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Cornelius, NC

32,783 people · typical household income $113,767 · typical home price $559,400 · typical rent $1,722 a month

Compare towns All towns in North Carolina · County: Mecklenburg County

At a glance

  • Stronger than most towns on: Public transit, Home internet and working from home and Walkability.
  • Weaker than most towns on: Cost of living, Clean air and low disaster risk and Safety.
  • The 32nd largest of the 716 towns we track in North Carolina.
  • Typical household income is 88% above the typical town in North Carolina.
  • 14th of 455 in North Carolina for most walkable towns.

A score of 60 or more is stronger than most towns. Under 40 is weaker than most.

Quick answers about Cornelius

Where is Cornelius?

Cornelius is in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Nearby towns include Davidson, Huntersville and Lake Norman of Iredell.

What is the ZIP code for Cornelius?

Cornelius has one ZIP code: 28031 . ZIP codes are mail delivery areas, not town borders, so check an address with the US Postal Service lookup.

How many people live in Cornelius?

About 32,783 people live in Cornelius , the 32nd largest of the 716 towns we track in North Carolina. This is a US Census Bureau estimate.

Is Cornelius safe?

Cornelius scores 25 out of 100 for safety, which is weaker than most towns we track. A higher score means lower crime. That includes 9.1 homicides per 100,000 people in the county. The state figure is 404 violent crimes per 100,000 people across the whole state.

How expensive is it to live in Cornelius?

Cornelius has everyday prices of 119.2 (100 is typical for the US), typical rent of $1,722 a month and a typical home price of $559,400. Its cost of living scores 10 out of 100 (a higher score means cheaper), which is weaker than most towns we track.

We compare this town with all 27,850 towns we track. A higher score is always better.

Cost of living 10 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Everyday prices (100 = typical for the US) 119.2 7%
Typical rent $1,722 15%

Jobs and income 78 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Typical household income $113,767 87%
Unemployment 2.4% 66%
Poverty rate 5.4% 77%

A place that is growing 63 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Change in population (5 years) +12.1% 74%
Change in income (5 years) +25.7% 47%

Home internet and working from home 91 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Homes with fast internet (whole county) 93.1% 90%
People who work from home 28.2% 94%

State taxes 56 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
State taxes per resident $3,786 62%
State income tax per resident $1,593 37%
State sales tax per resident $1,171 74%

Property taxes 60 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Property tax as a share of home price 0.63% 78%
Typical property tax paid $3,512 26%

Housing affordability 26 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Home price compared with yearly income 4.9× 16%
Share of income spent on rent 18.2% 51%
Typical home price $559,400 10%

Space and yard size 48 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Typical rooms per home 6.4 79%
Stand-alone houses 60.5% 21%
People per square mile 2,583 13%

Schools 48 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
High-school students in AP or IB classes 43.6% 97%
High-school students taking college classes 4.5% 26%
Students who miss 15+ days a year 25.4% 47%
Graduation rate (class of 2018 or 2019) 86.0% 26%
Students per teacher 19.0 9%
Children in poverty (context, not scored) 13.9% 43%

Diversity & community 64 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Variety of backgrounds (0 to 100) 32 57%
Residents born outside the US 8.8% 78%

Health and medical care 68 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Family doctors per 100,000 people (whole county) 93 83%
Dentists per 100,000 people (whole county) 72 70%
Mental-health providers per 100,000 people (whole county) 418 82%
Hospitals in town 0 43%
People without health insurance 4.8% 59%

Long, healthy lives 81 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Life expectancy (years) (whole county) 78.8 78%
Early deaths (before age 75) (whole county) 6,929 76%
Adults in fair or poor health 11.2% 97%
Adults who had a checkup this year 77.6% 81%

Safety 25 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Homicides per 100,000 people (whole county) 9.1 20%
Violent crime per 100,000 people (whole state) 404 36%

Clean air and low disaster risk 22 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Fine-particle air pollution (whole county) 8.4 35%
Risk of floods, storms and other disasters (0 to 100) (whole county) 97 12%

Short commute 49 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Average commute 25 min 49%

Walkability 88 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Walkability (1 = car needed, 20 = very walkable) 12.1 93%
People who walk, bike or ride to work 2.4% 57%

Public transit 93 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Buses and trains per hour 11.6 97%
Distance to the nearest stop (meters) 932 84%

Airport access 87 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Miles to major airport 18 87%

Dining and entertainment 84 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Restaurants and bars per 1,000 residents (whole county) 2.6 88%
Entertainment and recreation businesses per 1,000 residents (whole county) 0.59 79%

Weather 62 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Average temperature 63°F —
January low 34°F —
July high 90°F —
Yearly rain 47 in —
Yearly snow 0 in —

Pleasant weather for being outdoors 69 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Comfortable days per year 111 74%
Sunshine hours per year 3,396 58%

Other facts

Typical age44
Adults with a college degree62.2%
Hot days per year (90°F+)33
Freezing days per year (low 32°F or less)23
Residents who belong to a religious group (whole county)61.6%

More towns to explore

Nearby towns in North Carolina

Largest towns in Mecklenburg County

Free tools for Cornelius

Each calculator opens with this town's figures filled in. You can change any of them.

How we score towns, and where the figures come from

How we score

  • Cost of living: How expensive everyday life is compared with the rest of the US, adjusted for local rent, plus the typical rent.
  • Jobs and income: Typical household income, how many people are out of work, and how many live in poverty.
  • A place that is growing: How much the number of people and the typical income have grown between the two most recent Census survey periods (each covers five years).
  • Home internet and working from home: How many homes in the county have fast internet, and how many people work from home.
  • State taxes: Taxes each state government collects per resident: all taxes, income tax and sales tax (US Census). These are amounts collected, not what you would personally pay.
  • Property taxes: The typical property tax homeowners pay, and that tax as a share of the typical home price (US Census).
  • Housing affordability: Home prices compared with income, rent as a share of income, and the typical home price.
  • Space and yard size: Rooms per home, how many homes are stand-alone houses, and how spread out people are. We do not have yard or lot sizes from free sources.
  • Schools: The public schools located in the town: how many high-school students take AP/IB or college classes, how many students miss a lot of school, the graduation rate (older data) and class size. Child poverty is shown for context and is not scored. Towns with no high school or too little data are not rated. We do not have test scores yet.
  • Diversity & community: The mix of racial and ethnic backgrounds, and the share of residents born outside the US.
  • Health and medical care: Open hospitals in each town, family doctors, dentists and mental-health providers per person (county), and how many people have no health insurance.
  • Long, healthy lives: How long people live and how many die early (county), and how many residents report fair or poor health or get regular checkups (CDC).
  • Safety: Homicides in the county (County Health Rankings) and the state rate of violent crime (FBI, when available).
  • Clean air and low disaster risk: Fine-particle air pollution (county) and the risk of floods, storms, fires and other disasters (county, from FEMA).
  • Short commute: Average commute time of people who travel to work.
  • Walkability: How easy it is to get around on foot near the town center (connected streets, shops close to homes), and how many people walk or bike to work.
  • Public transit: How often buses and trains run near the town center, and how far the nearest stop is.
  • Airport access: Distance in a straight line to the nearest large airport with passenger flights.
  • Dining and entertainment: Restaurants, cafes and bars for every 1,000 residents, and arts, entertainment and recreation businesses for every 1,000 residents, across the whole county (US Census).
  • Weather: How close the average temperature and seasons are to the climate you pick, plus comfortable days.
  • Pleasant weather for being outdoors: Days that are 65–85°F and dry, and hours of sunshine.

The religious group figure counts members and regular attendees of congregations (US Religion Census 2020). It comes from congregations, not a survey, so every town in a county shows the same figure.

Where the figures come from

  • Population, income, housing and jobs: American Community Survey (US Census), 2024, five-year estimates
  • Walkability and public transit: EPA Smart Location Database (neighborhoods near the town center)
  • County health figures: County Health Rankings 2025 (Mecklenburg County)
  • Disaster risk: FEMA National Risk Index (county)
  • Hospitals: US Homeland Security hospital list (HIFLD)
  • Nearest airport: OurAirports: nearest is Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
  • Health of residents: CDC local health estimates
  • Cost of living: US Bureau of Economic Analysis regional prices 2024 (state), adjusted by local rent
  • Safety: FBI crime data 2023 (state level)
  • State taxes: Census State Tax Collections FY2025 (state level, per resident)
  • Dining and entertainment: Census County Business Patterns 2023 (county, for every 1,000 residents)
  • Religious groups: US Religion Census 2020 (county level: members divided by population)
  • Schools: US school district records (NCES) 2023 (5 public schools in town), US Education Department Civil Rights Data Collection (AP/IB, college classes, absences) 2021-22, graduation rates 2019, Census child poverty estimates 2024
  • Weather: Open-Meteo archive 2024

These are estimates. Please check current listings and official sources before you decide.

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