The 2020 distress ranking designations for the state of North Carolina are based on economic factors and the tiers determine eligibility for several state programs. The nine counties in the Centralina Region (Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, and Union) keep the same tier designations as in 2019. The North Carolina General Assembly…

Charlotte is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, but growth is not shared evenly in the region. Rural counties that are further from the urban core benefit less from the growth in the city and are losing population as a result. A regional approach and a belief that rural areas are valuable…

On September 10, 2019, the Centralina Economic Development District (CEDD) hosted a Disaster Recovery and Economic Resilience workshop designed for the Centralina counties that received a disaster declaration for Hurricanes Florence and Michael. Federal and State partners presented how they can assist with disaster recovery and other community needs. EDA investment assistance has become available…

As promised, our team at the Centralina EDD have powered our Interactive Data Portal with the most current economic, transportation, workforce, and community information to empower local leaders and stakeholders in their decision-making processes.  We recently updated several data tables in the Interactive data Portal. Check out the updates for: TOP 15 INDUSTRIES – Provides…

New website will serve as comprehensive tool The Trump Administration is utilizing a powerful new tool called Opportunity Zones to help revitalize distressed and diverse neighborhoods. Opportunity Zones were created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act with the goal of stimulating economic development and job creation in low-income communities by incentivizing long-term capital…

TOP 5 & BOTTOM 5 CITIES WITH THE BEST PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION       The City of Charlotte was ranked number 97 out of 100 in a recent transportation ranking by WalletHub. The study analyzed metrics related to the share of commuters who use public transit, their age, number of injuries, hours spent in traffic,…