For the last few years, the reverse migration has been in full swing, with Black Americans leaving major cities in the North to move Down South, to cities like Charlotte.
During the Great Migration more than 6 million Black Americans moved from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest and West from about 1916 to 1970, according to History.com. Now the reverse is happening and many Black Americans are moving to Charlotte, NC.
Here are seven things to know.
1. Charlotte is among the cities with the largest Black population growth
The largest African American population growth has been in less populated cities such as Fort Worth; Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; and Charlotte, North Carolina. Each of these cities have gained between 32,000 and 40,000 new Black residents from 2010 to 2020, according to 2020 census figures, WSOCTV reported.
2. Something special about North Caroline
According to Bloomberg, “there’s something special about North Carolina. Its two biggest cities, Charlotte and Raleigh, have quietly succeeded in doing relatively well by their Black residents. Raleigh especially stands out.”
3. Black Americans do better in Charlotte
While the median African-American household income is $38,555, which is about one-third less than the median for all Americans, in Charlotte Black household income is higher than in most other big cities.
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4. Easier path to homeownership in Charlotte for Black Americans
Study after study has found that Black Americans are far more likely to be denied mortgages. A recently study by online real estate firm Zillow found the same.
But there are programs in Charlotte trying to help residents achieve the American dream by owning their homes.
“In Charlotte right now, homeownership among people of color has dropped,” Julie Porter, the president of DreamKey Partners, told WCNC. “For white folks, it’s about 77%. For Black and Hispanic people, it’s in the low 40s.”
To counter this, there are several programs to promote Black homeownership.
According to Porter, there is a push to create more opportunities for people of color to own a home by creating more affordable housing and offering down payment loan options through the House Charlotte Program.
“Homeownership is one of the keys right now because rents keep rising,” Porter said. “People keep saying, ‘my rent went up this much or that much,’ but your mortgage will always stay the same.
5. South is attractive to Black Americans
Black Americans who now call the South home has risen since 1990, the Washington Post reported. And it’s not just in Charlotte. Take Atlanta, for example, the Black population in metro Atlanta more than doubled between 1990 and 2020, Black Enterprise reported.
And in Charlotte, the Black population more than doubled in the Charlotte metro area.
6. Charlotte is booming
There are many industries booming in Charlotte, which is now one of the most economically and socially stable cities in the U.S., according to real estate company Henderson Properties. It is home to many Fortune 500 companies, such as Bank of America, Honeywell, Duke Energy, and Wells Fargo. Charlotte.
7. Charlotte has a lower cost of living
Charlotte’s cost of living is about 9 percent lower than the national average, according to Henderson Properties. Charlotte has one of the most affordable, and utilities are notably less expensive than in other places, found PayScale.
Salary ranges from $40,000 to $82,000 in Charlotte.
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