes Scholars

• Low 12:1 student to faculty ratio

• 71% of classes have less than 20 students

• Ranked 16th Best Buy in the South by U.S. News and World Report

• Top 1% among small, private business schools in the nation

• Largest community college in North Carolina

• Over 1,800 associates degrees awarded in Visual and Performing Arts

• Nearly 300 associates degrees awarded in Health Professions

• Affordable, in-state tuition of less than $3,000 per year

Wingate University

Central Piedmont Community College

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Talent pipeline

Degrees Awarded

Institutions* Enrollment Bachelors Masters PHD

UNC Charlotte 27,983 4987 1660 126

Winthrop University 6,031 959 327

Gardner-Webb University 4,329 639 410 75

Wingate University 3,149 362 132 154

Queens University 2,286 348 192

Lenoir-Rhyne University 2,221 227 205

Davidson College 1,784 459

Pfeiffer University 1,624 189 278

Johnson C. Smith University 1,438 268 34

Catawba College 1,275 255 3

Limestone College 1,262 149

Total 53,382 8,842 3,241 355

Public Community Colleges* Enrollment

Central Piedmont Community College 19,394

Gaston College 5,582

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College 5,180

York Technical College 4,753

Catawba Valley Community College 4,571

Mitchell Community College 3,024

Cleveland Community College 2,666

Stanley Community College 2,644

University of South Carolina-Lancaster 1,722

Total 49,556

Number of Graduates: Key Programs

Program Bachelors Masters PHD

Engineering 529 241

Environmental Science 22

Computer Sciences 417 373

Life/Biological Sciences 445 10

Mathematics 152 39 6

Physics/Astronomy 43

Business/Finance/Accounting 1729 551 5

Total 49,536

*Four Year Institutions within a 50 mile radius of zip 28209 Source: National Center for Education Statistics Notes

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Charlotte

JLL Charlotte

4201 Congress Street, Suite 300 jll.com/charlotteCharlotte, North Carolina 28209 +1 704 943 2300

©2017 Jones Lang LaSalle IP, Inc. All rights reserved. All information contained herein is from sources deemed reliable; however, no representation or warranty is made to the accuracy thereof.