Population: 612,592

Total Square Miles: 267.8

Charlotte/Douglas Airport Activity: Average of 525 airline flights daily

Fortune 500 presence: 292 Fortune 500 firms represented

Awards & Achievements

• "America's Most Livable Community" by American Foundation for the Blind

• 2nd largest banking center in the nation (controls more than S1 trillion in assets)

• 3rd best metro area for business location

• 4th among "Best Cities for Black Families" by www.BET.com

• 6th largest trading area in the U.S.

• 6th largest wholesale center in the U.S.

• 6th in the number of Fortune headquartered companies

• 8th best city for entrepreneurship

• One of "10 Best Places to Live" by Money magazine

• 21st most active airport in the U.S. (in total passengers)

• 26th largest city in the U.S. (in total population)

• 28th among "America's Most Wired Cities" by Yahoo! Internet Life

• One of "America's 32 most livable cities" by Partners for Livable Communities (2003. 200,