Charlotte is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in Piedmont, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population was 872,498, making it the 16th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cultural, economic, and transportation center of the Charlotte metropolitan area, whose population ranks 23rd in the U.S., and had a population of 2,569,213, in 2018. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of a sixteen-county market region or combined statistical area with a 2018 census-estimated population of 2,728,933.
Between 2004 and 2014, Charlotte was ranked as the country’s fastest-growing metro area, with 888,000 new residents. Based on U.S. Census data from 2005 to 2015, Charlotte tops the U.S. in millennial population growth. It is the second-largest city in the southeastern United States, just behind Jacksonville, Florida. It is the third-fastest-growing major city in the United States. It is listed as a “gamma” global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Residents are referred to as “Charlotteans”.