Town · Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

Matthews, North Carolina

Matthews is a town in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, part of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area. It has 30,577 residents. Matthews, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 85 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,358 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #35 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on gyms and fitness centers (high), average weekly wage (high) and new business applications (high). It ranks worst on property crime rate (high), public libraries (low) and violent crime rate (high).

85Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,358 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #35 of 458 in NC
Population: 30,577 (2020-2024)
Land area: 17 mi²
Density: 1,786.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 3741960

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety15#13,340/15,637
Economy99#221/15,631
Housing66#5,034/14,977
Health87#2,047/15,609
Healthcare79#3,283/15,650
Environment33#10,387/15,453
Education84#2,459/15,649
Infrastructure85#2,416/15,650
Community76#3,727/15,651
Leisure & amenities93#1,042/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Matthews, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Mecklenburg County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Gyms and fitness centers · high2.5 /10k
98/100North Carolina 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMecklenburg County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,757
95/100North Carolina $1,376United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMecklenburg County value
New business applications · high24.5 /1k
95/100North Carolina 16.3 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMecklenburg County value
Child poverty rate · low4.8%
93/100North Carolina 16.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Adult obesity · low25.7%
92/100North Carolina 37.2%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poor or fair health · low12.2%
90/100North Carolina 19.6%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Property crime rate · high3,150 /100k
2/100North Carolina 1,780 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMecklenburg County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
5/100North Carolina 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMecklenburg County value
Violent crime rate · high505 /100k
10/100North Carolina 330 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMecklenburg County value
Homicide rate · high8.4 /100k
12/100North Carolina 6.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMecklenburg County value
Median Air Quality Index · high51
14/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMecklenburg County value
Drought exposure · high73%
20/100North Carolina 79%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMecklenburg County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.1× (2015-2019) → 4.1× (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$84,594 (2015-2019) → $108,611 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeImproving
28.9 min (2015-2019) → 25.2 min (2020-2024)
−13%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Poverty rateImproving
6.1% (2015-2019) → 3.7% (2020-2024)
−2.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
53.2% (2015-2019) → 55.2% (2020-2024)
+1.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
43.5% (2015-2019) → 45.4% (2020-2024)
+1.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Matthews, North Carolina improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Commute−3.7 min28.9 min → 25.2 min
Household income+28%$84,594 → $108,611

Declined1

Price / income+1.0×3.1× → 4.1×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Matthews, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	28.9 min2015-2019	25.2 min2020-2024	−3.7 min	Improved	84%
Bachelor's degree or higher	53.2%2015-2019	55.2%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Broadband subscriptions	91.4%2015-2019	92.2%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Child poverty rate	5.8%2015-2019	4.7%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Effective property tax rate	0.89%2015-2019	0.63%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	68%
High school diploma or higher	95.0%2015-2019	94.9%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	24%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4282015-2019	0.4202020-2024	−0.008	Within the margin of error	58%
Median household income	$84,5942015-2019	$108,6112020-2024	+28%	Improved	52%
Poverty rate	6.1%2015-2019	3.7%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Rent as share of income	27.3%2015-2019	28.3%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Rent-burdened households	43.5%2015-2019	45.4%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Unemployment rate	3.3%2015-2019	2.1%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.6%2015-2019	7.6%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	58%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Matthews, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Matthews, North Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Matthews, North Carolina itself moved −1.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

30,577 residents (±94)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

11,864 households (±460)

Matthews, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k5.2%616
$25k–50k15%1,789
$50k–75k15%1,800

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

11,864 households (±460)

Matthews, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own64%7,643
Rent36%4,221

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−7.3 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

15,929 workers (±854)

Matthews, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone70%11,129
Carpool9.9%1,574
Public transit0.2%†36

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Mecklenburg County, the county holding most of Matthews's residents.

Mecklenburg County has 36,472 employer establishments, 311 for every 10,000 residents (1.25× the US rate of 248; 1.31× North Carolina's), with 732,418 paid employees at an average annual pay of $78,166. The Census Bureau also counts 134,724 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 36,472; 134,724 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 311; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 732,418
Average annual pay: $78,166; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Mecklenburg County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	2,771	23.6	1.13×About typical	37,777	$72,577	5,966
Lessors of real estate	2,678	22.8	1.85×More than typical	12,585	$77,298	13,844
Restaurants and other eating places	2,460	21	1.14×About typical	51,344	$24,255	648
Specialty trade contractors	1,846	15.7	1.02×About typical	22,261	$70,918	8,374
Management, scientific and technical consulting	1,534	13.1	1.95×More than typical	14,002	$120,996	5,745
Real estate agents and brokers	1,449	12.3	2.54×More than typical	3,805	$92,637	3,702
Full-service restaurants	1,131	9.6	1.25×More than typical	26,745	$28,073	280
Construction of buildings	1,124	9.6	1.27×More than typical	9,818	$108,480	3,545
Limited-service restaurants	998	8.5	1.06×About typical	20,112	$20,617	253
Services to buildings and dwellings	933	7.9	1.18×About typical	11,699	$41,681	7,502
Offices of physicians	858	7.3	1.13×About typical	16,790	$98,430	939
Offices of other health practitioners	849	7.2	1.19×About typical	6,458	$42,066	2,726

Rank places for an industry Open Mecklenburg County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 1,173,749 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $62.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Matthews, North Carolina: $2.04 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $62.4K; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.04; US $1,994
Sole-source: 91%; US 30%
Single offer: 4.8%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

INVENTRIX INC$49.5K79%
SOFTWARE TOOLBOX, LLC$7,20412%
KRUSS SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS, INC$3,0234.8%
HOTEL SOURCE ASSIST LLC$2,6634.3%
MANA NUTRITIVE AID PRODUCTS INCORPORATED$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

875.3KFY2017
3MFY2018
16.9MFY2019
16.7MFY2020
21.8MFY2021
34.1MFY2022
27.6MFY2023
54M

Top industries (NAICS)

Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$30.3K49%
Software publishers · 5132$26.3K42%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$3,0234.8%
Traveler accommodation · 7211$2,6634.3%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Matthews, North Carolina

PURCHASE OF 865 MT RUSF FOR WFP DRC FROM BPA CALL 24$2.5M
MANA NUTRITIVE AID PRODUCTS INCORPORATED· Mecklenburg County, NC· Other equipment & supplies· Sep 25, 2024 – Mar 4, 2026· 720BHA24F50044
PURCHASE OF 862 MT RUSF FOR WFP SOUTH SUDAN FROM BPA CALL 24$2.5M
MANA NUTRITIVE AID PRODUCTS INCORPORATED· Mecklenburg County, NC· Other equipment & supplies· Sep 25, 2024 – Mar 5, 2026· 720BHA24F50045
PURCHASE OF 681 MT OF RUTF FOR FOR UNICEF DRC FROM BPA CALL 21$2M
MANA NUTRITIVE AID PRODUCTS INCORPORATED· Mecklenburg County, NC· Other equipment & supplies· Jul 24, 2024 – Mar 5, 2026· 720BHA24F50025

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Matthews, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Matthews, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Mecklenburg County, NC ($145.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Matthews is mostly in Mecklenburg County.

See federal money in Mecklenburg County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Matthews, North Carolina is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Thom TillisR-

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Mecklenburg County76100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC75

Other cities and towns in Mecklenburg County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3741960

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends