Northerners can’t seem to stay away from Charlotte — but they aren’t alone

Northerners can’t seem to stay away from Charlotte — but they aren’t alone.

New Yorkers flocked to Charlotte during the pandemic. That number has continued to increase steadily, even with workers heading back into the office. They’re also increasingly coming from other large metros across the U.S.

A year ago, more people were basing their moving decisions on affordability. Now transplants are coming for jobs, according to several real estate agents who spoke to Axios Charlotte. 

So far in 2022, most Charlotte transplants are from the Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta metro areas, according to LinkedIn data compiled and analyzed by the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance®.

(Source: CLT Alliance analysis of LinkedIn data)

“Our airport is also a big drawing card for people who will continue to work in NY or Chicago but who prefer to live where life is more affordable,” relocation expert Suzanne Lail said.

Realtor.com shows similar data when looking at search traffic history toward the end of 2021: The most searches for homes in Charlotte from outside of Charlotte came from New York, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.

The CLT Alliance reported a sample of more than 2,000 people who changed their location to Charlotte from March 2021-March 2022 work in finance, banking and insurance. Researchers found about 973 people work in the tech industry, and an additional 773 people work in health care.

Dickens Mitchener’s relocation expert Catharine Pappas tells Axios there has been about a 48% increase in people moving to Charlotte over the last two years.

“Companies are expanding in Charlotte which is also pushing those corporate sponsored moves,” Pappas said.

Realtors have seen a seasonal increase in buyers, and business is more reminiscent of 2019 and pre-pandemic, she added.

Although transplants have been brought here for work, they seem to appreciate the area’s quality of life once they get here, Lail said.

“To those who have lived in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Atlanta, Charlotte is definitely more affordable,” Lail said. “Charlotte feels small and manageable, and it offers a wide variety of neighborhoods each with their own culture, flair, ambience, etc.”

Anecdotally, many of the realtors told Axios they have a lot of clients coming from Atlanta.

Compared to other mid-sized cities, Charlotte offers similar amenities at a fraction of the cost of living. Plus, the city is becoming more culturally diverse with more than 250,000 residents born in a different country.

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