City: Charlotte
State: North Carolina
Best Cities Overall Rank: 36
About Charlotte: Charlotte is also known as the Tar Heel State.
Charlotte is home to some of the finest schools, including 8 Blue Ribbon schools in 2003 to 2009, and also offers a pupil-teacher ratio of 14:3.
County: Mecklenburg
Population: 687,456
Official website for city visitors' bureau/city: Visitor's bureau website
Newspaper with the largest circulation: The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte blogs: Charlotte Smarty Pants, The Charlotte Observer Moms
Charlotte's Facebook page: Follow Charlotte on Facebook
Charlotte's Twitter page: Follow Charlotte on Twitter
Education rank: 5
High School graduation rate 2007: 73.79%
Blue Ribbon Schools, 2003-2009: 8
Blue Ribbon Schools per 100,000 people: 1.16
NEAYC-accredited preschools: 16
NAEYC schools per 100,000 people: 2.33
NAEP State proficiency reading, grade 8: 260
Pupil/Teacher Ratio: 14.3
Total Expenditures Per Student: $9,452
Health rank: 55
Quality children's hospitals: 2
Hospitals per 100,000 people: 0.29
Quality Pediatricians: 5
Quality Pediatricians per 100,000: 0.73
Average number of Unhealthy Air Quality days between 2006-2008, by county: 3.67
Safety rank: 48
Violent Crimes, 2008: 7070
Violent Crime Rate per 100,000: 1028.43
Sex Offenders: 581
Sex Offenders per 100,000: 84.51
Economy rank: 55
Travel time to work, 2006-2008, in minutes: 24.19
Percent of labor force unemployed, January 2010: 12.8
Best Performing Cities Job Index: 708.54
Median Home Sale Price: $164,700
5-Year Home Value Index: 1.33%
Percent of homes sold for a loss: 22.09%
Recreation Rank: 12
Parkland acreage, 2008 (includes pools and playgrounds): 17,982
Parkland per 100,000: 2615.73
