October 7, 2026 – Inaugural State of the Region report reveals Charlotte-area strengths and concerns 

Inaugural State of the Region report reveals Charlotte-area strengths and concerns 
The Charlotte Urban Institute pairs local perspectives of life satisfaction with U.S. Census and other administrative data for a comprehensive view of regional well-being

New research released today by the Charlotte Urban Institute at UNC Charlotte shows that residents across the Charlotte region reported life satisfaction higher than the national average, while identifying housing affordability, financial security and uncertainty about the region’s future as key concerns.

The findings are the first from the State of Our Region, an annual effort that combines a scientifically designed resident survey with publicly accessible regional indicators to provide a complete picture of how people experience life across the region. The goal is to provide a clearer understanding of how residents across the Charlotte region are experiencing their lives, combining their perceptions with established, publicly available data and indicators. 

The Your Voices Carolina Regional Well-being Survey was conducted March 11-April 8, 2026, across the Institute’s 14-county region. The survey asked residents to report about life satisfaction, belonging, trust, financial outlook, housing, food security, safety, environmental concerns and community priorities.

The survey was administered in English and Spanish and received 4,000 responses. The results were weighted to represent the regional population, with 3,398 responses included in the final analysis.

Key findings from the inaugural survey include:

• Residents reported an average life satisfaction score of 7.4, higher than the U.S. average of 6.8. At the same time, one in four residents reported merely managing or struggling, with those challenges more common in Anson, Cleveland and Chester counties.
• Housing affordability was identified as the region’s most pressing issue by 60% of respondents, followed by crime (46%) and transportation (29%). While residents rated their own housing relatively highly (7.7/10), 76% viewed housing as unaffordable for the broader community.
• More than one-third (34%) of residents lacked confidence in their ability to cover an unexpected financial emergency. Women were significantly more likely than men to report having no confidence (43% compared with 25%).
• Only about one-quarter of respondents believed living conditions in the region would improve over the next three to four years.

View the complete findings and research methodology here.

“As the Charlotte region’s only R1 university, we are committed to putting our research to work for the people who live here,” said UNC Charlotte Chancellor Sharon Gaber. “The State of Our Region helps us understand where residents are doing well and where they are facing challenges. It gives community leaders information they can use to make better decisions and improve quality of life across our region.” 

Unlike traditional economic measures, the well-being survey captures experiences that cannot be measured through census or administrative data alone. Applied alongside such data, however, it provides information that can help community, government, business and nonprofit leaders and others determine the actions that will best serve their constituents. 

“Economic indicators remain essential, but they cannot fully capture people’s lived experiences,” said Lori Thomas, executive director of the Charlotte Urban Institute and Regional Data Trust. “By combining resident perspectives with publicly available regional data, the State of Our Region gives communities a shared baseline for understanding change over time as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead.”

The Institute’s 14-county region spans 11 counties in North Carolina — Anson, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly and Union — and three in South Carolina: Chester, Lancaster and York. The Carolinas Regional Explorer is a free public resource for exploring quality of life across the region, with data on economic trends, demographics, environmental factors, transportation and more. Users can also examine relationships between indicators to better understand how different aspects of life in the region intersect. An extension of Mecklenburg County, the City of Charlotte and the Institute’s Quality of Life Explorer, the platform provides an ongoing source of regional data for local governments, nonprofits, businesses, researchers, journalists and residents.

The survey was funded by The Gambrell Foundation and developed in partnership with the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen and UNC Charlotte faculty in the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences.

For more information about the State of Our Region, please visit ui.charlotte.edu/state-of-our-region.