Charlotte has a lot of breweries. But does the city have the most in North Carolina?
If you live in Charlotte, chances are you are close to one of the many breweries in the city.
According to Bart Watson, the chief economist for the Brewer’s Association, a nonprofit made up of craft beer professionals around the nation, nearly 75% of people in the U.S. who are 21 or older live within 10 miles of a brewery.
There are more than 30 breweries in Charlotte alone, according to BreweryDB, an online database of breweries in America.
That number eclipses 50 when you include breweries in surrounding towns. The city’s newest taproom, Hi-Wire Brewing, opened in South End on Friday.
RELATED: Asheville’s Hi-Wire Brewing’s new Charlotte brewery and taproom opens today in South End
Here’s how the number of breweries in Charlotte stacks up to other U.S. cities.
North Carolina cities with the most breweries
According to a report from C+R Research, Portland, Maine has the most breweries per capita, with 18 per 50,000 people. Asheville – the only North Carolina city on the list – came in at No. 2, with 17.
A 2021 report from Move.org, an online publication about the moving industry, found that Charlotte ranks 39th out of 99 cities in the number of breweries, with 3.44 per 100,000 residents.
Raleigh came in at No. 23, with 4.85 breweries per 100,000 residents, and larger cities like New York and Los Angeles were ranked in the bottom 10.
The highest concentration of breweries in Charlotte encompass neighborhoods such as South End, NoDa and LoSo, according to a city ZIP analysis.
