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Charlotte, North Carolina

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

Downtown Charlotte (billed as "Uptown Charlotte" by local boosters) was built on the gunnies of the St. Catherine's and Rudisill gold mines, and is a banking center, with Wachovia, the Bank of America, 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. The Charlotte skyline has recently grown from a few years ago and now it is home to the Bank of America Corporate Center which is the biggest building between Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Charlotte has Freedom Park, Park Road Park, and a system of greenways, park areas which can be used by pedestrians and bicyclists. Residents of Charlotte, North Carolina enjoy a quasi-Mediterranean climate (mild/rainy Winter and hot/dry Summer), with temperatures that remain mostly warm, pleasant, and sunny throuhgout the year.

History
Charlotte was founded in 1755 at the crossroads of two Native American trading paths. This crossroads would later become the center of modern downtown Charlotte, with the streets named "Tryon" and "Trade". Richard Vinroot was mayor of Charlotte from 1991 to 1995. Patrick McCrory succeeded him in office and, in 2002, won re-election to a fifth term in office.

Religion
Of those who practice a religion, most Charlotteans are Christian, of various denominations. There are also Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. Churches are located throughout the city. Synagogues (Temple Beth El, Reform, Temple Israel, Conservative, and an Orthodox congregation) are located in Shalom Park, on Providence Road. The Hindus meet at the Hindu Center off Independence Boulevard near Idlewild Road. The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America is headquartered in Charlotte.

Sports
Charlotte is home to the NFL Carolina Panthers since 1996. The NBA Charlotte Bobcats will begin play in 2004. The New Orleans Hornets played in Charlotte from 1988 until their move to New Orleans, Louisiana in 2002. The WNBA Charlotte Sting have played in Charlotte since 1997.

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
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.

Charlotte's commercial airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, is served by numerous airlines and is a fortress hub for USAirways. Nonstop flights are available to destinations across the eastern U.S. with some nonstop flights to the western U.S. and Europe.