Charlotte Metro Area Counties

11 counties · 2.9 million people (2025) · 5,598 sq mi

The Charlotte metro area (officially the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area) has 11 counties in North Carolina and South Carolina, with 2,938,830 people in 2025. Mecklenburg County is the most populous.

Map of the 11 counties of the Charlotte metro area with county names and major cities
The 11 counties of the Charlotte metro area (yellow) with the largest cities. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).
PDF (Letter) 334 KBPNG (2400 px) 186 KB

The 11 counties of the Charlotte metro area

Sorted by population. 3 are central counties (the urban core); the others are outlying counties tied to it by commuting.

CountyStateCounty seatPopulation 2025Change since 2020Land area (sq mi)Type
Mecklenburg CountyNorth CarolinaCharlotte1,233,383+10.6%524Central
York CountySouth CarolinaYork306,887+8.9%681Outlying
Union CountyNorth CarolinaMonroe267,674+12.4%633Central
Cabarrus CountyNorth CarolinaConcord249,725+10.6%361Outlying
Gaston CountyNorth CarolinaGastonia246,558+8.2%356Outlying
Iredell CountyNorth CarolinaStatesville211,798+13.5%575Central
Rowan CountyNorth CarolinaSalisbury155,096+5.6%512Outlying
Lancaster CountySouth CarolinaLancaster114,296+19%549Outlying
Lincoln CountyNorth CarolinaLincolnton98,654+13.7%296Outlying
Chester CountySouth CarolinaChester33,001+2.2%581Outlying
Anson CountyNorth CarolinaWadesboro21,758−1.4%532Outlying

The metro area is part of the larger Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC Combined Statistical Area.

Printable map

The PDF is a vector file for Letter paper; the PNG is 2400 pixels wide. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.

County maps of North Carolina and South Carolina

Other metro areas

Sources