viewof masterTown = chips([{label: "All North Meck", value: "All"}, ...TOWNS], {label: "Area:", hint: "filters every chart"})Rents have outpaced incomes in every North Meck town since 2018, and home values have climbed between 63% and 91%. This section follows the data to show who is affected, where the pressure is highest, and what it means for the communities that make North Meck work.
rent rise in Huntersville since 2018, from $1,288 to $1,834Cornelius since 2018, from $1,222 to $1,722Davidson since 2018, from $1,213 to $1,652Huntersville since 2018, from $1,288 to $1,834/mo
ACS 2018–2024of gross income to buy the median home, for a $20k–$35k household in Cornelius in Davidson in Huntersville
ACS 2024median home value in Davidson, 2.1Cornelius, 1.7Davidson, 2.1Huntersville, 1.4× the U.S. national median
ACS 2024 · U.S. median: ACS 2024 5-year, B25077to save a 20% down payment at a 10% annual savings rate (longest in Cornelius) in Cornelius in Davidson in Huntersville
ACS 2024Median rent by town, 2018–2024. Each line tracks what renters paid in that year's ACS survey.
Home values indexed to 2018 alongside median income, showing how ownership affordability has shifted.
The "housing wage" is the hourly pay a full-time worker needs so rent does not exceed 30% of income. Only one common local occupation reaches it.
Income limits and maximum affordable rent at each AMI bracket compared to fair market rent, showing the monthly gap households face at each income tier.
Rent-to-income ratio measures what share of median household income goes to rent. For buying, a common rule of thumb holds that a home costing more than 3× a household's annual income is out of reach for first-time buyers without significant savings. Both ratios have climbed in every town since 2018.
Total population by town, 2018–2024. Rapid growth increases demand for all housing types, particularly affordable rentals.
Cost burden broken down by income bracket and tenure. Davidson has the highest share of renter households that are severely burdened (32%, 336 of 1,047) despite having the highest median income of the three towns. It also has the fewest renter households, so its rate rests on a relatively small number of households.
Trend in burden rate, household count, and severe burden since 2018. 2020–2021 marked the COVID-era eviction moratorium period.
Severely cost-burdened households (50%+ of income on rent) have less than half their income left after housing. They are one unexpected expense away from eviction.
The Federal Poverty Level (FPL) was designed in the 1960s and does not account for regional cost differences. In North Meck, where costs are high, the FPL misses a large share of struggling households. The ALICE framework (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) fills this gap.
Homeownership rates by race and ethnicity show who has been able to build wealth through owning a home in North Meck, and who has not.
| Group | Population (2024) | Renter households | Homeownership rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| White, not Hispanic | 83,893 (75%) | 24% | 76% |
| Black or African American | 11,225 (10%) | 53% | 47% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 7,600 (7%) | 43% | 57% |
| Asian | 5,626 (5%) | 16% | 84% |
| Group | Population (2024) | Renter households | Homeownership rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| White, not Hispanic | 27,263 (83%) | 27% | 73% |
| Black or African American | 1,150 (4%) | 71% | 29% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,761 (5%) | 46% | 54% |
| Asian | 1,043 (3%) | 49% | 51% |
| Group | Population (2024) | Renter households | Homeownership rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| White, not Hispanic | 12,737 (82%) | 18% | 82% |
| Black or African American | 1,402 (9%) | 38% | 63% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 554 (4%) | 53% | 47% |
| Asian | 467 (3%) | 0% | 100% |
| Group | Population (2024) | Renter households | Homeownership rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| White, not Hispanic | 43,893 (69%) | 24% | 76% |
| Black or African American | 8,673 (14%) | 53% | 47% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 5,285 (8%) | 41% | 59% |
| Asian | 4,116 (6%) | 9% | 91% |
Population totals: ACS 2024 · Tenure rates: ACS 2024 Census tenure by race
2024 population share by race/ethnicity across the three North Meck towns.
Demographic change shapes who can access homeownership and who is at risk of displacement.
Years of gross income needed to buy the median home, by income bracket and town. The lower-income brackets reveal the true scale of exclusion: a household earning $20k–$35k would need over 17 years with nothing spent on anything else.
Standard poverty measures miss a significant share of struggling households here. This tab explains why, and shows what the data actually reveals.
Median household income by town over time. The high medians conceal wide variation: income inequality within each town is substantial.
The Gini coefficient measures income inequality: 0 = perfect equality, 1 = maximum inequality. Cornelius (0.51) has the highest inequality of the three towns and is above the U.S. Gini of 0.48 (ACS 2024 5-year, table B19083). Davidson (0.48) is about level with it, and Huntersville (0.41) is below it.
The ALICE gap is the share of households earning above the FPL but below the ALICE Threshold — the minimum cost of living for housing, food, childcare, transportation, healthcare, and technology. In North Meck, the FPL alone drastically undercounts who is struggling.
Select a metric below to see how it varies across towns over time. Renters are consistently more likely than owners to lack a vehicle — a significant barrier in a car-dependent suburb.
High average attainment conceals real pockets of poverty and unemployment. Select a metric to see how each town compares.
Plain definitions for the terms used across the portal.