830 Apartments for rent in Charlotte, NC
📍Fool's Paradise. Be wary of seemingly lavish apartment complexes with low rent. Most of the time, you get what you pay for. Sure the complex has a rooftop fire place, a huge pool, and a movie theater. But, if the fireplace is broken, the pool adds an extra $50 to your water bill, and the movie theater smells like sweat, cigarettes, and desperation, then life won't be so luxurious.
Climate Control. In a city that experiences both freezing winters and the heat of southern summers, utility costs can become a burden. You can either find an apartment that is all bills paid, or expect to spend more than $150 a month on utilities during summer and winter peaks.
Uptown Security. On a similar note, be sure to ask apartment managers all about the security features of your potential home. Many apartment complexes around downtown and the arts district won't let you go anywhere without a card or key: the elevator, the parking garage, the pool, etc. With tight security like this, you will want to make sure your apartment has a system that allows you to buzz people in. Otherwise, you will have to take a hike downstairs every time you have visitors, or pizza.
Proof of Income. Many places in Charlotte do not accept bank statements as proof of income. This could make things complicated for trust fund babies, freelance workers, and people that just get by on odd jobs. If you make or have enough money to pay taxes on, then last year's tax statements should be sufficient.
Transportation. A car may be necessary unless you are moving into a place on the south side or close to downtown. Charlotte becomes a very sprawling city to the north, and bus routes can be few and far between. However, if you take a peak at the CATS map, then you will be able to find a few apartment complexes up north that are located near one of these bus routes. See: Lynx Blue Line Light Rail, Gold Rush, and Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).
There are nearly 200 neighborhoods sprawled in all directions from Charlotte's city center, creating enough space for urban socialites, suburban families, and even rural country folk that prefer a more small town vibe.
Uptown. Some cities have downtowns. Charlotte has uptown. Take a stroll along the backdrop of the center of the city, the eye of the storm, the epicenter of business, bar hopping, historic churches, global cuisine, cocktails, and live music.
First Ward: Mixed-income, high-demand apartments a stone's throw away from center city nightlife.
Second Ward. (Aka Brooklyn) Home to NASCAR events, government buildings, Zion Church, and dreams of revitalization... no actual homes, though.
Third Ward. Mostly just known for Bank of America Stadium, home of the North Carolina Panthers.
Fourth Ward. Trendy warehouse and old mill apartments, elaborate terra cotta apartments, and super luxurious condos for high paying fat cats.
Artsy East. Aspiring actors, artists, musicians, and human tattoos receive especially warm welcomes just east of Uptown.
NoDa. (North of Davidson) Artists, art promoters, art galleries, art school, grass-roots art groups, and all the funky fixings of your typical art-centered artsy art district... plus pup-friendly pubs.
Plaza Midwood: Tattoo parlors and bakeries, galleries and pubs, antique shopping and fashion hubs, a paradoxical, yet harmonious neighborhood.
Southern 'Burbs. Just south of Uptown is the families' delight.
Myers Park: Super-exclusive, big money neighborhood.
Sedgefield: The neighborhood for professionals working downtown and families looking for an affordable home.
Elizabeth: Comic book stores, modern apartments among historic homes, and the annual 4th of July fireworks.
South Park: Symphonies in the park, international cuisine, high-end department shopping, and general upscale urban living.
Starmount: Practical and culturally diverse.
Northeast Country. Move to the outskirts if you prefer woodsy ranch-style living over urban high rises and suburban bland land.
Derita. Woodsy, neighborhood that's big on youth sports and picnics in the park. University City. Home to five colleges, three public libraries, parks, lakes, shopping, dining and entertainment, and a close-knit population of proud golfers.
Biddleville: Affordable living one mile from uptown.
Southend: Old cotton mills and warehouses renovated into modern apartments.
Paw Creek: A "tank town" located far out west.
Mountain Island Village: Located far northwest near Mountain Island Lake.
And that my dear renters, is Charlotte in a nutshell. Now crack that shell and go nuts!
July 2020 Charlotte Rent Report
Welcome to the July 2020 Charlotte Rent Report. Charlotte rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Charlotte rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.
Charlotte rents declined significantly over the past month
Charlotte rents have declined 0.5% over the past month, and have decreased slightly by 0.4% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Charlotte stand at $977 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,139 for a two-bedroom. This is the third straight month that the city has seen rent decreases after an increase in March. Charlotte's year-over-year rent growth lags the state and national averages, which both stand at 0.2%.
Rents steady across cities in North Carolina
While rent decreases have been occurring in the city of Charlotte over the past year, trends across other cities in the state have varied. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in North Carolina, half have seen prices drop while others are seeing them rise. The state as a whole logged rent growth of 0.2% over the past year. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the state.
- Looking throughout the state, Cary is the most expensive of all North Carolina's major cities, with a median two-bedroom rent of $1,289; of the 10 largest North Carolina cities that we have data for, 5 have seen rents fall year-over-year, with Wilmington experiencing the fastest decline (-4.2%).
- Greenville, Winston-Salem, and Greensboro have all experienced year-over-year growth above the state average (2.0%, 1.8%, and 0.8%, respectively).
Charlotte rents more affordable than many similar cities nationwide
As rents have fallen slightly in Charlotte, a few comparable cities nationwide have seen prices increase, in some cases substantially. Charlotte is also more affordable than most other large cities across the country.
- Charlotte's median two-bedroom rent of $1,139 is below the national average of $1,192. Nationwide, rents have held steady over the past year.
- While rents in Charlotte fell slightly over the past year, the city of Phoenix saw an increase of 1.9%.
- Renters will find more reasonable prices in Charlotte than most comparable cities. For example, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,035, which is more than two-and-a-half times the price in Charlotte.
For more information check out our national report. You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at this link.
Methodology - Recent Updates:
Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.
Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.
Methodology:
Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.
Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.
Read more about our methodology here.
About Rent Reports:
Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.
We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.
Charlotte Renter Confidence Survey
Here’s how Charlotte ranks on:
Apartment List has released Charlotte’s results from the third annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. This survey, which drew on responses from over 45,000 renters, provides insight on what states and cities must do to meet the needs of 111 million American renters nationwide.
"Charlotte renters expressed general satisfaction with the city overall," according to Apartment List. "They gave most categories above average scores."
Key findings in Charlotte include the following:
- Charlotte renters gave their city an A- overall.
- The highest-rated categories for Charlotte were social life and jobs and career opportunities, which both received A- grades.
- The area of concern to Charlotte renters is the quality of local schools (C).
- Millennial renters are very satisfied with their city, giving it an overall rating of A-, while renters who are parents are equally satisfied, giving it an A.
- Charlotte did relatively well to other cities in North Carolina, including Durham (C), Winston-Salem (B) and Wilmington (C).
- Charlotte earned similar scores to other Southern cities, including Charleston, SC (A-), Nashville, TN (A-), and Virginia Beach, VA (A-).
- The top rated cities nationwide for renter satisfaction include Scottsdale, AZ, Irvine, CA, Boulder, CO and Ann Arbor, MI. The lowest rated cities include Tallahassee, FL, Stockton, CA, Dayton, OH, Detroit, MI and Newark, NJ.
Renters say:
- "Everyone is really nice and open to conversation. It’s also a very dog-friendly city, even compared to other dog-friendly cities." – Scott T.
- "I love all of the parks and recreational opportunities. I do not enjoy the traffic, especially when commuting from suburbs into the city." – Kelsi S.
- "Everything is brand new and the population is really young. However, sometimes all the new buildings lack character and history." – Calvin C.
- "I love the young professional vibe. There’s a more liberal attitude than most Southern cities and the eclectic neighborhoods mean you can find your niche somewhere." – Jennifer P.
For more information on the survey methodology and findings or to speak to one of our researchers, please contact our team at rentonomics@apartmentlist.com.