Cruising through neighborhoods like South End, Plaza Midwood, or Uptown, construction cranes are commonly in your peripheral. New construction equates to growththis part is sounding a bit more subjective than our usual tone, but I'm fine with you keeping and seeing what Josh says, and Charlotte is a city continually on the rise. In a new national survey, moveBuddha’s 2023-2024 Migration Report ranked Charlotte as the No. 1 most moved-to big city in the country from 2023 to 2024.

The Queen City reached a 1.68 in-to-out ratio in 2023. What does that mean? Basically, many more people are moving into the Charlotte region than moving out. The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance reported about 113 people moved to the Charlotte metro every day between mid-2021 and mid-2022. That's more than 41,000 people moving to the region every year.

Other large cities that ranked highly in 2023 were:

No. 2 — Denver
No. 3 — Nashville ( hey, NASHtoday)
No. 4 — a tie between New York City and Jacksonville, FL

The Charlotte region saw a considerable population boom in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. | Poll via Charlotte Regional Business Alliance

The top reasons for Charlotte's population growth included the cost of living and strong quality of life, a mild climate, and a strong job market that’s home to two of the nation’s biggest banks — Bank of America and Truist.

Antony Burton, the Alliance's principal researcher, said Charlotte's average new arrivals tend to skew younger — young professionals, post-grads and young families, people who are educated, and financially established. Many people coming to the Charlotte region hail from more expensive areas. Three of the four metros with the most net in-migration into the Charlotte metro have a higher cost of living than the national average — Miami, New York, and Washington, DC.

Construction on upcoming buildings is a common site in Charlotte's South End neighborhood. | Photo via WCNC

Moving forward, the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance hopes these statistics can help community leaders understand the pace of growth. Additionally, the knowledge could encourage investment in infrastructure like transportation, education, and housing, which support a city going nowhere but up.