Cornelius, North Carolina

Population

Growing. Up 11.4% since 2020.

35,094

people, the 32nd-largest of North Carolina's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among North Carolina's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

88.9%

of 14,153 jobs located in Cornelius are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in August: 3.1%.

3.1%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 3.7%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 73% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,722

a month. North Carolina's median is $1,228.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,848 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Mecklenburg County.

• $427 Tract 5.03
• $2,275 Tract 1.03

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$1,069–$1,604

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,722 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

44% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 44% of all homes were built before 2000

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.3–0.9% to the 14,956 homes here.

44–142

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 94% more than North Carolina's.

$559,400

median home value in Cornelius.

• $559,400 Cornelius
• $288,900 North Carolina
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year