Community Corner

Tired Of City Living? Here's A List Of Charlotte's Best Suburbs

If living in the city has you feeling a bit hemmed in, Charlotte's suburbs offer quality of life option. Here's a list of the top ones.

Kimberly Johnson, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Davidson, a small college town on the bank of Lake Norman home to its namesake school, Davidson College, is Charlotte's top suburb, according to Charlotte Magazine. Mooresville, an old textile manufacturing town currently seeing a development renaissance, is a close second.

The magazine ranked Queen City suburbs with help from a researcher and by turning a critical eye to statistics related to four categories: housing and employment, quality of life, diversity and vitality and school outcomes. Turns out, if you're tired of city living in Charlotte, there are plenty of options in the suburbs all within a range of a daily commute.
Davidson is ideal because of what’s missing, the magazine notes. There’s no sprawl, no drive-throughs allowed, and strict planning ordinances that keep Main Street picturesque. It’s downtown is “compact and walkable,” the article notes. Davidson's schools also came in as the best when it came to schools.

“Davidson is very intentional,” said Kim Fleming, Davidson’s economic development manager.

The small town feel isn’t exactly cheap, however. Davidson’s media sales price for homes is $287,000, the magazine said.

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The quaint downtown isn't the only top thing in the area. Davidson College, a private liberal arts college that sits right on Main Street, comes in as the top college in the South, according to Forbes.

Mooresville came in as the second in the rankings, noted for it's community investments, quality of life and low violent crime. Cornelius' historic mill homes and planned developments earned it a No. 4 spot in the rankings, followed up by Huntersville with its quiet neighborhoods and top-rated schools.

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Here is the entire list of Charlotte suburb rankings by Charlotte Magazine:

1. Davidson

2. Mooresville

3. Pineville

4. Cornelius

5. Huntersville

6. Harrisburg

7. Belmont

8. Fort Mill

9. Tega Cay/western York County

10. Concord

11. Matthews

12. Rock Hill

Image via Town of Davidson

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