Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · North Carolina

Real estate businesses in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area

The real estate businesses in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #294 of 387 scored metro areas
#10 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina

Listings
4,825
272 chain locations (6%)
Official establishments
3,767
+21.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$17.3B
On rent and homeowner costs · $16,104 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
83
17% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
44.8
16% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,938,830
+10.1% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area is 39 (lower middle), #294 of 387 scored metro areas and #10 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 4,825 real estate businesses in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. 272 of them (6%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. That is 44.8 per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.

At $16,104 per household (3% below the U.S. average), households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area spend about $17.3B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 17% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.

In 2023, official counts showed 3,767 businesses with payroll in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 21.3% from 2019. That is one for every 286 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 30 SBA-backed loans worth $9.9M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. Population estimates show the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area grew 10.1% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area compares

The same measures for North Carolina and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households44.837.838.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)8392100
Households per official establishment286378414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+21.3%+20.8%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.1%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$16,104$15,139$16,661
Median household income$83,304$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score3940

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3,767+21.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
15,455
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.2B
One-person businesses, 2023
15,743Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
4,825272 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
4,001The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
30
Amount
$9.9M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
2,938,830+10.1% since 2020
Households
1,076,260
Median age
39.0
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
5,598 sq. mi.
People per square mile
495
Median household income
$83,304+31.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$117,495
Median home value
$356,400
Jobs located here
1,400,944
Daytime population
2,846,416Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in North Carolina for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area marked.

Top metro areas in North Carolina

Metro areas in North Carolina ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Rocky Mount, NC6810117.3185+2.8%#43 of 387
2Winston-Salem, NC6370124.9134+5.3%#68 of 387
3Burlington, NC6318025.7129+8.5%#70 of 387
4Goldsboro, NC6311925.0128+3.8%#71 of 387
5Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC6229819.9163+3.2%#76 of 387
6Durham-Chapel Hill, NC5977331.1121+7.5%#103 of 387
7Greensboro-High Point, NC5291328.8116+4.1%#162 of 387
8Raleigh-Cary, NC403,05953.375+12.6%#283 of 387
9Greenville, NC3925534.293+5.4%#290 of 387
10Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC394,82544.883+10.1%#294 of 387

Other business types in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area?

There are 4,825 real estate businesses on map listings in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area as of September 2026. 272 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 3,767 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 21.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 15,743 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $17.3B a year, or $16,104 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 4,825 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 17% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,076,260 households in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area has 44.8 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 83, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area would have about 4,001, against 4,825 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 286 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 21.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area at 2,938,830 people in 2025, up 10.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,076,260 households. The median household income in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area is $83,304 a year, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.8% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area scores 39 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #294 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.