Charlotte area makes national and state "best of" lists

Charlotte, NC
Photo by Julie Legge

We've noticed that the Charlotte area is being ranked nationally by some big names - and against some big city competition. Here's a run-down of some of these lists:

* Charlotte: #8 for America's Fastest Growing Cities by Forbes (2/14/14).

The magazine "assessed the estimated rates of population growth for 2013 and 2014, year-over-year job growth for 2013, and the rate of gross metro product growth—a.k.a. the economic growth rate–for 2013. We also considered federal unemployment data and median salaries for local college-educated workers, courtesy of Payscale.com. The result is a list of the 20 fastest growing metro areas in America in terms of population and economy."

* Charlotte: #10 for Happiest Cities to Work In The U.S. by CareerBliss.com (2/11/14).

The job-hunting web site considered "opportunity for growth, relationship with boss and colleagues and working environment in at least 100 reviews by employees."

* Charlotte: #3 Best Buy Cities: Where to Invest in America by Forbes (12/26/14)

To come up with their list, Forbes and Local Market Monitor ranked cities with a population over 575,000 on population growth, relatively low home prices, and growth of the local jobs economy.

* Ballantyne: #5 Most Popular Neighborhoods of 2013 by Realtor.com (12/16/13).

The web site search engine, operated by the National Association of Realtors ranked Ballantyne as the #5 most searched zip code in America for 2013.

* Marvin, NC: #1 Best Place to Live in North Carolina by a Yahoo! News Writer (1/6/11)

This is one of our favorite articles because Marvin truly is a great place to live! The Yahoo! news group looked at three main factors when choosing their list: "(1) median household income (adjusted for cost of living); (2) educational attainment (% of residents 25 years and over who have earned a bachelor's degree or higher); and (3) property crime rates per 1,000 residents (burglary and automobile thefts)."