EXPERIENCEMEET THE MOMENTUM MEET CHARLOTTE CHARLOTTE CHARLOTTE IS DYNAMIC SEE WHY MAJOR COMPANIES TAP INTO CHARLOTTE’S ENERGY TO ESTABLISH NEW HQS. MOMENTUM. Charlotte teems with activity. This is a city that is luring new residents by the day and major new corporate headquarters practically by the month. Why is Charlotte such a kinetic environment? The pillars of talent to propel healthy businesses, low cost of living to attract young workers, ENERGY. proactive city government to encourage innovative companies, and an environment that appeals to weekend adventurers and new families alike. CHARLOTTEIt’s a city that works hard and plays well, with a booming corporate IS landscape that welcomes newcomers and makes them feel as if they’re DYNAMICPOSITIVITY. being ushered into an inclusive and highly desirable community. 02 CHARLOTTE IS DYNAMIC 06 INDUSTRIES 05 HEADQUARTERS & HISTORY 07 COMMERCE IN CHARLOTTE 09 TALENT & AFFORDABILITY 10 INNOVATION 11 EDUCATION & JOBS 12 UNIVERSITIES 14 CHARLOTTE LIVING 13 CHARLOTTECOMMUNITY-DRIVEN & WORLDIS CLASS 16 CHARLOTTE CULTURE 19 PUTTING CHARLOTTE 17 TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE BUSINESSES ON THE MAP TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE 21 RESILIENCE & RESOLVE 22 COMMUNITY RESPONSE DYNAMIC23 MOMENTUM & VISION 25 CONTACT US 04 CHARLOTTE’S HERITAGE FUELS ITS MOMENTUM Charlotte is a city built on commerce. Growing healthy, groundbreaking businesses is at the core of Charlotte’s DNA. The energy that flows through Charlotte’s business community starts with its students and young workforce and continues up to C-Suites. We are a city for leaders—in banking and fintech, pharma and engineering, energy and manufacturing. When a company wants to innovate and set standards, it makes Charlotte its HQ. In fact, Charlotte has double the national average of people working in headquarters operations. HEADQUARTERS HEADQUARTERSAND HISTORY BY THE NUMBERS HISTORY 18 425 NO. 1 FORTUNE 1000 NATIONAL & GLOBAL STATE FOR BUSINESS HEADQUARTERS Headquarters (Forbes, 2019) in the Charlotte region A CITY OF INDUSTRY TARGET INDUSTRIES TARGET OPERATIONS The office buildings and warehouses of Charlotte bustle FINANCE HEADQUARTERS with activity. Buttoned-down bankers collaborate with freewheeling fintech experts changing the future of TECHNOLOGY CUSTOMER SERVICE & finance, fueling the momentum of America’s fastest BACK OFFICE SUPPORT up-and-coming tech scene. Start-ups buzz with new TRANSPORTATION ideas about everyday living in these new times. & LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL FIRMS Companies manufacture goods to fulfill the needs of American and global consumers from their home bases in Charlotte. ADVANCED STARTUPS & They have access to superior transportation options, well- MANUFACTURING ENTREPRENEURS located warehouse space and real estate, and an economic development team that puts business first. Today, Charlotte is a diverse network of businesses in an interconnected, HEADQUARTERSgrowing city, a city that shines brighter every day. “ The one factor that was most important was just livability. A desirable location. A place you’re going to be able to recruit HISTORYtalent. A place people are going HQ + HISTORY to say, Yes, I want to be there.” —Darius Adamczyk CEO of Honeywell (in Charlotte Business Journal) 06 Sources: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Bank of America, Wikipedia 1755 1763 1768 1780 1835 1852 1874 Surveyor Thomas Polk builds Mecklenburg County is Charlotte is A skirmish during the The Carolina Gold Rush The Charlotte and Bank of America’s a house at an Indigenous formed, named in honor of chartered, taking American Revolutionary of the early 1800s leads South Carolina oldest heritage bank American trading crossroads the hometown of King George its name from the War, the Battle of Charlotte, to the establishment Railroad opens, in Charlotte, the that eventually becomes III’s wife, Charlotte Sophia Queen of England takes place on what is of the Charlotte Mint, establishing the city as Commercial National Trade and Tryon in what is of Mecklenburg-Strelitz now the site of the Bank approved by President a center of commerce Bank of Charlotte, now the heart of Uptown and Queen of England of America Tower Andrew Jackson is founded CHARLOTTE POPULATION GROWTH HEADQUARTERS1950 // 1960 // 1970 // 1980 // 197,052 615,714 741,118 855,482 1983 1991 1999 2000 2004 2007 Now CEO of NCNB, McColl NCNB acquires a newly merged Charlotte Area Transit System is AvidXchange, a pioneer in what came The start of Charlotte’s most Charlotte’s light rail bank with ties to Norfolk and HISTORYto be known as fintech, is founded in prolific population boom—for the system opens, the first makes a series of acquisitions founded; today, it’s the largest of smaller banks from Atlanta, and the new entity public transit system between Charlotte, later becoming the city’s first next decade, Charlotte will be the and only light rail line around the United States becomes NationsBank Washington DC and Atlanta unicorn, valued at $1 billion and employing fastest-growing city in the nation in the state, creating 2,400 through an HQ expansion in 2018 over $2.5 billion of private investment along the route COMMERCE IS IN OUR DNA 1893 1908 1927 1936 1958 1974 Atherton Cotton Union National Bank opens in Charlotte, Branch of US Charlotte Municipal Airport opens; it The first section of I-85 opens At age 39, Hugh McColl Mill opens, helping growing as the city’s railroads and Government’s Federal becomes Charlotte Douglas International in Mecklenburg County, a step becomes President establish Charlotte’s textile industry boom; the bank Reserve opens, bringing Airport in 1982 and is now the 7th busiest in connecting Charlotte to of North Carolina textile industry eventually purchases Wachovia and prestige to Charlotte airport in the world by aircraft movement Atlanta, Durham and beyond National Bank rebrands under that name, then is acquired by Wells Fargo in 2008 HEADQUARTERS1990 // 2000 // 2010 // 2020 // 1,024,643 1,330,448 2,217,012 2,657,910* *2019 Projection 2008 2014 2016 2018 2019 2019 2020 HQ + HISTORY The global financial crisis Fortune 500 Lending Tree makes several Fortune 77 company, BB&T and Suntrust Lowe’s announces Centene announces East HISTORYtakes its toll on Charlotte, company, Sealed Air, acquisitions, expanding merge and become Charlotte as home for Honeywell, announces Coast HQ and 3,000+ jobs, as locally headquartered announces relocation its presence in business, global headquarters Truist, selecting its global technology the largest addition of jobs Wachovia becomes a of headquarters personal, student and other relocation to Charlotte Charlotte as its hub, adding over 2,000 by an incoming company casualty and is absorbed to Charlotte loans, then announces headquarters new technology jobs in the state’s history by Wells Fargo a $47 million Charlotte expansion and doubling of its local employee base COMMERCE IS IN OUR DNA 08 THE PLACE TO BE FOR A YOUNG, AMBITIOUS WORKFORCE Young workers gravitate toward Charlotte in search of good jobs, affordable living and a connection to friends and family. Between 2012 and 2017, 20% of the city’s total population growth was people in their 20s—the second such highest growth rate in the nation. This talent pool feeds Charlotte’s top AND industries. These companies benefit from highly TALENT educated and innovative talent eager to work at a cost that is more affordable than in our peer cities. Salaries simply stretch further in Charlotte, keeping employers and employees happy and engaged. What makes Charlotte the third fastest-growing big TALENTcity in the U.S.? The businesses that create jobs, AFFORDABILITY yes, and affordability—ranked at 2% below the average national cost of living. This combination attracts 120 people per day to the Queen City. BY THE NUMBERS “ Charlotte has proven to be a huge win in terms of attracting talent nationally. Charlotte is seen as having 120 NO. 3 NO. 1 43% a very attractive cost-of-living, climate PEOPLE people FASTEST-GROWING BEST STATE for OF CHARLOTTEANS and geographic set of factors.” move to the Charlotte Big City (U.S. Census, 2019) Businesses and have a Bachelor’s Degree region per day Careers (Forbes, 2019) or Higher (EMSI, 2020) —Aaron Marcus Head of Global Human Resources, Dimensional FundAFFORDABILITY Advisors INNOVATION HAPPENS HERE The status quo won’t fly in Charlotte. This is a city of innovators and always has been, from textile pioneers who transformed this from a mill town to banking and energy executives and workers who built Uptown. Technology and start-up business incubators thrive here, in a city where hackathons to solve upward mobility are as ubiquitous as food trucks. It’s a city that encourages entrepreneurs young and old. TALENT Charlotte is where innovation happens. TALENT + AFFORDABILITY TALENT $315K $1,150 2% NO. 1 NO. 1 AVERAGE home cost AVERAGE RENT for 2BR LOWER COST OF LIVING than TECH TALENT FOR STEM GROWTH (Realtor.com, 2020) apartment (Apartment List, 2019) the national average (C2ER, 2020) GROWTH (CBRE, 2019) (RCLCO, 2020) AFFORDABILITY 10 “Charlotte has a lot going for it—strong businesses and universities, a strong health- care and service sector. It’s been one of the most exciting markets to watch grow. The EDUCATIONAND common thread amongst any quality organization is its people...You’re really starting to see the investment flourish.” —Greg Carmichael JOBSEDUCATION Chairman, President and CEO, Fifth Third Bancorp BY THE NUMBERS 24,000 NO. 3 17% DEGREES and certifications conferred by colleges METRO for attracting JOB GROWTH in last 5 Years & universities in the Charlotte region (EMSI, 2020) JOBStech talent (CBRE, 2020) (EMSI, 2020) UNIVERSITIES FUEL A TOP-TIER TALENT SUPPLY Map Source: Charlotte Regional Business Alliance Charlotte is at the center of an education super-region with 24 top-tier universities within a 200-mile radius, training the next generation of workers—many of whom look to start their careers in Charlotte. The growth of tech, an influx of headquarters and a favorable business climate have made Charlotte a top-5 center for job creation, and recent graduates and millennial transplants flock to neighborhoods like South End and Uptown to experience 23 one of the top-rated big cities for low cost of living in the U.S.