The number of young, college-educated professionals in the region is surging, and they are bringing cafes, art galleries and funky new stores in their wake.

According to data released Monday by the Census Bureau, the Charlotte region saw one of the biggest rates of increase in the number of young people of any city in the country between 1995 and 2000. Charlotte's young professional population went up by slightly more than one-third. Only Naples, Fla. and Las Vegas saw a larger rate of increase. Atlanta was fourth.

The data, taken from the 2000 census, counted people who moved to the Charlotte metro area from another metro area.

Bill McCoy, the retired director of UNC Charlotte's Urban Institute, said the area needs the new blood.

"Cities that attract this group are the ones who are going to be successful over the next 25 years," McCoy said. "They represent the new knowledge and industry, and that's what we need badly to transition from the old manufacturing model that we have had here for years."

The new data shows college graduates younger than 40 flocking to Charlotte and to other Southern and Western cities, often fleeing high costs of living and poorer job prospects. In Detroit and Philadelphia, for example, the number of young professionals shrunk, according to the census.

Stacey Curtis moved from Greensboro to Charlotte in June after accepting a job with Wells Fargo. She lives in the Cotswold neighborhood and works out at the YMCA in Gateway Village, a complex off West Trade Street at the edge of uptown.

Curtis, 26, said Charlotte's reputation as a good city for professional singles was a lure for her.

"It's more young and single. Greensboro is more 30s and married," she said. "A lot of my sorority sisters are here, and I'm trying to get everyone here. I'm like, come play!"

McCoy said people like Curtis are sparking the creation of places like Gateway Village, a complex that includes offices, apartments and services such as a hair salon within a two-block radius.

As long as the jobs hold up, word of Charlotte will continue to spread, McCoy said.

"I think there is a grapevine," he said. "Young people are coming here from the Northeast or other parts of the South, and word gets back. The climate is nice, there's lots of things to do. We haven't done anything in terms of a public relations campaign. It's happened more underground."

Now, the trend is out in the open, and it isn't just limited to the city. The census data included Gastonia, northern Mecklenburg County, and Rock Hill, S.C.

D.J. Cummins, general manager of Big Al's Pub & Grubberia in Cornelius in north Mecklenburg, said the bar's owners started the business about a year and a half ago because they saw an underserved market for a sports bar.

"This area of Lake Norman is mostly young people, with all the condos and apartments around here," he said. "They just come in and hang out and eat and drink. We don't necessarily target the young people."

The question now is whether young professionals will stay and keep supporting the businesses and restaurants sparked by their presence over the past decade.

McCoy said the slow economy has likely cut the number of available jobs, meaning fewer young people may be moving here now than were three years ago.

"I think it's slowed, and I think it's an important story to keep following because these young people are extremely important to the city's future," he said.

 Nov. 04, 2003 

Top 10 | Metro areas attracting young professionals