The story
History
Before the arrival of European settlers, the area that is now Mecklenburg County was populated by the Catawba people. European settlers first arrived in about 1740.
Mecklenburg County was formed by English colonists in 1762 from the western part of Anson County, both in the Piedmont section of the state. It was named in commemoration of the marriage of King George III to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, for whom the county seat Charlotte is named. Due to unsure boundaries, a large part of south and western Mecklenburg County extended into areas that would later form part of the state of South Carolina. In 1768, most of this area (the part of Mecklenburg County west of the Catawba River) was designated Tryon County, North Carolina.
Determining the final boundaries of these "western" areas between North and South Carolina was a decades-long process. As population increased in the area following the American Revolutionary War, in 1792 the northeastern part of Mecklenburg County was taken by the North Carolina legislature for Cabarrus County. Finally, in 1842 the southeastern part of Mecklenburg County was combined with the western part of Anson County to form Union County.
The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was allegedly signed on May 20, 1775, and if the document is genuine, Mecklenburg County was the first part of the Thirteen Colonies to declare independence from Great Britain. The "Mecklenburg Resolves" were adopted on May 31, 1775. Mecklenburg continues to celebrate the declaration each year in May, the date of which is included on the flag of North Carolina.
The first gold rush in the United States, the Carolina Gold Rush, began after a 12-year-old boy named Conrad Reed discovered a gold nugget in a stream in neighboring Cabarrus County. Many miners and merchants began settling in the county during that time. The first United States branch mint was established in 1837 in Charlotte and continued operations until 1913. The original building was moved from its original site and redeveloped as a museum.
In 1917, during World War I, Camp Greene was established west of Charlotte as an army training camp. In 1919, after the end of WWI, it was decommissioned. Around the 1930s and 1940s, the population began to rapidly increase. During this time, Carolinas Medical Center and Charlotte College (now the University of North Carolina at Charlotte) were built. Lake Norman was also completed in 1964, after a five-year construction period.
In the mid-20th century, the county continued to see rapid growth. Many new government buildings were constructed, and Charlotte Douglas International Airport was expanded in 1954. By 1960, a quarter million people were living in the county, with the population reaching half a million by 1990. A proposal to form a consolidated city-county government with Charlotte was considered, but voted down by residents in 1971. The metropolitan statistical area now includes 11 counties in both North Carolina and South Carolina, and had an estimated combined population of 2,805,115 in 2023.
In mid-2020, the county was the site of the 2020 Colonial Pipeline oil spill, wherein about 2,000,000 U.S. gal (7,600,000 L) of gasoline leaked from the Colonial Pipeline in the Oehler Nature Preserve near Huntersville. It is one of the largest gasoline spills in U.S. history, and cleanup efforts are expected to last for several years.
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2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,115,482. The median age was 35.1 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 46.7% White, 29.6% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 6.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 8.7% from some other race, and 7.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 15.2% of the population.
99.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.8% lived in rural areas.
There were 448,814 households in the county, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.3% were married-couple households, 20.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 478,966 housing units, of which 6.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 54.4% were owner-occupied and 45.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.7%.
2024 ACS
Recent data from the 2024 ACS 1-year estimates show that Mecklenburg County's population total is now 1,206,285, with 486,412 households. The percent of females in the population is 51.7%, and the percent of males is 48.3%, with a ±0.1% margin of error.
Mecklenburg County has a larger female population than male population, as is the case worldwide, and, similarly to global trends, the gap between the male and female populations is decreasing. According to the 2020 ACS 5-year estimates, the female population was 568,717, and the male population was 526,453. This means the populations differ by 42,264. In 2024, the female population is estimated at 623,680, and the male population is estimated at 583,605. This means the populations differ by 40,075, a significantly smaller difference than in 2020. Though the 2020 estimates have a margin of error of ±119, and the 2024 estimates have a margin of error of ±283, the margins are not significant enough to undermine the general trend observed in the difference between the female and male populations.
Mecklenburg county has a significantly different racial profile than North Carolina on average. The ACS estimated 44.4% of Mecklenburg county identified as White, 29.3% Black or African American, 9.4% ‘Some Other Race’, 6.6% Asian, and 0.8% American Indian or Alaskan Native.
Whereas the ACS estimated all of North Carolina identified as 60.8% White, 19.8% Black or African American, 5.6% ‘Some Other Race’, 3.6% Asian, 1.2% American Indian and Alaskan Native, and 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.
2000 census
At the 2000 census, there were 695,454 people, 273,416 households, and 174,986 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,322 people per square mile (510 people/km2). There were 292,780 housing units at an average density of 556 units per square mile (215 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 64.02% White, 27.87% Black or African American, 0.35% American Indian/Alaska Native, 3.15% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.01% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. 6.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 273,416 households, out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.70% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.00% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the county, 25.10% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.70% was from 18 to 24, 36.40% from 25 to 44, 20.30% from 45 to 64, and 8.60% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $50,579, and the median income for a family was $60,608. Males had a median income of $40,934 versus $30,100 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,352. About 6.60% of families and 9.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.50% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.
From Wikipedia’s article on Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4